LOS ANGELES, CA- My friends have been trying to get me out to catch a debaucherous evening of Lucha Vavoom event for years. It’s something that, as an Angeleno, I’ve been meaning to do forever. After all, not only has it been lauded as a “must catch” event by numerous publications, but who doesn’t love wrestling, comedy and classy burlesque? On July 26, I was able to finally cross it off my bucket-list. The “Summer Lovin” installment of Lucha Vavoom played host to a sold out room, and I was ready to soak it all in.
After a hyped video instruction featuring the inimitable Peaches (who has been known to make an appearance every so often), the hosts for the evening, Blain Capatch (a prolific comedy writer who has been an announcer since the show’s inception) and Dana Gould (a comedian and writer), got the crowd in the right state of mind with their playfully bawdy humor and sharp banter. The humorous one liners would continue throughout the evening.
But prior to the wrestling, we were treated to a beautifully executed aerial pole routine by Leigh Acosta. I was mesmerized as I watched her effortlessly perform, dance and spin around the dangling pole hanging from the air. Her death defying act was breathtakingly sensual, and surely got the audiences’ adrenaline pumping. In fact, I think it would be fair to note that all of the burlesque dancers put on amazing performances.
Little Trixie’s bawdy “Little Mermaid” performance had her yielding pearls at its climax. Donna Hood’s tribute to the 1966 Batmobile had us all wishing we were a real life villain so that she could apprehend us. Michelle L’Amour’s routine, performed without a wig, was beyond inspiring.
But the main burlesque draw was the inimitable Violet Chachki. An American drag queen, burlesque dancer, recording artist, TV personality, and model best known for winning the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. From her traditional burlesque intro to her dynamic aerial routine, her performance was the complete package and was wildly cheered upon its finale.
But from the breathtakingly sensual and classy mood set by all of the dancers, we come to the rough and rowdy wrestling. From the sensual yin to the violent yang.
The contrast of the shifts in dynamics was evident from the get go. The first fight of the night was a tag-team match between Heather Monroe and Joey Ryan versus Dirty Sanchez and Ruby Gardena. From “body” to “bawdy”, oh man … this fight was filthy, violent comedy… and awesome to watch unfold. We could have expected as much from the start as Joey Ryan lubed his privates with baby oil while smoking a cigarette during his entrance. LOL.
From flying poop, butts in the face to a what another photographer called a “Dirrrty Triple Hump”, the physical humor and action during this initial bout was about as fun as it could be. At the end of it all, Heather Monroe and Joey Ryan prevailed.
Other wrestlers on hand to lay the smack down included El Mariachi Loco, Dr. Maldad, Magnus, Diamante Azulm, Magno Mag, The Crazy Chickens, Jaguar Rojo, Chupacabra, each accompanied by their own personal ring girl. The highly flying antics by Jaguar Rojo was especially exciting.
But the main match of the evening featured a four-way “Battle For The Belt” where the reigning champ, Lil’ Cholo, was ready to defend his championship belt against Mariachi Loco, Dama Fina and Chocolatay Caliente. In a hotly contest battle, the back and forth, double teaming, triple teaming, smack down eventually had only one person left to claim the belt, and that person was the femme fatale who has been “breaking hearts and crushing skulls since 2016”, Dama Fina.
Once the pin and count was made, there was a moment of dramatic tension before the title and belt was passed on. I anticipated some kind of retaliatory action would occur as there was a hesitant beat in the action, but once El Cholo humbly thrust his arms forward with the belt and crowned the new champ, you knew that there was a new sheriff in town; a masked beauty with brawn, Dama Fina.
The next Lucha Vavoom experience is the two night extravaganza before Halloween. Needless to say, I’m willing to bet that that party is going to be a wild one.
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