CMLL Puebla: 2017-07-17 

Recapped: 07/18/2017

All matches aired live from on Arena Puebla

Matches: 

Fuerza Chicana & Rey Apocalipsis beat Black Tiger & Meyer
(18:34 [9:37, 3:41, 5:16], 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Joker, Pequeño Nitro, Pierrothito beat Astro, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito
(13:34 [5:30, 4:08, 3:56], 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Hijo del Signo, King Jaguar, Sangre Azteca beat Astral, Lestat, Tigre Rojo Jr.

(14:29 [6:34, 3:08, 4:47], 1/3, below average, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Ángel de Oro, Stigma, Stuka Jr. went to a draw with Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
(13:54 [3:41, 4:51, 5:22], 1-1-1 draw, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Carístico, Diamante Azul, Euforia beat Mistico, Pierroth, Volador Jr. in a relevos increíbles match
(11:30 [4:22, 7:08], 1/2, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Último Guerrero © beat Niebla Roja for the NWA World Middleweight Championship
(15:14 [3:11, 1:04, 10:59], 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

1. Niebla Roja roll thru plancha (3:11)

2. Último Guerrero Pulpo Guerrero (1:04)

3. Ultimo Guerrero Guerrero Special (10:59)

What happened: 

Ultimo Guerrero defeated Niebla Roja to retain the NWA Middlweight Championship.

Mistico replaced Rush in the main event. Caristico had been feuding with Rush, so he feuded with Volador again and Volador unasked him for the DQ. Carístico asked for one more fall. He did not get one more fall.

In the fourth match, the the usual tower of doom bit for near falls and actually got three counts. Luciferno & Ephesto had Angel de Oro & Stigma pinned at the same time Stuka splashed Mephisto. No one kicked out, and that combination of pinfalls meant the match was a draw. They kind of set up a rematch for next week.

Pierrohito challenged Shockercito to a title match, which explained why Shockercito actually had his title belt.

Thoughts: 

Not great matches, though some weirdness with finishes and people playing different roles.

Ultimo Guerrero just went thru a shorter version of his usual match, stripping out a few of the spots but still doing the usual thing. I wanted to see more out of Niebla Roja, but he didn’t really show that much more and the crowd was more into Ultimo Guerrero. They did tease an idea of Niebla Roja out smarting UG early on and last week, but didn’t follow thru in a way to make it meaningful.

The semimain was fun for being absurd: it was just as weird to see Mistico being evil as Euforia being heroic. Diamante Azul and Pierroth got totally lost at one point, and Volador was screwing around with this, but it was still fine as a different match than usual.

The Hijos del Infierno match was the best energy match of the night, even while being routine. Someone in this rudo group – maybe Mephisto – has decided to pick up the weird finish torch from Blue Panther and Averno and more weird is always appreciated.

The tercera was an exceedingly boring rudo squash, compounded by the second fall finish being screwed up. The rudos were DQed for being in the ring too long, which didn’t seem a planned finish, and the tecnicos were cost a comeback from it.

Astro’s really good, but even here it felt like he didn’t get to show it as much in the minis. The rest of the guys were just doing the same things they do on other shows, but not as much of it. Joker didn’t feel as big part of the match as usual, and it usually takes the local guys having a strong night to make an early match worth watching.

The opener had some action but was slow and awkward and times.