CMLL Puebla: 2016-05-09 

Recapped: 05/09/2016

What happened: An accident on the highway connecting Mexico City to Puebla severely delayed the luchadors and the production crew on the way to show, forcing parts of the crew to actually get out of their transportation and walk past the stoppage to get in other vehicles to make it to the show. They didn’t arrive until during the first match, so the stream didn’t start until the show was in progress, with them setting up things as the second match was taking place. The announcers were apologetic about the situation.

The show seemed off, understandably, as a result, and the feeling of chaos was more memorable than the matches. The best example was the main event, where Arkangel (originally scheduled for the segunda) appeared to replace Shocker in the main event, only for Shocker to walk out about a minute into the match and take Arkangel’s place. That bit stuck out more than most of the match, which served to set up a Rush/Marco singles match next week.

The semimain also set up a trios title match for next week. And, as also expected, Dalys kept the CMLL’s Women’s championship over Estrellita.

What was good: None of the matches was a particular standout. The women’s match and the semimain had the most effort but also some flaws, and are both about the borderline for good. The main event wasn’t too great or bad either. I just didn’t feel strongly about anything on this show.

Where can I watch it: The live version is on CMLL’s YouTube channel. Note the first 10 or so minutes have production issues; it takes a while for sound, and then announcers to come in.

Match 1: París & Robin vs Fuerza Chicana & King Jaguar
Arena Puebla, 05/09/2016
Notes: Didn’t air on this steam. The Mexico City contingent, including the production crew, didn’t arrive until this match ended.

Match 2: Millenium & Rey Samuray vs Espíritu Maligno & Nitro
Arena Puebla, 05/09/2016

1. rudos
   • DQ Nitro [Rey Samurai accidental unmasking] (4:20)
2. tecnicos
   • Millenium ramp top con giro Nitro (2:30)
   • Rey Samurai quebrada Espíritu Maligno (2:48)
3. rudos
   • Nitro piledriver Rey Samuray (4:06)
   • Espíritu Negro espectrina Millenium (4:30)

Winner: rudos (2-1)
Match Time: 11:38

Review: [below average] The first fall was aborted when Nitro’s mask fell off in the course of usual actions. Not sure if he was just hurried to get out there and didn’t have tied or was bad at it, because he was really bad at everything else and really took down the match. Nitro’s in the argument for worst luchador in the promotion without much of a doubt. The técnicos needed someone steadier to work with, but Espíritu is only one ghost monkey.

Match 3: Hombre Bala Jr., Magnus, Pegasso vs Virus, Warrior Steel, Yago
Arena Puebla, 05/09/2016

1. técnicos
   • Magnus senton con giro Virus (5:21)
2. rudos
   • Warrior Steel splash Magnus (2:50)
   • Yago hammerlock half crab Pegasso (3:04)
3. rudos
   • Warrior Steel handspring splash Hombre Bala (3:59)

Winner: rudos (2-1)
Match Time: 12:24
Notes: Pegasso replaced Super Halcón Jr.

Review: [ok] Not a world beater match, and one where the greenness of the young guys definitely showed, but different and entertaining. Warrior Steel is not, like, much good but he is prone to be very entertaining right now. The tough splash at the end looked so much better than the normal one he did a fall earlier. This seemed more a showcase for those guys, but Magnus got in a few things. Hombre Bala seemed much toned down.

Match 4: Dalys © vs Estrellita for the CMLL World Women’s Championship
Arena Puebla, 05/09/2016

1. Estrellita casadora cradle (4:33)
2. Dalys deep hook cradle (1:10)
3. Dalys scorpion (4:26)

Winner: Dalys (2-1)
Match Time: 10:09
Notes: Magnus & Negro Casas were seconds. They stayed out of it.

Review: [ok] I mean, I guess it was fine? It’s a match I couldn’t mentally tuned out of as soon as it was announced and didn’t pull me into it. It felt more rehearsed than usual, and rehearsing itself isn’t a problem but they would react to things that hadn’t been done or seemed to things which didn’t make much sense except if the other person had forgotten to do something. The end of the first fall really felt that way, and the few moments of improving seemed to be ignored because it didn’t fit the script. To their credit, they planned a very exciting match and worked hard for the time they were out there, but the stuff they were trying didn’t look particularly great and there wasn’t much drama in the outcome. (Miguel Linares even noted that, calling it an easy with for Dalys.) Again, I wasn’t mentally giving it much a chance to start with, so you may get more out of this one than I did.

Match 5: Ángel de Oro, Stigma, Stuka Jr. vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
Arena Puebla, 05/09/2016

1. Hijos del Infierno
   • Luciferno Hooligan Clash Angel de Oro (4:21)
   • Ephesto shoulderbreaker Stuka Jr. (4:21)
2. técnicos
   • Angel de Oro huracanrana Lucifierno (1:47)
   • Stigma huracanrana Ephesto (1:47)
3. técnicos
   • Stuka torpedo splash Mephisto (4:31)

Winner: técnicos (2-1)
Match Time: 10:39
Notes: Stigma challenged for a trios title shot. Mephisto accepted, but they also attacked and unmasked the rudos.

Review: [ok] extremely rushed match, maybe trying to make up time from earlier matches going long (to make up for the people arriving late). They did probably all they were going to do, and the match itself was fine, and the dives at the end looked very good, but it was hard to escape they were just running thru things just to get them done. Hopefully next week’s title match gets more time to breathe.

Match 6: La Máscara, Rush, Arkangel de la Muerte, Shocker vs Marco Corleone, Máximo Sexy, Negro Casas in a relevos increíbles match
Arena Puebla, 05/09/2016

1. Team Shocker
   • La Mascara double knee smash Negro Casas (2:50)
2. Team Casas
   • Negro Casas casita Shocker (4:01)
   • Máximo kiss cradle La Mascara (4:05)
3. Team Shocker
   • DQ Rush [foul to La Mascara] (6:10)

Winner: Team Shocker (2-1)
Match Time: 13:05
Notes: Arkangel replaced Shocker – for about sixty seconds. Shocker then arrived and his team worked 4 on 3 for a few moments before Arkangel walked off.

Review: [ok] just a very strange match, with Shocker being there bit making the dramatic late entrance, then attacking his own teammates often. The Marco versus the Ingobernables came thru strong when they did it, and next week’s singles match should be fun, but there was also random comedy with the other guys. They gave this more time than the match prior to it but it didn’t feel like they did nearly as much. It was OK. I can’t think of much to say about most of the matches on this show, and this was one of them.