Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr.beatHechicero, Rey Bucanero, Terrible (18:47 [10:11, 2:33, 6:03], 1/3, good, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Atlantis Jr., Carístico, Soberano Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón (12:44 [6:49, 5:55], ½ DQ, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
What happened:
Sanson fouled Caristico for the DQ.
Aereo is the most anonymous good wrestler in CMLL.
Thoughts:
a different double submission
The semi-main was very long for a Tuesday match, though it rarely felt like it was getting stretched out. Blue Panther doing a long even grappling exchange with Terrible isn’t exactly the way the semimain was expected to go, but that’s sometimes what you get from a Blue Panther match. Lately, you also get a strangely motivated Rey Bucanero in these matches too, and an interested crowd which didn’t give up despite the length. This wasn’t as strong as the other recent strong Panther/Bucanero trios match, but they did re-imagine some of the usual spots in a different order. It stood out for a Tuesday match.
The most interesting part of the fourth match is Diamond doing the same spots Sagrado did a decade and a half ago in his debut with a very similar gimmick, only to Sagrado. It goes better for Diamond than it did Sagrado and the match is getting good reactions until Oro Jr. messed himself up. Pegasso struggled in fall two and the third fall had a weird feel with no real comeback. Diamond coming back 1 on 3 – Pegasso was eliminated by pinfall despite Diamond breaking up the pin – would’ve been a great moment for a new gimmick but CMLL’s just not that into him.
Oro Jr., apparently attempting a Brillo dive, misses the middle rope and tumbles over the top rope. The fall looks more dangerous in real-time than it turns out to be, thanks to Oro Jr. being able to turn over, but it derails the match. Referee Pompin is too distracted to count the pinfall at first to the opening fall, then the following two are wrestled 3 v 2.
The lightning match had one of the least creative setups for a stage dive you’ll see. The crowd still cheered loud for a moonsault off the stage, so it’s not stopping any time soon. Coyote was willing if not always capable opponent for Super Astro, though two young guys working together meant this had highlight spots and not much in between. That walk to the stage really annoyed me but maybe others would get more out of this.
Diamante Azul & Gilbert el Boricuabeat Guerrero Maya Jr. & Universo 2000 Jr.in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(9:03, ok)
El Bandido & Último GuerrerobeatFlyer & 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 RojabeatDulce Gardenia & Okumura in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal (6:02, ok)
El Bandido & Último GuerrerobeatDiamante Azul & Gilbert el Boricua in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal
(3:38, ok)
Carístico & ForasterobeatFelino & Niebla Roja in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal
(3:53, ok)
Carístico & ForasterobeatEl Bandido & Último Guerreroin a torneo nacional increible semifinal (7:11, good)
What happened:
adios
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.
Bandido tornillo
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.
Big Mami, Dinastía, Mr. IguanabeatLa Hiedra, Lady Maravilla, Parka Negra (8:22, Dinastia twisting splash Parka Negra, good, 00:48:35)
Myzteziz Jr. & Octagón Jr. beat Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr. vs Súper Fly & Villano III Jr. (12:24, Myzteziz moonsault powerslam Villano III, great, 01:08:13)
Hijo Del Vikingo, Puma King, Rey HorusbeatRey Escorpión, Taurus, Texano Jr. (13:18, Vikingo Cuerno de Vikingo Taurus, great, 01:29:46)
La Bestia Del Ring, LA Park, Rush Toro Blanco beatLaredo Kid, Fénix, Pentagón Jr. (18:12, LA Park & Besita pin Laredo Kid & Fenix, good, 02:12:38)
What happened:
the power of murder
Laredo Kid returned after match one, thanked the fans for supporting him on Exatlon, and was beaten up by Los Ingobernables. LA Park claimed Laredo Kid embarrassed lucha libre by not winning on the show. Rush pointed out his brother Dragon Lee did not lose on the show (he left due to an ear injury) and was a much bigger star.
Laredo Kid replaced Dr. Wagner in the main event. Wagner was unmentioned outside of appearing in the Nutrideli ad. After Piero was taken out, Averno ran out and attacked Pentagon for reasons no one seemed to know. Los Ingobernables (using that name) pulled Fenix & Laredo’s masks before pinning them. Psycho Circus ran out to make the save and challenged Ingobernables to a match.
Puma & Taurus brawled to start the match and feuded the rest of the way, which the announcers claimed had been an existing issue. (Not in anything we’ve seen, perhaps something taped for TV which hasn’t been shared to the internet.) Mercenarios beat up the tecnicos and essentially pretended they won, promising the same in the trios title match at Rey de Reyes.
Parka Negra attacked Hijo de LA Park after the third match, as did Argenis attacked Myzteziz again. Parka Negra & Myzteziz left together as if a team.
Thoughts:
Pentagon hit Rush very hard
The overall effort level on this show was very high for an early February TV taping, all the way through to the main event. LA Park & Rush gave everything they could and took everything they could from the tecnicos. It’s night and day the lever of performances Rush is giving in AAA as compared to the last year of CMLL. Laredo didn’t shine as much as his partners but it’s remarkable how much he’s able to pick back up after being out for so long. There’s were a lot of previews of great singles matches which might not actually happen but were still appealing. There’s a certain level of funny business expected in Rush & LA Park finishes. Averno showing up and attacking Pentagon for no given reason (maybe the tag titles?) was a bit too random and took this down a little for me.
The Psycho Circus reunion could’ve gotten by on nostalgia and a squash and instead had a fiercely competitive match. Poder del Norte lost but looked like equals who were just out done in the end. The Clowns worked hard. Murder Clown looking impressive with the press slam over the post and then dive following it. There weren’t as many old spots (no piggy backsplash) but the Psycho Circus still looked impressive as a team, setting them well for their next feud.
Los Mercenarios had another very strong match in usual fashion against a team including Vikingo. They switched some stuff up – flying Escorpion was new! – and everything came off solid. Vikingo was on and the crowd was into him. Horus meshed well with these rudos and the random feud with Puma & Taurus gave them a lot as well. There’s not a lot of deviations from usual Mercenarios matches – except maybe flying Rey Escorpion – but they were sharper in front of an excited crowd. Texano may not want to take that casadora bomb again. It’s strange for the Mercnarios to lose and then act as if they won, but it did take a lot to put Taurus down.
Parkita Negra
The three-way tag match overachieved. The three teams meshed well and they kept the action going well for one of the longer match times on the show. Myzteziz looked sharp and pulled off big spots thru the shooting star press at the end. Villano III Jr. took the worst of everything as he did, but did get to shine a little bit. The crowd was strongly into this match because of the Parks, but they weren’t against the other teams. These sorts of multiperson matches seem like the best environments for the Parks at the moment, asking them to hit big moves and not carry the action themselves. This had an unbreaking pace like many AAA matches and held together to the finish.
Lady Maravilla probably shouldn’t be doing splashes to the floor in meaningless TV segunda matches, though that seemed much worse for Big Mami than her on that landing. The second match was a solid if a little less spectacular – though they still have space for Dinastia flying all over the place. The tornillo and his splash at the end looked good. They needed a little more time if this was going to be bigger, but it fit the purpose it was intended for.
The opener was the usual chaos, though sloppier than usual. The finish looked impressive and more so given how much Drago Kid was struggling to that point. Credit to Latigo for making it look sharp. Parkita Negra looked like the best guy in this match to that point, though Iron Kid was also really good as well. There are better openers but this was still worth a watch.
Barbaro Cavernario submitted Felino to la caverneria but was quickly disqualified for refusing to let go of the hold. Cavernario slapped Edgar for calling the DQ and continued to attack Felino until Negro Casas ran out to make the save. Zacarias spent the match conflicted on who to help and walked off at the end.
Tsukushi pinned Dalys with a casita in her debut.
Thoughts:
The main event was not bad but just the usual send them home happy Tuesday match. Some things didn’t go well but the lack of creativity was the biggest problem. It’s a match that I won’t remember specifically but will remember generally as one of many similar matches.
Cavernario/Felino was a strange match. Both men worked as rudos for most of the match, leaving the crowd with no real rooting interest. The middle of the match seemed more preoccupied with what Zacarias would do, and he never ended up doing anything. The wrestling was solid if unspectacular, but the finish – Cavernario getting disqualified for holding on slightly longer than usual – was weak for the story they were telling.
Casas reversing to the headscissors on Azul was cool. I have nothing I can think to say about the fourth match except I felt really tired during it and little caused me to wake up.
Forastero riding the motorcycle
Usual spots in the tercera, and back to the back matches with long falls. This one was because they were going two falls and wanted to go the usual time, but it felt like a second straight slow-paced match. It didn’t totally keep my interest.
Tsuskushi looked tiny next to the CMLL women and her size become the story of the match. She mostly worked with Isis, which was fine if not something immediately impressive. Tsukushi making no contact with her dropkick wasn’t a good look, though Dalys may have been partly responsible. The first fall felt long and slow, the second two rushed thru to get it back on track.
Ultimo Dragoncito’s suplex looked nice and he and Shockercito tried to mix some flashy offense to end an unnoteworthy opener. Pierrothito wasn’t much into the match and it was for the best it was quick. The timing on the wheelbarrow cutter in the first fall was bad, but entertainingly so.
Sanson stole Caristico’s mask and rolled him up for the win.
Thoughts:
mysitque is amazing
The main event got extra time but didn’t do much with it. That seemed the case for most of the matches on the show. NGD tried to do a cool Soberano flip into the reverse bear hug to set up the first finish. It didn’t work and it felt that was the end of trying. NGD worked slower than usual in charge, while the tecnicos just ran thru their usual offense. Forastero should consider wearing gear without a hole in them.
There often mismatches teammates in CMLL, but no one felt as out of place as Templario teaming with Shocker. Just two guys having a very different match, only united by a desire not be kissed by Dulce Gardenia. Templario bases for all the tecnicos in the third fall, Shocker walks around ringside for a moment to offer up people besides himself to be kissed by Dulce Gardenia. It’s not as much a balance as a weird counterpoint.
The first few minutes of the lightning match were rough. Stigma botched taking a headscisssors takedown then whiffed on catching Kawato on a dive. Kawato seemed to be working thru shoulder or rib pain the rest of the way. There weren’t any obvious problems past that, but it was slow and never interesting. Kawato kicking out of Stigmatica just to get pinned a move later was strange and didn’t any reaction.
The third fall of the women’s match is aggressively nothing after the first two falls seemed to have a lot to them. The first fall felt rehearsed as well, which made that third fall feel like something went wrong. Mystique is not great the tricky armdrags she’s trying but it’s vastly entertaining and I pray she continues.
Samuray & Asturiano are some times interesting but the opener was not. It fell apart after Asturaino fell out of the ring, with the most forced hanging stomp spot you’ll see. Wipe this from the memory banks.
Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Texano Jr. beatHijo Del Vikingo, Murder Clown, Puma King
(12:24, Taurus super Rosa Driver Hijo del Vikingo, good, 01:43:12)
Aerostar, Drago, PaganobeatBlue Demon Jr., Chessman, Monsther Clown
(11:38, Blue Demon disqualified for weapon usage, ok, 02:08:54)
Fénix, Pentagón Jr., Psycho ClownbeatLa Bestia Del Ring, LA Park, Rush Toro Blanco
(24:59, DQ for triple unmasking, good, 02:29:32)
What happened:
a different way to to do the table break; helped by having a table that will break
The rudos fouled all the tecnicos but took time to debate it with Tirantes before covering and didn’t get three. They unmasked the tecnicos and Tirantes did call the DQ.
Demon spit mist in Drago’s face and hit him with a hammer. He was caught with the hammer for the DQ. Demon continued to use the hammer post-match and handed it to Monster Clown to use. Monster Clown refused, so the rudos attacked him. Psycho & Murder Clown made the save, reuniting the Psycho Circus. Faccion Ingobernable attacked them, going straight into the main event.
Rey Escorpion demanded a trios title match after his team defeated Vikingo.
Argenis attacked Myzteziz after this match and unmasked him.
There was a bit of confusion over which bit they were doing first in the post-match of the mixed trios match. Mascarita Sagrada grabbed the microphone to talk but they left it off. Instead, Keyra came out to challenge Taya for the Reina de Reinas championship she never lost. Taya accepted a singles match. Mascarita Dorada then was honored for 26 years in wrestling with lots of clips of him being Mascarita Sagrada. They announced the AAA poll had been in favor of him returning to the Sagrada identity. As he was putting on the mask, Faccion Ingobernables got in the ring and destroyed him. LA Park and Rush talked for a while, establishing their team and promising to destroy everyone in AAA. They talked about their feud and teased that maybe they’d still fight at some point.
Thoughts:
almost
There are new people in the AAA main events but they haven’t changed all that much: rudos jump the tecnicos, tecnicos make a comeback with a pose, the tecnicos run thru their offense and then there’s a finish. The difference was there wasn’t much of a finish but the matchups were a lot better than usual. Psycho and Rush came across strong, LA Park and Penta teased that again. Fenix and Bestia is less of a good idea. The ending was flat; the Ingobernables style of constant disqualifications (to get out of finishes) doesn’t fit in AAA’s style (of screwjob finishes, to get out of clean finishes); cheating to beat Psycho or someone else would’ve fit better in that spot.
The hammer spots livened up a semi-main that was otherwise a bit calm by the standards of the rest of the show. Aerostar tried a new rope flip spot, which looked good but didn’t quite come through perfectly. Pagano really loves headbutting chairs and it wasn’t even the silliest way he killed himself in this match. Monster Clown re-joining the Psycho Circus was a great moment though it’s harder to figure out how it’s going to work long term.
The Mercenarios trios didn’t do totally click but it still was good. Fans chanting for Puma even when he wasn’t in was surprising. He did well when he was actually in. That Vikingo dive would’ve been an all-timer if they could finish it. He didn’t get as much in this one, with the rudos mostly beating him up, but he looked sharp with the rest. Mercenarios need to win every while to be taken seriously, and this win set up something.
triple dive
Poder del Norte seemed a little off in their match. Carta Brava being in the wrong place to catch Dragon Bane’s dive was the most obvious error, but they seemed a little slower than usual all match. Even the finishing sequence had the spacing on the moves a bit off. Still, there was tons of action, plenty enough to make it worthwhile. Myzteziz outshined his partners from early on, looking sharp on his moves. There were a lot of dives but the triple tornillo impressed the most; it’s gotta be hard to all grab the ropes in a way where they don’t pull it away from each other.
The mixed tag had some clunky moments but was overall fun. The finish didn’t totally work as planned – the cradle was more of a thumb – but the Dorada dive into a tijeras on Demus was great. The Iguana comedy seemed fun but there wasn’t a strong reaction to it. Iguana balancing it out with some headscsisors spots, later on, kept him from just looking like a comedy guy. Abismo Negro was better than he’s been.
The opener was the perfect insane match for AAA after a break. Lots of huge spots, constant action and a big pile up on the outside, exactly what you’d expect from an AAA match with lots of people. The teams, except maybe the makeshift Dinastia/Vanilla one, showed a lot of teamwork spots. Arez & Keyra came off surprisingly well. Maravilla took a lot of abuse before sneaking out the pin, though the bit with her (not very bald) head reveal kind of got spoiled by taking one move too many and losing her cap. The post-match attack was a bit random but worked with the over the top nature of the match.
Vanilla replaced Lady Shani. Maravilla stole a pin on Dinastia after he was flattened by a Hamburguesa splash. Big Mami declared her friendship with Nino Hamburguesa was more important than the tag team titles and wanted to keep teaming. They may have been about to kiss, but they were attacked by Stronghearts (CIMA, T-Hawk, Lindaman.)
