Recapped: 10/25/2018
Matches:
El Coyote & Grako beat Bengala & Leono
(11:51 [5:02, 3:08, 3:41], 1/3, ok,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Astral, Eléctrico, Robin beat Akuma, Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo
(11:30 [7:13, 4:17], 1/2, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Magnus, Stigma, Súper Astro Jr. beat Cancerbero, Nitro, Sangre Azteca
(12:19 [6:35, 2:40, 3:04], 2/3, ok,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Blue Panther Jr. beat Universo 2000 Jr. in a lightning match
(9:03, Blue Panther fujiwara armbar, ok,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Blue Panther, Kráneo, Volcano beat Felino, Máscara Año 2000, Rey Bucanero
(11:52 [2:54, 1:52, 7:06], 1/3, n/r,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Carístico, Stuka Jr., Titán beat Cuatrero, Euforia, Último Guerrero
(16:06 [6:08, 6:35, 3:23], 2/3, good,VideosOficialesCMLL
What happened:
Cuatrero attacks Titan before the match. They feuded during it, with Titan beat Cuatrero at the end.
Técnicos win the second match in straight falls. The rudos have a lot of friendly fire issues in the end, with Akuma & Hijo del Signo hitting each other three times in total before they’re both pinned. Espanto briefly tried to separate them, then gave up.
Thoughts:
The main event was the usual CMLL feuding match, where Cuatrero spent the match ducking Titan and that meant both of them weren’t in a lot. That good news is the other four guys showed really good chemistry, with Stuka specifically looking better than usual because he was working with the Guerreros. Cuatrero fit in with the Laguneros fine on the rudo side. What we saw of Titan & Cuatrero looked promising, and Titan did a bit more than in his debut. Hopefully he’ll be fine when it comes to the match
Universo and Blue Jr. had a sufficient match for two young guys who are usually good on their own. Universo has some of his father’s awkwardness in running and striking. His spinebuster looked good, wish his chops were better. The double knee drop is probably not a long-term great idea, but he’s at least he seems to have expanded on his offense since the last time they tried. Blue Panther’s sunset flip bomb looked nice but has the same flaw as Último Guerrero’s moves, needing Universo to climb to the rope against his better sense. They went close to nine minutes at an average pace. It just took them that long to do what they wanted to do, not that they were trying to get a lot in.
In both the third and the second match, the rudos were more willing to let the técnicos the usual. The third fall of the tercera as the sort of técnico showcase that usually happens higher up the card. It was the same old guys as usual, so I’m not sure what motivated the change, but it made the matches lightly more interesting than usual. Super Astro’s dive looked great at the end of the match.
The second match had a chance of pace by the técnicos being the ones to win in straight falls. They also took advantage of the short time to work at a fast pace, faster than usual because the técnicos controlled most of the action. Robin seemed a little bit off from other recent matches, though it was while trying a lot of things. Eléctrico was more of a background guy. I am not eager to see Signo as a técnico but it’d make more sense to Akuma, and this felt like more than usual bumbling.
Grako & Coyote made the opener more worth watching than usual. They brought some energy and more action than usual, and seem to fit together well. Grako’s rich oil guy tycoon cowboy outfit was amusing, and maybe Coyote is evil henchman. Bengala was as solid as always.
