CMLL Puebla: 2016-08-22

Recapped: 08/22/2016

What happened: Mistico beat Cavernario in the main event. Demus beat Astral to set up a title match next week. Ripper cheated to beat Mephisto, setting up a rematch next week.

What was good: Mistico/Cavernario, the semimain and the minis match were all good

Where can I watch it: It’s on CMLL’s channel.

Match 1: París & Rey Samuray vs El Malayo & Fuerza Chicana
Arena Puebla, 08/22/2016

1. técnicos
   • Rey Samurai huracanrana El Malayo (8:30)
   • Paris huracanrana Fuerza Chicana (8:36)
2. rudos
   • Fuerza Chicana frontcracker Paris (4:34)
   • Malaylo anklescissor Rey Samuray (4:49)
3. rudos
   • Fuerza Chicana half crab Rey Samuray (4:13)
   • Nudo Malayo on Paris (4:45)

Winner: rudos (2/3)
Match Time: 18:10

Review: [ok] This started off well and had a lot of big moves for this level of match. The first fall end sequence didn’t make too much sense if you stopped to think about it, but they erred in trying to make it exciting. Fuerza Chicana flew in to nail that front cracker in the second fall. Things got more iffy in the third fall, with Paris having a bad fall. The match didn’t totally hold together, but it was better than usual for an opener. I don’t even know what to call Malayo’s submissions.

Match 2: Millennium & Robin vs Ares & Guerrero Espacial
Arena Puebla, 08/22/2016

1. técnicos
   • Millennium springboard moonsault Guerrero Espacial (6:04)
   • Robin sit down powerbomb Ares (6:25)
2. rudos
   • Ares plancha Millennium (3:57)
   • Guerrero Espacial powerslam Robin (4:14)
3. rudos
   • Guerrero Espacial powerbomb Robin (3:12)
   • Ares reverse double armscissors Millenium (3:30)

Winner: rudos (2/3)
Match Time: 14:09

Review: [ok] another generous grade, because this seemed fine – Robin was trying very hard, Guerrero Espacial’s powerbomb was good – but I couldn’t get into it at all. Millennium is an enthusiastic if not very accurate flyer, almost landing on his head in the first fall and overshooting in the third. Ares seemed to have no gear and enjoyed wrestling, but wasn’t much better unmasked. He also momentarily got lost on his own finish, which isn’t so great.

Match 3: Astral, Asturiano, Eléctrico vs Demus 3:16, Espíritu Maligno, Pierrothito
Arena Puebla, 08/22/2016

1. rudos
   • Espíritu Maligno springboard dropkick Asturiano (1:36)
   • Espíritu Maligno springboard splash Eléctrico (2:16)
2. técnicos
   • Astral & Eléctrico springbaord splashes Demus 3:16 (1:25)
   • Eléctrico springboard elbow drop Pierrothito (2:45)
3. rudos
   • Demus valagueza Astral (3:27)

Winner: rudos (1/3)
Match Time: 8:28

Review: [good] Very quick match, but a fast moving one. Maybe not having to go as long helped, since we got a lot of rudo hard chops instead of the heavy comedy side of Demus and Pierrothito. They also had really good teamwork at the end of the first fall, matched by the técnicos in the second fall. The dives in the third fall were outstanding. I’m not sure if the title match will be as good as this, but willing to have a little hope after last week.

Match 4: Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto vs Kráneo, Morphosis, Ripper
Arena Puebla, 08/22/2016

1. Invasors
   • Kraneo hip smash Mephisto (5:02)
2. Infiernos
   • Ephesto shoulderbreaker Ripper (6:00)
3. Invasors
   • Mephisto elbow drop Kraneo (2:16)
   • Luciferno wheelbarrow face first powerbomb (2:35)
   • Ripper foul Mephisto (3:07)

Winner: Invasors (1/3)
Match Time: 14:09
Notes: Hijos del Infierno worked as the técnicos. Luciferno demanded a rematch and tried to get the crowd to care. They did not. Ripper accepted.

Review: [below] I had no idea what this match was happening, and still have no really great idea. Both teams are slow lumbering rudos who really need someone else to bring the excitement. The crowd didn’t care about either of them winning, and the action really didn’t give them much idea to change minds. The end result of a Ripper/Mephisto title match doesn’t sound super good, but it may be better than all of this.

Match 5: Atlantis, Dragón Lee, Rush vs La Máscara, Shocker, Terrible
Arena Puebla, 08/22/2016

1. rudos
   • La Mascara double knee smash Rush (3:00)
   • Shocker double standing armbar Terrible (3:26)
2. técnicos
   • Atlantis casadora cradle Terrible (2:01)
   • Rush dropkick Shocker (2:08)
3. técnicos
   • DQ La Mascara [unmasking Dragon Lee] (4:50)

Winner: técnicos (2/3)
Match Time: 10:24
Notes: Dragon Lee was going for the double stomp when La Mascara ripped his mask off. Mascara tried for the pin, but that wasn’t going to work.

Review: [good] La Mascara & Dragon Lee have greatly picked up the intensity in the last couple of weeks and it carried a lot of the match. Their fights, and especially La Mascara’s superkicks, have looked pretty sharp and you can believe they actually hate each other. Shocker against Rush wasn’t so hot except for Shocker taking a hard dropkick, but the Rush/Terrible fight in the third fall was really good and makes me crave another round of matches between them. They did the mask pull in a different way, though it did totally expose Dragon Lee’s mask.

Match 6: Mistico vs Cavernario
Arena Puebla, 08/22/2016

1. Mistico torito (0:59)
2. Cavernario springboard splash (1:40)
3. La Mistica (8:48)

Winner: Mistico (1/3)
Match Time: 11:27

Review: [good] Pretty entertaining first time match, even without being the full out match they’re capable. The first two falls being sped thru was concerning, but we got a few extra spots in the third – Cavernario springboarding around generally – to make it feel special. These two meshed better than previous weeks (or were able to cover up their problems too.) Cavernario’s the only young rudo who’s going to stop to pound his fists into Mistico after dropping him onto the ground, and it makes these matches feel more like a fight. Mistico’s red parabola across his mask makes it look unlike a normal Mistico mask, but having his own unique look certainly doesn’t hurt.