CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2017-05-26 

Recapped: 05/29/2017

All matches aired live from Arena Mexico

Matches: 

Cancerbero & Raziel defeat Flyer & Oro Jr. (13:19 [4:00, 4:36, 4:43], 1/3, ok, via thecubsfan)

Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus defeat Fuego, Star Jr., Stigma 
(16:42 [7:02, 3:02, 6:38], 2/3, good, via thecubsfan)

Puma, Sam Adonis, Tiger beat Blue Panther Jr., Rey Cometa, The Panther (15:12 [3:59, 3:32, 7:41], 1/3, good, via thecubsfan)

Stuka Jr. beat Pólvora in a lightning match (8:24, torpedo splash, ok, via thecubsfan)

Ángel de Oro, Mistico, Niebla Roja beat Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero (7:09 [1:25, 2:38, 3:06], 1/3 DQ, ok, via thecubsfan)

Bárbaro Cavernario, Pierroth, Rush beat Carístico, Marco Corleone, Valiente (11:15 [2:45, 2:43, 5:47], 1/3, ok, via thecubsfan)

What happened: 

Niebla Roja wore has a gold mask, complementing his brother’s mask instead of the Guerreors colors. I think it’s new, but not sure. It still has the UG design influence. Último Guerrero unmasked Niebla Roja for the DQ, then yelled at him for again not changing his mask. Último Guerrero vowed to keep taking the mask until Niebla Roja changed. Niebla Roja put on another version of his mask, and Último Guerrero took that one too.

There’s no sound for a couple minutes in the segunda because CMLL forgot to turn up the sound coming out after a break again.

The first fall of the first match started before I could start recording, and I guess I could’ve found someone else’s version but did not. It didn’t seem like I was missing much.

Thoughts:

This one of those shows where the middle matches were good and the bigger matches were not. At least they were setting up things in one of those matches.

Watching the invisible soccer game be down to Rush playing with La Mascara is the saddest thing ever. They’re never going to let the Los Ingobernables die, but they are so dead. Rush himself was still over, was still the biggest star in this match, still dropped Carístico hard on the Rush Driver for the absolute clean win. (Caristico’s rant on this CMLL run is going to be great someday.) This was the normal main event with no storyline going on and not the big working names, and the crowd seemed happy enough with it.

The semimain did a good job of establishing the issue if not exactly delivering a good match. The first two falls weren’t just quick,bbut there just wasn’t much to them and the third fall wasn’t a lot better. They may not have wanted to give up too much the first time, that just didn’t work for this match. Niebla Roja did fine with Último Guerrero for his first time in that role in a long time, but I kind of wanted more aggression and less normal tecnico offense.

The lightning match had big spots but really didn’t feel like it added up to a full thing. The dive off the stage is a fun thing to look, but they hadn’t really built up to that spot or anything else as it happened. It might have just been that the matches prior to it moved really well, but this one didn’t do a lot for me.

The third match was maybe even a little better than expected. Everyone was on for this one, the (many) superkicks looking sharp and the timing really great thru. Even Blue Panther Jr. seemed like there might be a good wrestler deeply buried inside him. I’m not sure how I finished this recap because I died when the camera missed the shot of the Cometa/Junior double superkick. At least the comedy bit before it was well done. The Panther somehow has gotten faster, and one day he’s going to accidentally fly thru the ropes he’s trying to hang in for an amazing GIF. Sam Adonis fit in this mix, and the last few seconds with him and Rey Cometa were solid stuff. Adonis may need to work on wrangling Cometa on dives, but there’s nothing stopping CMLL from booking that lightning match.

The second match was a lot more fun than CMLL usually has at that spot. Partly it was a bunch of people who normally work higher and better, partly because they did a lot more with the layout of the match than usual. The only thing rarer than a dive in the first two matches of a CMLL show is an interesting near fall, and there was a few of those along side some teamwork spot. Fuego may not be the top pick for a Virus opponent in a big match, but they’re great playing off each other in this middle of the show trios match environment, and Sagrado & Misterioso remain really good. Star had a good match too. This is not must see but an easy watch.

Opener didn’t work out well. Raziel seemed in a particular bad mood with Flyer in the second fall, making sure to mess up his nice new outfit. It derailed that section of the match, and it didn’t allow the técnicos to do enough to stand out. Oro & Flyer got in a bit more than most Cancerbero matches but they’re not really successful in the role of helping out youngsters. It does feel more like a fight at times.