Recapped: 03/15/2017
Show Data: All matches aired live from Arena Mexico. You can view the show on their YouTube channel. Also, we learned this week the mysterious MegaSports show that no one has ever seen is airing this show, so this show will air in front of a tiny audience at some point.
Match Results:
Eléctrico & Fantasy beat Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Olímpico (falls 1/3, 14:54 [7:34, 3:30, 3:50], good)
Drone, Metatrón, Starman defeated Arkángel de la Muerte, Canelo Casas, Nitro (falls 1/3, 19:34 [10:02, 3:23, 6:09], ok)
Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus defeated Esfinge, Fuego, Tritón (falls 2/3, 15:45 [7:11, 2:14, 6:20], ok)
Olímpico, Sam Adonis, Vangellys defeated Ángel de Oro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Johnny Idol (falls 1/3, 13:45 [5:24, 3:19, 5:02], ok)
Rey Cometa © defeated Cavernario for the Mexican National Welterweight Championship (20:51, great)
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Rey Cometa Spanish Fly (4:03)
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Cavernario cavernaaria (1:44)
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Rey Cometa Canadian Destroyer (15:04)
Marco Corleone, Máximo Sexy, Volador Jr. defeated Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero, Terrible (falls 2/3, 6:23, ok)
Developments:
Rey Cometa cleanly defeated Bárbaro Cavernario to keep the welterweight title. Cavernario was stretched out after the match (in what appeared to be the usual selling of a Destroyer in a big spot.) Drone replaced Magnus in the second match.
Thoughts:
Comera/Cavernario was another strong chapter in their rivialry. It was full of big dramatic moments in the match, even while leaving some of their most dangerous spots in the back. They’re skilled enough to cycle things out and showcase other spots – Cometa’s rolling cutter felt knew, the superplex hadn’t been a big part of their previous matches but got over well here as a near fall. They set up the new set up for the cavernaria in the last match, used it in the first fall, and used it as a fake out again near the end. They’re also better at selling than they get noted for; Cometa’s worn down by the end of a match, crumpled in the corner after a particularly hard Cavernario chop. This had the big dives, and they all look spectacular. It just didn’t have the crowd reaction. This was a match the Tuesday crowd didn’t seem to have a strong connection with, and it took them a while to really get into it where it might have gotten a longer and bigger reaction on a Friday. It didn’t quite feel as good as their best work, but it’s a fine follow up to the match they’ve done before. Hopefully this leads to more for them both, even if it’s not against each other.
One of the advantages to this new format is I don’t feel the necessity to save five different versions of “this was a forgettable B-show match, but [A] and [B] did something good.” That’s particularly useful on this show, which felt kind of dead outside the title match. It wasn’t helped by running very long (with Arkangel’s match going a lot longer than needed, as always), but the effort wasn’t particularly strong. Half the people in the fourth match looked like they’d rather be doing anything else, and it was hard to miss.
The opener actually felt technically good, with Pequeño Nitro & Electrico having a few really good sequences. I couldn’t get into it himself – I’ve been numbed by the unending minis openers – but it was the obvious exception of people working harder than usual and might work better out of context.
Esfinge & Triton have a bunch of tag team spots, but seem to be running out of time to actually get a 2v2 match from CMLL unless Esfinge’s also going to Chicago. Drone being stuck back exactly where he was as Hombre Bala was some good gallows humor. Canelo looked halfway decent with him, but that’s a mirage. Starman’s finish is named the Starman Crash, and I didn’t even come up with that one.
gif: 848/1103/
