Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 150: Lash LeRoux vs. Yang (Nitro 2/12/01)

This is like an “also ran” cruiserweight match of second tier guys who never made it to the heights of the first crop of popular cruiserweights. Las disappeared a few years after WCW collapsed and Yang bounced around WWE and ROH. I was never a fan of Yang when I saw him live at ROH. I always felt his friendship to James Gibson (Noble) got him in. Lash I remember slightly enjoying, but it’s been years.

Lash comes out looking like a poor man’s Chris Jericho circa ‘99-’03. Yang is really playing up all the stereotypes of Asian martial arts fighters that make you roll your eyes in the MMA era. Still, it’s not a bad flow between these two. Lash looks like the subtle heel. Yang tries a lot of high spots, and looks silly on a few, but the basic heel-face dynamic is there because Lash isn’t trying anything flashy, and Yang dominates the early going.

Lash caught Yang to start his short control with a really good powerslam. Simple but effective. This is 70-30 Yang, but it has the feel of back and forth. All of Lash’s comeback spots are fun. Another good thing about this match is that they recover well from small mistakes or miscommunications. The negative might be the lack of crowd interaction. They stop for very little. There is definitely a progression, but it’s two inexperienced guys moving towards big moves and eventually kicking out of finishers. The match does make Lash look tough and Yang a good underdog babyface, but they had a bit to go with there skills in terms of timing and restraint. A solid bout. 3 and 6/10.