CMLL on Marca: 2019-07-05

Recapped: 07/05/2019

Matches:

Espanto Jr. & Hijo del Signo beat Robin & Súper Astro Jr.
(12:32 [4:40, 2:19, 5:33], 1/3, below average, 00:00:00)

Pegasso, Rey Cometa, Star Jr. beat Okumura, Pólvora, Virus
(11:14 [6:21, 4:53], 1/2 DQ, ok, 00:19:25)

Atlantis Jr. went to a draw against Hijo del Villano III in a lightning match
(7:44, countout of the ring, good, 00:39:13)

Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © beat Esfinge, Titán, Tritón to keep the Mexican National Trios Championship
(23:30 [7:20, 4:23, 11:47], 2/3, good, 00:57:20)

Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Soberano Jr. beat Ciber the Main Man, Místico, Rey Bucanero in a relevos increíbles match
(8:41 [1:34, 2:22, 4:45], 1/3 DQ, ok, 01:31:27)

Carístico, Valiente, Volador Jr. beat Gilbert el Boricua, La Bestia Del Ring, Terrible
(7:58 [2:00, 3:15, 2:43], 1/3, below average, 01:50:17)

What happened:

Ciber unmasked Gran Guerrero to end the semi-main and to build towards next week’s singles match with Ultimo Guerrero

NGD retained the national trios titles over OneAtos Style.

Perro Aguayo was honored after the third match. It was the same video package and clapping as every other death, which seemed a bit underwhelming for someone who was as important to the fans as Perro.

Atlantis Jr. and Hijo del Villano III were brawling outside when the count reached twenty. They continued to fight after the match was stopped.

Polvora unmasked Star Jr. to end the second match.

Espanto Jr. appeared to suffer a right shoulder injury on a Super Astro Jr. dive in the second fall of the opener. His countout felt a bit unplanned. He refused to tag in during the third fall, was eventually checked on, and then finished the match to get the win for his team. He was back out in street clothes without a sling or any visible sign of injury for the Perro tribute.

Thoughts:

This show was better than it looked on paper. The main event was about nothing and the opener really had the Super Astro dive in it’s favor. The rest was around as good or better than expected.

The semi-main was a totally weird alignment, with one team working much better than the other. Soberano had cool teamwork ideas with the Guerreros, playing off the hundred of times they’ve thrown him around. Mistico and Soberano showed good chemistry as rivals and Mistico against these tecnicos is always going to have a few eye-catching moments. Rey Bucanero and Ciber were out of place, though the entire reason the match was happening was to get to Ciber unmasking Gran Guerrero to tease the match next week.

The Guadalajara version of this national trios championship match was a bit more dramatic. This one lacked a moment where the challengers seemed close to actually winning. They did have an on point for Triton, who pulled off a few incredible spots. Titan and Esfinge, for better and worse, are generally coming thru at the same level in these so Triton’s performances can really swing things. NGD was effective as a team though they’ve had more creative matches and didn’t feel as pushed as they were against the Oro/Roja/Soberano team. The finish was set up nicely, except for the CMLL cameras (missed it live) and Metalico) messed up the count. This is one where I had a hard time deciding on the grade.

Same thing with the lightning match. It’s Atlantis Jr.’s best and maybe most important match yet. He’s looked like a slight pale imitation of his father, with an extra headscissors thrown in, to this point. Atlantis Jr. really needed some offense to stand out on his own in a promotion built around tecnicos doing cool flippy stuff. (Just look at all the GIFs.) Gran Metalik is going to be very upset when he sees Atlantis Jr. took his ramp running headscissors, but he isn’t using it anymore and it helps Atlantis Jr. a great deal. Atlantis looked generally good during the match and Hijo del Villano III Jr. was willing to take the necessary bumps for him. They’re both progressing and not really ready roles they’re in, but CMLL doesn’t seem like they’re going to turn the heat down on this feud soon.

The second was an efficient professional CMLL midcard match. It was a lot of the usual stuff – you can put the Rey Cometa match in your head before it happens now – but it came together fine. Okumura didn’t stick out in his return and that was good news. Star Jr. was the one guy who seemed to be trying a bit more and a little differently, which was promising.

The opener was a usual opener that derailed a bit after Espanto’s injury. Super Astro Jr. is a future star if CMLL treats him like one. Leaving him in the openers hurts. Having him lose in the openers hurts more. I like Pegasso but Astro should be at least in his spot right now.