Leyenda de Plata Preview, Block A

The first block of this year’s Leyenda de Plata is tonight. It’s an 8 man ciberentico, with 4 tecnicos and 4 rudos.

Last year, picking winners was easier. It helped that we had a good idea of both groups before hand, and it was a pretty safe guess to pick Atlantis versus a tecnico, given the ongoing storylines. Things aren’t as direct this year. They ought to be moving towards a definite anniversary show main event, but it seems as though there’s a billion possibilities and no locks.

As a guide to you, the inquisitive reader, let’s break down everyone’s chances in Block A.

Metro
Why he will win: Metro paying CMLL a truckload of pesos to get their gimmick pushed to the top; perhaps the start of a gigantic Neutron push, rocketing him up the card.
Why he will not win: It’s Metro. It’s Neutron. It’s not happening.
Bottom Line: Setting aside his no chance of winning, he’ll be get in this match and get eliminated first. Once next week’s lineups come out, it’ll be interesting to see which tecnicos got left off. This is the worker’s tournament, so Metro fits in, but he’s easily the low man here.

La Mascara
Why he will win: CMLL is high on him, would turn him into a bigger star even if he didn’t win out the tournament, capable worker, puts him in the role of Mistico’s Understudy.
Why he will not win: Doesn’t currently have a rival in the other block to build towards, less experience than the usual champion, probably over his head here. Volador seems to have moved back ahead of him as Mistico’s Understudy.
Bottom Line: Another guy who has no chance of winning; it’s be a huge upshift in his push for him to even make it to the final three. Best case for him is to set up a rivalary with Misterioso or Mephisto, so he’s doing something with his title belt in Mexico City.

Mephisto
Why he will win: He’s a reigning champion of, uh, something. He’s a potential guy to drop his mask in the short-term, and could be set against Volador or Mistico if they won the other side.
Why he will not win: Tag team guy probably isn’t winning a big singles tournament. Despite the shiny belt, really not considered a top singles guy.
Bottom Line: Only a very outside choice, and it’d mean something is up with him in the near future. I highly doubt it. Should be the first rudo to be eliminated, and likely by something spectacular from La Mascara.

Heavy Metal
Why he will win: Just underneath the top contenders, it wouldn’t be unbelievable to have him win and it’d still springboard him up a bit. Of late, CMLL seems to be loving the guys who’ve jumped from AAA. Family connections, naturally.
Why he will not win: Appears to be running in place in CMLL. Promotion doesn’t seem particularlly behind him, and there’s no logical money match from a Metal win.
Bottom Line: Likely will last a great while but ultimately not win. He’s probably the 7th of the 8 workers in this match, but can/will go depending on the circumstances, and his performance will be interesting here.

Misterioso II
Why he will win: His current death feud with Volador Jr. – who must be in the other block – would be a great final match. They’ve been high on him, with the Gran Alternativa win and loose relationship with Perros del Mal.
Why he will not win: Still a big step up for him, and he’d have to beat some much bigger names than him to make this work. Since he’s won other events, I expect someone else gets to win for a chance.
Bottom Line: A very outside chance. Like La Mascara, it’s more about how long he lasts and if they set up something for him to do after this.

Ultimo Guerrero
Why he will win: He’s ULTIMO GUERRERO. That’s enough.
Why he will not win: Doesn’t really have anything going on; taking a backseat to the other feuds. The assumption here is the Leyenda de Plata directly sets up the anniversary main event, and it’s looking unlikely Ultimo will be involved in that.
Bottom Line: A moderate chance at winning, leaning towards no. If this was after the annivesary show (and they didn’t have something to urgently build), he’d have a much better shot. Ultimo doesn’t seem to be part of big plans at the moment.

Rey Bucanero
Why he will win: I’m not sure if you noticed, but they’re trying to push him as The New Great Tecnico Sensation. They’re trying to set up something with Perro here, and this would be a find avenue to do it.
Why he will not win: The New Great Tecnico Sensation has had mixed results. They may not need this do build up the Perro feud, and Rey may have been aced out of it by Santo.
Bottom Line: A very strong possibility. If they’re going all the way with Rey, he needs to keep beating Ultimo on the road to doing something bigger. It’d be a shock and disappointment if he wasn’t the last remaining tecnico.

Black Warrior
Why he will win: Mistico’s gotta be in the other block, and they’ve been setting up Warrior vs Mistico all year. Even if Mistico isn’t going to win the other block, he’s being prepped for it and could use a big win.
Why he will not win: They’ve got other plans for the annivesary show and Mistico/Warrior is being pushed back to some other date, or they sour on Warrior/Mistico entirely.
Bottom Line: Best bet in the group, though it telegraphs a Mistico win in the other block. Though he’s quite possibly the worst worker in this bunch (which isn’t much a insult when you look at the names), he’s gotta look like a dominant force if we’re to believe he has a chance against the dominant force in all of lucha libre.

Who do you think will win? Who do you think will be the other eight?