Tag: CMLL Marca

Recapped: 2020-03-13

Matches:

Diamond & Principe Daniel beat Cholo & Difunto
(12:59 [5:35, 3:40, 3:44], 1/3, ok)

Princesa Sugehit, Silueta, Stephanie Vaquer beat Amapola, La Infernal, La Metálica
(14:42 [8:10, 2:56, 3:36], 1/3, ok)

Hechicero, Luciferno, Rey Bucanero beat Audaz, Rey Cometa, Soberano Jr.
(14:59 [6:44, 3:45, 4:30], 2/3, ok)

Titán beat Pólvora in a lightning match
(9:46, double stomp, good)

Atlantis Jr. & Flyer beat Hijo del Villano III & Templario for the Mexican National Tag Team final
(23:19 [8:07, 2:16, 12:56], 1/3, ok)

Felino, Negro Casas, Volador Jr. beat Carístico, Cavernario, Diamante Azul in a relevos increíbles match
(9:08 [2:08, 7:00], 1/2, ok)

What happened:

Felino beat Cavernario in straight falls and said he’d win next week’s hair match.

Atlantis Jr. & Flyer won the national tag team championships in a tournament final.

Fans were given hand sanitizer upon entering the building (which seemed to be the case at all sporting events.) Attendees going in the garage entrance had their temperature checked as well. This did not appear to be the case for all the entrances.

Thoughts:

The main event was another quick match, with the only purpose of Felino getting the win to show he’s going to win next week (and telegraph he won’t.) They tried for the eight minutes they had, but it was just a few highspots and out. It had a lot of action and go where it needed to go quick.

The moment seemed too big for the four guys in the tag title match. Atlantis Jr. forgot to move out of the way of a partner hits teammate by mistake spot in the second fall (and somehow Villano III was the one who knew what to do.) Templario and Villano III did a weird set up for a Villano III dive. Flyer looked done with half the third fall left. They tried hard and the crowd got into it, but they also looked less impressive than most everyone in the two prior matches. Atlantis Jr. has enough big spots to impress and the first fall was solid mat work, but this title match felt like a reduction of CMLL big match standards.

Polvora knocked Titan out of the sky early in their match, and it set up a great comeback from a lower leg injury story. Too great, because it seemed like the doctor bought it as well and slowed down the match to check on him. Titan fought back, did some cool double stomps, and survived a Super Polvora Driver to win. He’s 2020 skill pickup is dramatic injury selling and he got it over with the crowd here again. Polvora worked with more aggression than in normal trios matches and they made the most out of it.

Rey Bucanero nailed the frontcracker off Hechicero’s reverse monkey flip and not a lot else. He had trouble basing and got completely lost with Soberano at the end of the first fall of the tercera. It distracted from what was a hot match otherwise, with the crowd getting into the usual tecnico high spots. Hechicero tried to be a one-man guy keeping it together and Lucifierno was fine, but it didn’t totally come together.

Stephanie Vaquer tried a lot we don’t normally see in women’s match – she did the grab your heel escape from a hammerlock of all things – and stood out more impressively in that match that she had before. La Infernal stood out too, as she got badly lost in the third fall. The women’s match was otherwise nothing special though Sugehit did get a clean win leading into her title match.

Difunto & Principe Diamante got for Guadalajara wrestlers to be on a Friday Arena Mexico show. They seemed fired up for it, Daniel showing a lot of fire and Difunto trying to take big bumps. Difunto seemed more main roster ready (whatever that means at this point), and they both had stronger nights than the regular CMLL guys. Diamond doing Santo spots and messing up others is getting him nowhere.

Recapped: 03/06/2020

Matches:

Mercurio & Pierrothito beat Fantasy & Shockercito
(12:44 [4:48, 3:38, 4:18], 1/3, ok)

Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Dulce Gardenia beat Misterioso, Sagrado, Virus
(16:29 [8:33, 4:42, 3:14], 1/3, ok)

Titán beat Soberano Jr. in a lightning match
(9:09, springboard double stomp, good)

The dumb battle royal went 2:49.

Rey Cometa & Star Jr. beat Pólvora & Vangellys in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(6:39, ok)

Atlantis Jr. & Flyer beat Cancerbero & Raziel in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(6:17, ok)

Felino & Tiger beat Drone & Esfinge in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(2:38, ok)

Rey Bucanero & Shocker beat Audaz & Fugaz in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(2:47, below average)

Atlantis Jr. & Flyer beat Rey Cometa & Star Jr. in a Mexican National Tag Team quarterfinal
(4:38, ok)

Felino & Tiger beat Rey Bucanero & Shocker in a Mexican National Tag Team quarterfinal
(1:23, n/r)

Atlantis Jr. & Flyer beat Felino & Tiger in a Mexican National Tag Team semifinal
(7:04, below average)

Carístico, Valiente, Volador Jr. beat Cavernario, Euforia, Último Guerrero
(5:53 [1:28, 4:25], 1/2, ok)

What happened:

Atlantis Jr. & Flyer advanced to the finals of the national tag team tournament. They’ll meet Templario & Hijo del Villano III next week.

The main event ended in two falls, both cleanly.

Thoughts:

There wasn’t much on this show. The tournament got the most time and was perhaps the weakest of the four blocks in this stretch. Star Jr. & Rey Cometa were impressive, Raziel & Cancerbero tried, Atlantis looked good, but both the wrestlers and the programming left a lot to be desired. There’s no reason Bucanero & Shocker should be wrestling twice. They barely wrestled in either match they were in. Flyer wrestled with all the passion and excitement of someone told on Friday afternoon that they’d now also be working the weekend. Flyer also tired badly in the closing stretch of the final, which was bizarrely booked around him. His generic spots looked worse than usual. Felino & Tiger didn’t take the chance to show anything special as a team, and the final was all about waiting for a Cavernario appearance that never actually happened.

Soberano & Titan was the match of the night, though it wasn’t a complete success. It never developed past being a firework show, but it still is some good fireworks. Soberano looked on point with his flying, Titan was his equal and he added a little bit of rudoness to give the fans some rooting interest. They could’ve used more time to build up the match but they got the most they could in eight minutes. Titan doing his double stomp early and then coming back for it a second time is an unusual deviation from usual CMLL finisher psychology.

The rest wasn’t much worth writing about. The main event was rushed through. The concept might have been to show the tecnicos stand a very good chance of beating the Guerreros, but no one really thought much about the trios title match during the brief time the match lasted. A promo after the match could’ve helped; one not happening suggests the match actually was just short because they were rushing. Dulce Gardenia brought out the best of his teammates and opponents in the segunda, but the match didn’t come together in a memorable way. Shockercito did his usual good spots with Pierrothito and Mercurio, but the opener had nothing to offer beyond that.

Recapped: 2020-02-28

Matches:

Akuma & Espanto Jr. beat Halcón Suriano Jr. & Sonic
(9:30 [5:00, 1:56, 2:34], 1/3, ok)

The dumb battle royal went 2:28

Disturbio & Virus beat Pegasso & Stigma in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(4:45, ok)

Hijo del Villano III & Templario beat Dulce Gardenia & Fuego in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(6:59, ok)

Ephesto & Luciferno beat Black Panther & Blue Panther Jr. in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(3:30, ok)

Soberano Jr. & Titán vs Misterioso Jr. & Sagrado in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(5:56, ok)

Hijo del Villano III & Templario beat Disturbio & Virus in a Mexican National Tag Team quarterfinal
(5:24, ok)

Soberano Jr. & Titán beat Ephesto & Luciferno in a Mexican National Tag Team quarterfinal
(5:18, ok)

Hijo del Villano III & Templario beat Soberano Jr. & Titán in a Mexican National Tag Team semifinal
(13:43, good)

Felino, Negro Casas, Terrible beat Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja
(17:25 [5:59, 8:00, 3:26], 2/3, ok, )

Carístico & Forastero beat Cavernario & Volador Jr. in the Torneo Nacional Increible de Parejas final
(12:19 [4:18, 8:01], good, ½)

What happened:

Felino distracted Cavernario (and Volador), leading to Caristico & Forastero beating them in a straight fall tournament win.

Templario & Hijo del Villano III advanced in the national tag team tournament bracket.

Thoughts:

The main event followed a dreary semi-mas well as a tournament final that was all about near falls and was going to have a bad WWE distraction finish. It would’ve taken a special to succeed in that spot. Caristico, Forastero, Cavernario, and Volador just had an ordinary high spot tournament final instead. They got more time and probably was technically better than the other one, but that finish was lame and this was still the second one to air, which made it feel too same-ish. CMLL (purposefully) lacks variety in their styles and this is a night where it hurt the enjoyment of the show. The tournament format also hurt, since there wasn’t a natural tecnico team to root for and neither team tried to played rudo. Forastero did do well in this situation, keeping up and having the best of the night. The effort was there, just the first fall wasn’t much and the second fall was extra extended since they weren’t doing three. Even the finish didn’t feel like they had built up to a big moment; Cavernario doesn’t win big with that splash. It all added to a that was fine during the time but I can’t imagine watching again.

The only purpose of the semi-main seemed to be as a buffer between the two tournaments. It was set up for people to get in, work quickly, and get out. Instead, they worked very slow and long. I have no idea what happened or why it did happen. This was persistently boring.

The tournament final is the one of the block worth your time. Dulce remains good and only got one round out of it. Other teams tried and the match didn’t develop. Luciferno & Ephesto really shouldn’t have gone two matches (and maybe one.)

Templario & Hijo del Villano III versus Titan & Soberano suffered a bit from going straight into dramatic back and forth near falls with no build. It took a while in a drama to build enough to match what they were doing. Hijo del Villano III was also inconsistent and didn’t feel like he raised his level to meet the other three people. Soberano & Titan showed more teamwork, which made Templario overcoming them both more impressive.

Recapped: 2020-02-21

Matches:

Magnus & Retro beat Akuma & Espanto Jr.
(12:08 [4:47, 3:36, 3:45], 1/3, ok, 00:00:00)

Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis beat Marcela, Mystique, Sanely
(13:49 [7:52, 2:00, 3:57], 2/3, ok, 00:17:23)

Blue Panther Jr. beat Vangellys in a lightning match
(7:09, half crab, ok, 00:39:08)

Carístico, Diamante Azul, Titán beat Ephesto, Mephisto, Terrible
(15:30 [5:45, 3:25, 6:20], 2/3, ok, 00:50:35)

The dumb battle royal went 2:00

Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr. beat Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(7:26, ok, 01:23:14)

Ángel de Oro & Sansón beat Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(6:00, ok, 01:33:49)

Atlantis Jr. & Negro Casas beat Cuatrero & Valiente in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(5:00, ok, 01:42:26)

Cavernario & Volador Jr. beat Soberano Jr. & Templario in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(3:52, ok, 01:50:12)

Ángel de Oro & Sansón beat Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr. in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal
(5:08, ok, 01:57:15)

Cavernario & Volador Jr. beat Atlantis Jr. & Negro Casas in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal 
(2:39, ok, 02:04:29)

Cavernario & Volador Jr. beat Ángel de Oro & Sansón  in a torneo nacional increible semifinal 
(7:35, ok, 02:09:19)

What happened:

Volador & Cavernario advanced to the block final, facing Caristico & Forastero next week. Caveranrio notable beat Negro Casas in a block final.

Thoughts:

Last week’s tournament shined because there was an exciting team getting to have good matches and making it through three rounds. There wasn’t any of that this week. Angel de Oro & Sanson were there physically but not mentally, showing little effort as a team or opponents. Volador & Cavernario were impressive and did show effort, and got shorted on time. That time didn’t go to anything good; Blue Panther/Fuerza Guerrera tried but were a bit exposed by the end. Espiritu & Cometa made the most of what might be one chance to the team, but their opponents weren’t there for them. Templario & Soberano had no chance to do anything. The crowd did care about the final but this was a slog to watch. The whole show was that way.

The Caristico trios was the best match on a fairly boring undercard. There weren’t any surprises in this one either, with the match going exactly as expected for these guys in this spot. Titan did his rope flip armdrag trick, Diamante did his ramp dive, Caristico walked up the ropes for an armdrag, you’ve seen this match. The usual tecnico big spots did wake up a drowsy crowd. Caristico seemed slow, or Ephesto & Mephisto were a little off setting up him up.

The lightning match was two big men moving slowly with Panther trying to do flying spots and not looking good at them. Vangellys didn’t look good at anything but he was also not trying to do much so it’s about correct. They didn’t blow anything but there’s not a lot to recommend about this.

The first fall of the women’s match was slow and felt too obviously like a rehearsed match. The pace picked up in the later falls. One thing you pick up after watching too many of these matches is Dalys always catches the dive, which also means she’s not there to take the one pinfall her team has to take. Mystique is trying to do a lot that she’s just barely pulling off, and it seems like a recipe for disaster.

The opener was the usual waste of time. They keep putting Retro’s big offense leading into the rudos winning, which seems like a waste to me. He still somehow looked the best of the four guys, though that may have been by design. Magnus should switch from a backbreaker to a tilt-a-whirl slam if he doesn’t want to put the knee out.

Recapped: 2020-02-10

Matches:

Arkalis & Robin beat Akuma & Espanto Jr.
(10:31 [5:02, 2:23, 3:06], 2/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Kawato San, Okumura, Virus beat Diamond, Drone, Fuego
(13:21 [6:09, 3:02, 4:10], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Ephesto, Mephisto, Negro Casas beat Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Stuka Jr.
(12:17 [3:29, 4:24, 4:24], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Soberano Jr. beat Templario in a lightning match
(8:46, fire driver, great, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Euforia, Gilbert el Boricua, Gran Guerrero beat Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán
(11:58 [4:24, 2:06, 5:28], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Carístico, Cavernario, Valiente beat Diamante Azul, Felino, Último Guerrero in a relevos increíbles match
(11:35 [5:00, 6:35], 1/2 DQ, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

What happened: 

Cavernario faked a foul from Felino for a straight falls win. Felino demanded a singles match next week and a hair match in general.

Diamond debuted his modified outfit here.

Thoughts: 

I wish I had watched these CMLL shows in order since it was clear here that Felino was meant to be the tecnico against Cavernario. (Or maybe it’s still a problem it didn’t come across that way the following week.) Felino and Cavernario feuding was the story point in this match, though it came off as oddly background to let the other get in their spots. The crowd did enjoy that part, though it didn’t do a lot to set up the big feud as something special.

Most of the matches on the show were like the semi-main: performed well but performed doing a lot of the usual spots. Gilbert looks better this time around, though that may be the tecnicos taking his spear very well. Guerreros remain efficient as a team.

Soberano and Templario went hard for the less than nine minutes they had, rushing to get a lot in. Templario felt like he dominated most of the match, having a counter for most of what Soberano tried. He just couldn’t put Soberano away, and couldn’t break up Soberano’s sequence at the end. Templario’s tope into an armdrag was great and the layout made this feel different than the recent touring match. It also felt like they had a lot longer match to do that couldn’t fit in here, and it made it a bit of a borderline pick.

Negro Casas & Stuka had a nice back and forth of falls which didn’t at all play off into the finish of their match. That’s fine. It was fine.

The segunda was sold. CMLL hasn’t done Diamond any favors with his usage – he’s protected from the deciding pin but still is on the losing end here. Diamond, or who ever’s helping him come up with his style, is doing himself any favors either. He does the Cometa apron headscissors and the Titan handstand cradle in this one. He does them fine, but Diamond isn’t adding anything in a crowded landscape; his partners outshined him. Kawato’s new gear looks nice.

The opener was slower and clunkier than most of these. The tecnicos teased dives to end the first fall, posed instead, and were immediately beaten. (Not exactly immediately, Espanto couldn’t figure out how to get his finish to work, but you get the idea.) Maybe change things up here in general.

Recapped: 2020-02-14

Matches:

Cancerbero & Raziel beat Eléctrico & Oro Jr.
(14:46 [7:01, 4:48, 2:57], 2/3, ok)

Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis beat Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Tsukushi
(17:35 [8:15, 2:46, 6:34], 1/3, ok)

Atlantis Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. beat Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas
(8:55 [2:49, 2:29, 3:37], 1/3, ok)

The dumb battle royal went 3:25

Diamante Azul & Gilbert el Boricua beat Guerrero Maya Jr. & Universo 2000 Jr. in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(9:03, ok)

El Bandido & Último Guerrero beat Flyer & Hechicero in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(4:47, ok)

Carístico & Forastero beat Mephisto & Titán in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(5:28, ok)

Felino & Niebla Roja beat Dulce Gardenia & Okumura in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(6:02, ok)

El Bandido & Último Guerrero beat Diamante Azul & Gilbert el Boricua in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal
(3:38, ok)

Carístico & Forastero beat Felino & Niebla Roja in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal
(3:53, ok)

Carístico & Forastero beat El Bandido & Último Guerrero in a torneo nacional increible semifinal
(7:11, good)

What happened:

Forastero & Caristico won three matches, advancing to the 02/28 tournament final.

Thoughts:

CMLL had to be thrilled with how the tournament went. Most of the matches aren’t worth going out of your way to see standalone, but the hour of matches coalesced into an entertaining product. The Ultimo Guerrero & Bandido team was about as successful as could be possible in three matches. They had great teamwork, and most of that teamwork was about Bandido doing something incredible. Bandido & Caristico also meshed great in the block final, with Caristico pulling off moves he’d never try normally. I’m not sure what more should be done with Bandido and UG, but this is the most effective Bandido has come across in CMLL.

That team was the best, despite not winning. They weren’t the only contributors. Caristico & Forastero were less exciting but still a solid winner. Dulce Gardenia continues to get moreover, producing the biggest reaction for a Okumura match in a long time. (It seemed a mistake to eliminate Gardenia after one match.) Hechicero & Guerrero Maya appeared extra motivated by the opportunity to face different people, playing off Bandido & Mesias well. Titan & Mephisto had the best matching gear and made the most of a short rudo bit. The crowd bought into this tournament, especially the final, making this a better watch than it seemed when the opener was getting no reaction.

The tercera was the shortest of the three opening trios matches, though they did much more than expected giving Volador’s unhappy expression walking to the ring. It was a race through the tecnico highspots, only broken up by the rudos quickly winning the second fall. Negro Casas seemed determined to break himself, between taking the Valiente tope and a hard tumble out of the ring. Atlantis Jr. has two good runs of offense in every match and no more. Though that seems to be the case for most every midcard CMLL tecnico.

The rating on this Friday’s women’s match and last weeks is the same, but this was the more successful of the two. Tsukushi got a good showcase to start the match and came off as more of a star this time around. The rest of the action was steady if not impressive; it didn’t drag as much as last week despite going just about as long. The Dalys backbreaker was an impressive spot.

Raziel kicking Oro Jr. directly in the side of the head wasn’t nice. Neither was the rest of the opener. The rudos mailed it in with no particular speed or quality, blowing one of their double teams in an obvious fashion. They didn’t give the tecnicos much outside the first fall and there’s no great need to watch this one.