06/11 Viva La Lucha PPV

Some thoughts, which never are as brief as I want them. Actually managed not to take any notes during the show for once, just sit back and watch.

All the matches, except Sabu/LA Park, were in HD quality and it was nice to get that to get kind of video quality. Excalibur (remarkably invisible!), Larry Rivera, GQ Money were the announcers for the majority of the show, with Kris Kloss and Kevin Kleinrock doing Sabu/Park. I thought those two got into a nice rhythm as the match went on. GQ and Excalibur were usually good and Larry Rivera had his moments and also had other moments. The production in general was on par or better than AAA & CMLL do for their weekly TV; it certainly helped that they didn’t have the usual distractions of ads and plugs for things not happening in the match, but it was a lot cleaner and more focused presentation than we usually get.

– Turbo b Black Thunder [NWA MEX LIGHT]

I liked this match. Back when the show was taped, Alan said this good but not quite at the level of the last one between them. Felt the same way after watching it; this felt like another good match in their sequence of good matches, but not a defining match between them.

– Mr. Águila b TJP

This was also good. Wouldn’t mind seeing TJP back here. I hope Aguila takes advantage of CMLL’s gym while he’s there.

– Oliver Pearce b Blue Demon Jr. [cage]

This was from a Pro Wrestling Revolution show and was mostly a slow grinding battle, which also includes interference from people and people turning on people and me having no idea who these people are. I know Demon is a recognizable name and it makes some business sense to have on the marquee, but I came into this with no desire to see Blue Demon Jr. have a match and that did not positively change. Maybe he can be ring announcer or referee? I’m willing to compromise.

– El Hijo de Rey Misterio & Groon XXX b Nova & Oriental

So, I was totally excited see Oriental come to CMLL. When someone’s gone so long, you eventually remember more of the good and less of the bad, and remembered all the good moments he had. This match provided a compelling counter argument! Then again, he probably won’t be able to get away with spending half the match hitting someone with a kendo stick in CMLL. Sure picked a strange night to mail it in. Nova was OK but then again mostly along for the ride. Groon XXX was Groon XXX. We did get a good look at the knee injury – Oriental’s pesccado came high, Groon XXX caught Oriental over his head, and his leg just couldn’t support catching someone like that. Hijo de Rey Misterio was his usual self of a couple of good spots but not really distinguishing himself as a special guy – Turbo looked better than him, for one.

However, Hijo de Rey Misterio came off really well in the post match angle with Perro Aguayo Jr. and the post match promo. I may not have believed him as the next great high flying star, but I did believe in him as someone who knew he had Perro beat, wasn’t scared of him, and wanted to prove it.

– LA Park b Sabu [XLAW HEAVY]

This was the only non-HD match, and it felt claustrophobic to have such a small screen after the HD. The handheld camera not always following the action well didn’t help. As mentioned in the ad, this was cut down to the best 15 minutes. Even cutting it down, it still felt tedious by the end, doing the same missed table spot they had done earlier for the finish. Super Parka coming in as heel ref didn’t help, especially since his count at the end didn’t make sense and couldn’t be explained. They did not show the angle with Super Parka stealing LA Park’s belt, so hopefully we don’t have to see that match. People who tuned in just to Sabu did get their Sabu.

Did people on SuperLuchas promote this as a MOTYC? Please tell me I’m remembering this wrong.

– Damián 666 b X-Fly, Supreme, Charly Manson, Halloween [hardcore]

This was not a style I am a fan off, so I don’t know really how to rate it if you are. It seemed excessively violent and bloody, so it sounds right. I understand the business of doing this – just like straight lucha, Dragon Gate and ROH and WWE and TNA aren’t going to be doing hardcore matches like this, or at least to this level, so you’re reaching another potential group of underserved consumers. This match wasn’t for me, but, you know, it wasn’t for me.

After this match, they aired promos to set up matches down the road…

* Blue Demon vs Oliver John (or some variation on that theme)
* Perro Aguayo Jr. & a Perro del Mal TBN vs Hijo de Rey Misterio & ???
* Supreme (c) vs either Damian 666 or Halloween [XPW EXTREME]

– Diva Salvaje, el Ángel, Leo b Medussa, Pesadilla, Ragde

Only third fall shown to fill out the time, so the only show that doesn’t air is the main event. I appreciated that bit of randomness much, even more so for Excalibur not being aware that Diva Salvaje was actually not a woman. Also, I learned how I’m supposed to be pronouncing Ragde, so that’ll be helpful when he and Pesdailla are getting killed during run-ins on AAA shows. This was fine.

I saw Alfredo say people who like current AAA would like this, and I really like that comparison. You’ve got

* undercard matches with talented guys (Turbo/Thunder)
* local guy facing random foreigner (Aguila/TJP)
* extreme no rules match (Park/Sabu + 5 Way), though AAA’s cut way back on these
* main event requiring enduring featuring guys I’m not into (Sabu/Pearce – and the 5Way and Park/Sabu to some extents)

I only can’t fit Misterio’s match into a cliche, but it does feel like an AAA match for having two ex-AAA guys.

The really good news is I finally realized what the Comcast people were trying to explain to me, and this did not cost me $50. Maybe $25, and I got my money’s worth. I’m not sure if I’m getting the next show – the guys I liked the most are the guys who haven’t been announced for matches yet, and I totally do not envy the job of trying to figure out who’s actually available to work on what show at this point.