Tag: CMLL Martes

Recapped: 03/29/2017

All matches aired live on CMLL’s YouTube.

1. El Coyote & Grako (1/3) Magia Blanca & Sangre Imperial (11:44 [6:05, 2:34, 3:05], OK)
2. Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis (2/3) La Vaquerita, Sanely, Silueta (13:52 [5:30, 4:35, 3:47], OK)
3. Sagrado, Skándalo, Virus (1/3) Esfinge, Soberano Jr., Tritón (15:03 [6:56, 4:51, 3:16], OK)
4. Bobby Villa (counter dropkick) Titán (8:02, good)
5. Puma, Terrible, Tiger (2/3) Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr., Máximo Sexy (12:53 [4:24, 4:22, 4:07], good)
6. Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja (1/3) Atlantis, Matt Taven, Valiente (8:37 [2:24, 1:32, 4:41], ok)

What happened: 

This was almost a perfect nothing happening CMLL show until the main event. Niebla Roja showed up in a strange mood, refusing to help his partners and messing up their teamwork spots for no apparent reason. After many problems, Gran Guerrero and Euforia justifiably stomped Roja. That unfortunately led to them being cradled by the tecnico to put an end to the main event. It came off more like Niebla Roja was going rudo on his rudo partners, not that he was becoming a tecnico.

Thoughts: 

The main event was all about the angle, which originally seemed like the other Guerreros were betraying Niebla Roja, but then quickly become obvious that Roja was screwing with his partners. It’s hurt by being so random and without meaning. I hope Roja is just getting shifted to a different rudo unit, because he just showed a lot against Dragon Lee and flipping him (back) to a tecnico side seems as poor an idea as it was for Dragon Rojo, Misterioso and Sangre Azteca at different times. Some bigger shuffling of the rudo units is overdue, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

The semimain was the best match on the show. It wasn’t quite at the level of last week’s Puma/Tiger match, and didn’t go as far as that one. Maya & Drone fit well with them and Maximo & Terrible got in more spots. This is one where they’re hurt by doing this match every week on TV, unable to keep switching it up every week to make these feel different. It still was enjoyable.

Bobby/Titan was a more story driven lightning match than usual, driven around Titan hurting his left ankle early and Villa going after it often. It didn’t quite play into the finish, unless we go with the idea that Titan was slowed by the injury and got caught because of that slowness. Still, I want to give them credit for trying to do something with this match more than usual, and the story didn’t detract from the better than average action.

The tercera had some good parts if still missing something to some together as a match. Soberano deciding to bring the Fosberry Flop dive in regular rotation to CMLL is fantastic, there’s been no one doing it since Fuego gave it up years ago. Triton’s following the model of his old partner Mascara Dorada, going out of CMLL as strong as possible when he could’ve easily mailed it in the last few months. Virus clowning Esfigne is always approved.

I have a sneaking suspicion Silueta is only getting two matches this week because Estrellita fell down very hard, but she’s been nice to have onboard whatever the reason. She’s was more reliable than her teammates in this match, and her sequences early with Metalica were the best part of the early portion of this match (Metalica/Silueta is the greatest possible not-pushed CMLL women’s matchup.) Her moonsault wasn’t so good, but the rush of near falls on Dalys before her inevitable demise got the crowd. I thought Isis was totally going to miss on her pump splash (because her partners didn’t help her with the position) and she landed it fine, so there’s that.

The opener was more interesting than normal, because it was all rookies and they were better against each other than with they have been with veterans in the segundas. (That seems to be exactly the opposite the point of veterans, but understandable with these vets.) The rookies weren’t smooth or too exciting, it’s an opener after all, and Drako & Magia Blanca royally screwed up a rope flip spot in the third. Still, they pulled out a few new moves and showed more potential in this match than they had before.

Recapped: 03/24/2017

Matches: 

Cholo & Inquisidor beat Bengala & Leono (rudos 2/3, 17:51 [8:12, 2:51, 6:48], ok)

Nitro, Sangre Azteca, Skándalo beat Magia Blanca, Sangre Imperial, Starman (rudos 1/3, 15:21 [8:24, 3:19, 3:38], below average)

El Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón beat The Panther, Drone, Tritón  (NGD 2/3, 14:38 [4:49, 3:46, 6:03], great)

Guerrero Maya Jr. beat Virus in a lightning match (Sacrifica Maya, 9:59, good)

Negro Casas, Puma, Tiger beat Luciferno, Mephisto, Pólvora   (Team Casas 2/3, 14:50 [3:41, 4:22, 6:47], good)

Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero beat Carístico, Dragón Lee, Marco Corleone (Guerreros 1/3, 12:17 [5:26, 2:04, 4:47], good)

What Happened:

Nothing much!

Team Casas beat nearly the national trios champions in a very good match.

Guerrero Maya defeated Virus with less than a second left. It was amazing timing.

Magia Blanca was hurt when Nitro whiffed on catching him on a headscissors.

The Panther replaced his father in the tercera.

Ultimo Guerrero went into about the eight row of the crowd to confront a fan for completely unclear reasons; whatever happened must’ve happened while they were showing post fall replays. Nothing came of it, with Caristico brawling with UG to pull him back to the ring.

Thoughts: 

One of the best CMLL Tuesday shows in a long time, with fun midcard matches. The main event was good too but, if it had something like Cometa/Cavernario to end it, it would easily be better than Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.

I really liked both of the big trios matches, and I’m keep changing my mind on which one I’d rather better. (Part of the problem was forgetting to write down the ratings I had live; new format needs some work.) There were a lot of little things to like about the NGD match; the setup to Panther/Sanson sequence setting up Triton’s 450 splash was well down. Cuatrero stands out an athlete even with athletic flyers like the three here. The Dinamitas are at the stage where they’re constantly adding something, trying something new and it makes each match worth checking out. It really works that they’re facing the Panthers a lot lately, because it feels like when those Panthers debuted against Tiger & Puma and also kept surprising. Triton also looked great in this match, working hard even as he’s finishing up here and they’re having him lose every night in Arena Mexico. It’s a good sign for his US work. Forastero made things easier for himself by cutting out the ramp running part of his dropkick. It’s a trade of a little bit of the drama for a lot of difficulty.

The Casas trios match was a rare chance to see Puma & Tiger as tecnicos. (Negro Casas played Negro Casas, kind of existing beyond tecnico/rudo status at this point.) They worked nearly as well there as they do on the rudo side, and showed off great teamwork. This match felt more dramatic coming to the close. Nothing was really on the line, but this came off as the replacement for the owed title match, and was worked like the titles were on the line at the end. The huracanrana to end the second fall didn’t go well, but the third fall finish came off much sharper.

Guerrero Maya and Virus went about eight minutes without touching the ropes. They never actually bounced off of them, but used them for flying spots to get to the finish. The only problem with the match was it felt paced for a twenty minute match and they had half that amount of time, so they spent eight minutes working their way around in holds and the last two minutes trying to fit in the things the fans expected. The mat work was well done if not creative, but also a little lost on this crowd and probably much more appreciated by the people watching on YouTube. The timing of the finish was incredible, so unexpectedly perfect for CMLL that I can’t believe it was actually meant that way – like it was supposed to be a draw and the referee counted too fast for once. Everyone played it off like that was the finish (and it makes not much difference either way.)

The main event was a usual main event, with both teams getting in their high points but not too much to the match. Dragon Lee seemed on and the Guerreros were sharp. It made the match better than usual for this spot, but not something I’ll remember a week from now.

I think Magia Blanca overshot his target on the headscissors, but veteran maestro should’ve done a lot more to catch him. He may physically be unable to do so, he moves quite slow, but maybe that’s a reason not to put him out there. The biggest upset is they played out the third fall mostly normal instead of the usual quick to the end bit when there’s an injury.

It was nice to see Cholo is alive. Bengala didn’t appear to be thrilled to be in another boring opener, especially to take the Cholo Driver at the end.

Recapped: 03/15/2017

Show Data: All matches aired live from Arena Mexico. You can view the show on their YouTube channel. Also, we learned this week the mysterious MegaSports show that no one has ever seen is airing this show, so this show will air in front of a tiny audience at some point.

Match Results:

Eléctrico & Fantasy  beat  Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Olímpico (falls 1/3, 14:54 [7:34, 3:30, 3:50], good)

Drone, Metatrón, Starman  defeated  Arkángel de la Muerte, Canelo Casas, Nitro (falls 1/3, 19:34 [10:02, 3:23, 6:09], ok)

Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus defeated Esfinge, Fuego, Tritón (falls 2/3, 15:45 [7:11, 2:14, 6:20], ok)

Olímpico, Sam Adonis, Vangellys defeated Ángel de Oro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Johnny Idol (falls 1/3, 13:45 [5:24, 3:19, 5:02], ok)

Rey Cometa ©  defeated  Cavernario for the Mexican National Welterweight Championship (20:51, great)

1. Rey Cometa Spanish Fly (4:03)

2. Cavernario cavernaaria (1:44)

3. Rey Cometa Canadian Destroyer (15:04)

Marco Corleone, Máximo Sexy, Volador Jr. defeated  Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero, Terrible (falls 2/3, 6:23, ok)

Developments:

Rey Cometa cleanly defeated Bárbaro Cavernario to keep the welterweight title. Cavernario was stretched out after the match (in what appeared to be the usual selling of a Destroyer in a big spot.) Drone replaced Magnus in the second match.

Thoughts:

Comera/Cavernario was another strong chapter in their rivialry. It was full of big dramatic moments in the match, even while leaving some of their most dangerous spots in the back. They’re skilled enough to cycle things out and showcase other spots – Cometa’s rolling cutter felt knew, the superplex hadn’t been a big part of their previous matches but got over well here as a near fall. They set up the new set up for the cavernaria in the last match, used it in the first fall, and used it as a fake out again near the end. They’re also better at selling than they get noted for; Cometa’s worn down by the end of a match, crumpled in the corner after a particularly hard Cavernario chop. This had the big dives, and they all look spectacular. It just didn’t have the crowd reaction. This was a match the Tuesday crowd didn’t seem to have a strong connection with, and it took them a while to really get into it where it might have gotten a longer and bigger reaction on a Friday. It didn’t quite feel as good as their best work, but it’s a fine follow up to the match they’ve done before. Hopefully this leads to more for them both, even if it’s not against each other.

One of the advantages to this new format is I don’t feel the necessity to save five different versions of “this was a forgettable B-show match, but [A] and [B] did something good.” That’s particularly useful on this show, which felt kind of dead outside the title match. It wasn’t helped by running very long (with Arkangel’s match going a lot longer than needed, as always), but the effort wasn’t particularly strong. Half the people in the fourth match looked like they’d rather be doing anything else, and it was hard to miss.

The opener actually felt technically good, with Pequeño Nitro & Electrico having a few really good sequences. I couldn’t get into it himself – I’ve been numbed by the unending minis openers – but it was the obvious exception of people working harder than usual and might work better out of context.

Esfinge & Triton have a bunch of tag team spots, but seem to be running out of time to actually get a 2v2 match from CMLL unless Esfinge’s also going to Chicago. Drone being stuck back exactly where he was as Hombre Bala was some good gallows humor. Canelo looked halfway decent with him, but that’s a mirage. Starman’s finish is named the Starman Crash, and I didn’t even come up with that one.

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Recapped: 03/09/2017

What happened: Cavernario defeated Cometa in the main event to set up a title match between them next week.

What was good: I liked the third and fourth matches, and the main event was an effective set up for next week.

Where can I watch it: It’s on CMLL’s YouTube channel. Read More

Recapped: 03/01/2017

What happened: Rey Cometa & Cavernario sort of feuded in the main event, which I guess is supposed to be a feud going forward, but it just seemed like what they were doing on this show. The only other notable thing happened is Triton got a haircut before I did.

What was good: I liked the semimain, but it’s likely the boredom of this show broke me down and the good grade was more an indication of my will breaking. This is not a good use of two hours.

Where can I watch it: It’s on CMLL’s channel. Read More