CMLL Navidad: 2019-12-25

Recapped: 12/25/2019

Matches:

Robin & Sonic beat El Coyote & Grako
(12:24 [4:56, 2:42, 4:46], 2/3, ok, 00:00:00)

Chamuel beat Microman, El Gallito, Perico Zakarías, Átomo, Guapito for the CMLL Micros championship
(18:44, ok, 00:18:50)

• 08:35 Zacarias Nieblina Atomo
• 12:25 Gallito cavernaria Guapito
• 14:12 Microman handstand corner splash Zacarias
• 15:37 Chamuel reverse powerslam Gallito
• 18:44 Chamuel reverse splash (w/ropes) Microman

Dulce Gardenia, Flyer, Rey Cometa beat Kawato San, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero
(9:26 [4:27, 4:59], 1/2, ok, 00:46:40)

Marcela © beat Dalys for the CMLL World Women’s Championship
(14:58, 2/3, good, 01:08:59)

1. Dalys double wristlock cradle (4:30)
2. Marcela straight jacket cavernaria (2:27)
3. Marcela tapatia (8:01)

Atlantis Jr., Kráneo, Soberano Jr. beat Hechicero, Templario, Terrible
(17:56 [6:22, 6:08, 5:26], 1/3, ok, 01:33:01)

Diamante Azul, El Bandido, Místico beat Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
(12:49 [5:08, 3:00, 4:41], 2/3, good, 02:00:08)

What happened:

Mr. Niebla was honored between the third and fourth matches.

The tercera rudos were disqualified for excessive violence on Dulce in the first, then Kawato fouled Dulce in the second.

The micros match was a cibernetico, with tecnicos against rudos. Chamuel used the ropes to beat Microman.

Thoughts:

Bandido’s third fall run of big spots with the Guerreros is what was missing from the debut. That and actually pinning Ultimo Guerrero, which he accomplished here. Not everything was perfect but it felt like he came off as a bigger deal by the end of the match. Mistico seemed to be motivated by the competition to give a bigger match effort. (and got the careta tijeras spot that would normally go to Bandido in this spot.) There’s a bit of curve on this one, it felt like a very strong version of the usual Tuesday main match.

The semi-main cooled down a bit in the third fall, after what had been an entertaining (if lengthy) random trios match. Hechicero & Templario work together for ideas, though their ideas didn’t quite work well in the end. Atlantis Jr. hasn’t looked out of place in his matches, which is something that’s become surprisingly normal in the second half of the year. (CMLL may take him for granted; he’s been here all year and they don’t have an entrance video – Bandido had one by his second match!) This crowd loved Soberano in a way they usually don’t for tecnicos, though that might have been mostly the women.

Dalys/Marcela was a technically sound match that didn’t really feel alive. It barely produced emotion for me, except for some surprise when Marcela actually won and won clean. The crowd seemed more into it, though cutting to a crowd not reacting at all on the finish didn’t look good. There was no particular story here, but they did their usual offense and more of it as well as could be expected. Dalys’ selling being limited to grimacing doesn’t help the effectiveness of the moves, but they were pulled off better than in most CMLL women’s trios matches. There could’ve been a better build to a finish, with nothing really gone back to do except for Marcela’s double stomp.

Dulce/Kawato has concentrated on building up the heat and hasn’t really done much with the action. The hair match will surely be over and it’s unclear if it’ll actually be good. The chop exchange was good. Kawato seemed confident in his promo. The rest didn’t really have much to offer in this match.

Microman and Chamuel are much better than any other combination, which made the championship cibernetico mostly sixteen minutes of waiting until the good stuff. There were some fine moments before and a dive train where no one really wanted to be catching dives. The micros stuff isn’t going to look as technically sound as the others but perhaps CMLL should’ve cut to a different angle than the one that was showing Zacarias’ shoulder up from two inches away. Could’ve helped. Microman & Chamuel did some good work in the stint together and the inevitable title match should be a lot of fun. This could’ve been better.

All the guys in the opener are asked to do is to warm up the crowd. They warmed up the crowd fine. Those four work sufficiently well together, though the rudos really need to emote more when the match is going against them. They’re visibly into it when the winning but looking more frustrated or foolish would help the tecnicos get over for being crafty, and that’s the best chance Robin & Sonic have at getting over. Sonic’s tricky armdrags are the best part about him.