CMLL Line - 01/24/04 (#112)

Note: I'm now using "tope con giro" where I've said "somersault plancha/tope". It's more accurate, I think.

Notes: Unusually, we get the A Ras Da Lona bumper, then get a hype job for the match before we get to see it.

Rocky and Virus are exchanging open hand slaps as we start. Rocky charges to a shoulderblock, off the ropes, Virus uses a handspring reverse tope (short - I think that might have been Rocky not stepping into it, needing to go the other way for his next motion), Rocky is sent out and Virus is going up. Before he can get there, though, Quance steals Puma's gimmick, kicking Virus off the top rope and sending him to the floor. Averno is over to take him, but Quance blocks the punch, hits one of his own, and takes Averno down with a springboard missile dropkick to the shoulder one two no. Chop. Corner whip, reversed, Averno charges in, Quance moves and Averno spears the post. Quance going up, but Mephisto figures that he should return the favor for his team and slaps Quance in the back to stop his dive. Mephisto sneaks underneath Quance's legs for a big electric chair superplex, but Quance turns it around for a second rope sunset flip bomb one two NO. Ricky is over to stomp, and both the NJPW-LAs work together on a double whip. Quance drops down, Ricky's clothesline is caught, but Mephisto's short clothesline reversal is ducked under, and Ricky puts on a full nelson. Quance charges with a jumping spinning heel kick, but Mephisto moves and Ricky takes it out of the ring. Quance running, into a hiptoss. Mephisto runs, backdrop, but he lands on the apron, taking out Quance with a punch and Ricky with a kick. Springboard - no, Ricky trips him up before Mephisto can land on the ropes, giving him the chindrop on the apron. Ricky tries the full nelson again while Quance starts running, but again a dive is prevented, this time Averno kicking Quance in the back. Seems like Mephisto must've fought loose by now, so Averno runs himself - no hands tope con giro! He landed on top of Ricky and Averno, held up by then for a second before everyone collapsed to the mat. Quance is picking himself up and climbing the ropes - shooting star press to the floor! He slipped through or missed Averno completely, so he kinda fell on a delay. Virus and Rocky standing in the ring, but not for long because of that Rocky clothesline. Small package, one two NO! Rocky thought he had this. Kick to the chest, kick to the chest, whip, reversed, Virus spinebuster slam! Flipping Ricky over to his stomach, reverse bodyscissors hold while grabbing both arms, now rocking Rocky, up to his feet - Rocking Horse! That's it! (2:41) He wants the belt. Virus gets some microphone time to ask for a title shot, I presume. Replays of the match.

Vignette: Pierroth can't believe he's got no men left. He asks Nazi (with a knife) if she's turning on him next, but he assures him that she won't be. Pierroth needs partners in his fight, but shoots down Nazi's idea of teaming with her. Nazi makes the claim that she is both strong and attractive, and Pierroth laughs until he gets a look. Anyway, they'll destroy th capos and all the stars of CMLL.

Notes: Universo is the tecnico here, so they mention him taking out Perro and sending Rayo Jr. to the hospital in his ring introduction. Did he just say Mascara has 20 kids? I think I need to work on my Spanish. Did I mention we still have the Halloween set up? There are two random masked guys acting as scenery here. Match is announced as rudo/rudo. Wow, they finally brought back the pre-match video clips. They're the same very dated ones, but all shown in the screen in a new package. Violencia has a new one, which seems to be a clip from a vignette we never saw. But you can tell he's a good guy now - he's wearing a Mexico soccer jersey. I wonder if it was a meeting with Rey and Ultimo?

Brawl on as soon as Violencia gets to the ring. Surprisingly, it's Universo's team in control. Mascara and Violencia pull out a passable double dropkick to the head on Pierroth, provided you imagine that Pierroth's head is bigger than it looks. Violencia top rope splashes Bestia and Universo adds his own to finish him off. (1:16) Emilio takes off instead of coming in, knowing that he's next. Mascara walks up the ramp to go get him, Emilio takes the 3 on 1. Gutbuster. Double toss off the rope. Dropkicked out? Violencia teases a dive, but slows down when Emilio is out of position and steps to the apron. Apron dive senton - no one home! He landed flat on his back on the floor! Pierroth and Emilio back in, and they're taking control briefly, till reversed whips run them into each other. Tecnicos gets abdominal stretches on, but Bestia wanders back in to break those up with open hand slaps. That's a DQ (3:13) They had Violencia take that bump to the floor for no reason? Wait, they're carrying him out on a stretcher. Capos get away from the 3 on 2 beatdown, but Mascara chases Nazi and leaves himself open to an attack from Emilio while Pierroth uses the belt on Universo in the ring. Choking him out with the belt now, and ignoring the referee. What is he going to do, DQ him before the second fall even starts? Replays of the dive to nowhere.

The fall sign has two skulls drawn on it, nice touch. This fall takes a while to get going and really doesn't do that at any speed you'd be interested in. Beatdown. Universo gets the top half of his mask ripped off. Shockingly, he looks like his brothers. Emilio and Pierroth try the "one guy has him in the hold, the other guy kicks him" bit, but can't seem to get a hold of which guy isn't kicking. Looks like Universo wants to give but they're not letting him go. Oh, Pierroth just back elbowed the referee to stop him from breaking up his choke hold - that's it. (2:46) Eww, Universo has a couple big scratch/bruise marks from those belt shots.

Hace Uno Dias: Why we're watching this after the match is over, god only knows. Anyway, Universo won last time - maybe he should have worn the orange outfit this time too.

Oh wait, Nazi passed Pierroth a foreign object before, and that's what we're crediting the marks too. I think I must've drifted off at some point during this fall. Pierroth wants to talk, but no one wants to listen. Announcers talk right over him.

Vignette (repeat): El Hunchback de Arena Mexico. Shocker gets disfigured by goons sent by Emilio (this is two years ago) and is now 1000% feo. Luckily, he wakes up and finds out it was all just a horrible nightmare.

Stellar Moments:
El Trinunfo: We catch the end of a Safari tope on Mephisto, but Averno tops that with his tope con giro. Olimipicos' somersault tope con giro isn't bad either. Satanico gets the best of Felino with a take down and feet on the ropes. Wait, wasn't this a Mexican National Title match long ago? (Only if you replace Felino with Niebla.)
El Lance: Explosivo with a nice firebird splash
Lo Admirable: Neutron climbs the ropes on the run for a reverse tope and pin over Valentine Mayo.
El Tecnico: Virus beat Rocky last week. Someone in the front row goes wild for Virus.
Lo Espectacular: TRIPLE TOPE from last week

Vignette: Atlantis waves at the camera with a small kid, but he's not here for that. He's at the restaurant to meet with Blue Panther. They've been rivals, but they need to put it behind them for their match this week. Can they be professionals for their match? Before Panther can arrive, they're interrupted but a third member of their team - Shocker. Shocker says he's not rudo or tecnico, he's 1000% guapo. Plus, Panther points out that they're going up against Vampiro and Tarzan Boy, so Shocker will have much to fight against. Shocker adds that he's cool with Mr. Niebla being on his team. Atlantis asks why, seeing as Niebla took his mask and all, but Shocker says Niebla did his favor, allowing him to show his guano face to the people. They all agree to get along, and order some coffee.

Notes: Neat that they managed to do alternating tecnico/rudo entrances for a while there, though perhaps they could've saved some time by cutting them out: it takes six minutes to go from the start of Vampiro's entrance till bell time. Issues not mentioned above: Tarzan Boy and Vampiro may still hate each other, Warrior and Panther were friends last time we checked, and Warrior and Niebla hate each other so at least that one works out. And the Tarzan/Shocker thing, of course. I don't know if we're supposed to think Shocker a rudo to balance the sides, but I sure hope not. Atlantis has a big tape job on his left shoulder, and his left arm is wrapped. Tarzan gets Negro to do the Wolfpac hand signal with him, that's weird.

Shocker and Negro to start. Lockup, Shocker runs Negro into the ropes, break, Shocker punches (!), Negro ducks, pats Shocker on the head, and invites him in the middle of the ring. Open hand slap battle turns to punches turns to boots, but no one's going down. Negro back bends under a second boot and dropkicks Shocker down. Point to the crowd. Clothesline is caught, and Shocker lifts Negro into the corner. Backing up, then charging with a big boot, Negro steps out of the corner, Shocker gets his leg stuck on the corner and Negro kicks the other leg out from under him. Tag to Warrior, who is quick in with a slingshot elbow drop. Pelvic thrust for the crowd as Shocker gets back up. Shocker tries yet another boot, it gets caught and Warrior throws him with a sorta-Exploder suplex. Warrior with a look at Atlantis, as they're getting close to that corner, and drags Shocker around. Legdrop on the leg! He's stealing Magica's one big move! Actually, that was more inside and up the leg. Tag to - well, Tarzan and Vampiro both come in, so one of 'em. Double whip, well eventually, double back elbow. Double whip, Tarzan starts fooling around while Vampiro misses with a clothesline and pays for it with a big boot. Clothesline for Vampiro, and Panther is in to help out by clotheslining Tarzan out. Niebla in, and Panther backdrops his partner to the floor on Tarzan, clipping the rudo with his legs. Vampiro stops Panther's run wight a wheel kick, and follows with a corner whip. Panther kips up and out, grabs the arm, and then lifts Vampiro in spinebuster position for Atlantis to hit a second rope clothesline on. Panther turns Vampiro over for a Boston Crab, but Warrior and Negro break it up. They start to back off, but Shocker and Atlantis come after them with dropkicks. While Atlantis hits a pescado on Warrior, Vampiro is short on a big boot and takes a right hand from Shocker. Shocker does the Guapo dance while Vampiro struggles to his feet - German Suplex! Panther over - double underhook backbreaker one two three. (3:04) Wow, last guy on that team I would've thought would get the win. Shocker kisses his biceps. Replays.

Second fall starts with Warrior charging Shocker, and Shocker kicking him into the ropes. Shocker clothesline misses, and Warrior drops him with a split legged faceslam on the next try. Tag in the general direction of Tarzan Boy, who flattens Shocker with his springboard missile dropkick. Shocker rolls out, Panther in and meeting Tarzan with a boot. Panther comes out of  his corner with a clothesline and yells. Chops to Tarzan Boy, Tarzan makes a blind tag to Negro while Panther is whipping him, Tarzan grabs the ropes, Negro kicks (I guess - couldn't see) Panther in the back, Tarzan adds a dropkick to the head. More kicks, double whip, double knee to the midsection. Both guys going wild on Atlantis' team, with Niebla and Shocker being nailed on the apron as Atlantis is being beat. Niebla sneaks in only to be booted out by Vampiro. Shocker comes in and backdrops Warrior to the apron and punches him to the floor, but Warrior trips him and pulls him out into an inverted face first powerbomb on the floor! Panther tries to fight Tarzan Boy back in, but Tarzan waits for him to put his head through the ropes and drops him with a guillotine leg DDT. Meanwhile, Negro eye pokes Niebla and kicks him off the apron. Vampiro's been taking apart Atlantis throughout all this, and after a bulldog, is signaling to end this. Nail in the Coffin one two three! (1:44) Chaotic is a good way to describe the last four to five minutes of the match, but it's been a welcome change.

Though we don't see it, it sounds like the fighting goes on in between the falls, with Vampiro's team transitioning into a beatdown. Warrior is beating up Niebla in the ring, landing a clothesline on him before Casas comes in - trying for the STF but Niebla gets the ropes. Tarzan was bashing Panther's head into the post for a while and now - CLIP! This match was going so well too. We pick up with Panther slamming Casas now with everyone else on the aprons. Panther starts climbing the corner but Negro knocks him off and to the floor. Atlantis tries to surprise Casas with a dropkick but misses. Casas with open hand slaps, Atlantis with open hand slaps, Atlantis with a gut shot and suplex to the apron, but Casas fights back from there. Atlantis tries to run Casas into his corner, but Casas alertly jumps off into a the apron dive Thesz Press on Panther!  Tarzan in, but Atlantis gets him with the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker immediately, one two no! Whip (with a pause before it gets going, which tips off what's coming), reversed, Atlantis turns it into a tope on Casas. Tarzan's looking at that and turning around too late - Shocker spear! Off the ropes, boot takes Tarzan out, running tope con giro flattens him! Niebla in, but Vampiro meets him with a jumping side kick. Niebla rolls out and gets met there with a pescado. Vampiro yells in the ring to Warrior, and grabs Niebla. This is never a good idea - Warrior TOPE gets Vampiro! Vampiro seemed to really hurt his left elbow on that. Atlantis, Panther, Casas and Tarzan in now - Atlantis's team whips the others into each other, they reverse the whip on each other, but run right into the Atlantida and a step over toe hold (Panther never really going for the facelock - this is what Casas did earlier so I guess it's Panther's move and I've forgotten) and that's that. (2:02) I guess we include Vampiro getting counted out here - Warrior does make it back in but just wanders around instead of Shocker beating him.

We watch the losing team sign autographs on their way out, and that's it.

Rating: Bases on the quality of the finish, ring work, internal/external storyline, consistency and my whims. Also, various other (random) factors that I can't think of right now. 0-100 for matches.

Closing Notes: 

1. I dug the main event enough to push this show, which otherwise could've been one of any half dozen they've had the last few months, enough to be a three. I believe that the full match would've hit 90, if the beatdown segment was anything, and that's a lot to say about a 7 minute match. When a show features very identifiable match structures, something like this match, where those were broken down for one moment made
2. It helped that you had a pretty good crew to do it, of course.
3. Not as if it needed help, but by giving the Capos a win in a match where they were by all other measures beat made the whole match meaningless.
4. Besides the fun match, they've really gotten into a rut - every show for quite a while has seemed to go Super Light Heavyweight (Last Fall Only), Capos vs Pierroth, Workers In An Indecisive Main Event