CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2017-07-28 

Recapped: 07/28/2017

Matches: 

Eléctrico & Stukita beat Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro
(16:42 [4:44, 2:46, 9:12], 1/3, ok)

Esfinge, Fuego, Pegasso  beat  Puma, Raziel, Tiger
(16:23 [6:20, 3:36, 6:27], 2/3, good)

Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón beat Drone, Soberano Jr., Titán 
(16:06 [5:03, 3:35, 7:28], 1/3, great)

Hechicero beat Stuka Jr. in a lightning match
(7:15, conjuro, good)

Blue Panther, Diamante Azul, Valiente vs Pierroth, Rush, Sam Adonis
(7:06 [1:38, 2:57, 2:31], 1/3, ok)

Carístico, Mistico, Niebla Roja vs Gran Guerrero, Mephisto, Último Guerrero
(11:49 [2:43, 3:27, 5:39], 2/3, good)

What Happened:

Niebla Roja beat Gran Guerrero in the main event and took his mask post match, further teasing a mask match between the two.

The first fall (Adonis) and the second fall (Panther) of the semimain both ended with someone shoving referee Edgar down. Blue Panther submitted Sam Adonis clean to the nudo lagunero in the third. Hype promos for next week followed.

Thoughts: 

The main event was solid, with Mistico really carrying it thru with big spots. (Carístico had a La Mistica issue in the second fall, and there was a nearly as awkward spot where he was standing on the apron forever waiting for the careta to be set up.) They’re trying so hard to make Niebla Roja/Gran Guerrero that it very slightly worked here but I think people would be disappointed with it as the Anniversario main event. It’s being forced to be something bigger than it is (a midcard match on the same lines of Adonis/Panther) and Niebla Roja is just not catching on. CMLL is so far behind this that it seems unlikely they’ll pull a detour, but it’s not a great path to be going down.

The semimain doesn’t fit the traditional good match description but it was a riot. Crowd keeps getting more into Sam Adonis; they’d be silly to have him lose right now, and the signs are he’s not. The disqualifications made the falls not be much but stirred up the emotion even more. The other four didn’t really fit in beyond having more people, but Diamante Azul third fall clothesline was really well timed and Rush played along with this well.

The lightning match wasn’t quite as good as some of the undercard, but it would’ve stood out on a lesser day. The early match work in this match was totally smooth. The rest of the match was more their ordinary bits, but done well. Maybe everyone in CMLL should stop going for moonsaults, they don’t work out for anyone.

The tercera looked like a show stealer on paper and lived up to it. The NGD as trios champs make sense because they come off as the possibly the best trio in Mexico. Their team work is great, their stomping the heck out of people to get boos is also great. The técnicos meshed together really well, with Drone stepping up level for the match and fitting in. There were some wild spots and some out of control moments: the triple corner dive looked like the end of them, btu they kept it together. There’s still room to improve with the NGD, they have moves that don’t come off as crisp or as impactful as they’d like. It’s crazy to think how much better they could end up getting.

The second match was good action the whole way thru. Fuego and these rudos have good chemistry, and Puma & Tiger push the pace really well. The match also randomly included a lot of hard running forearms to the face. Raziel looked a lot better than usual, with good people to push him to do more. All the lesser considers guys hit their spots and didn’t feel like they were lesser guys.

The opener looked like it was gong to be a pretty fun match, and actually was for a fall or two. They did a lot of good spots in the first fall and the rudos fought back with double teams nicely in the second. The crowd didn’t really give them a chance because it was an opener, but it was still watching until a lengthy and boring third fall. The rudos seemed to run out of things to do as they maintained control of the match, then técnicos comeback wasn’t all that exciting, and then the match just kept going and going for no particular reason. Match lost me by the end.