Zacarias would’ve kept dancing forever if they let ihm
Recapped: 2020-02-24
Matches:
Astro & Hijo de Centella RojabeatEspíritu Maligno & Policeman
(11:43 [6:46, 2:34, 2:23], 2/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Fuego, Joker, StigmabeatDark Magic, Diamond, Okumurain a relevos increíbles match
(16:20 [6:57, 3:41, 5:42], 2/3 DQ, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Shocker, Templario, Virus beat Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Volador Jr.
(13:34 [5:59, 2:28, 5:07], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
The dumb battle royal lasted 3:15
Ángel de Oro & Niebla RojabeatFelino & Negro Casas in the torneo de parejas familiares quarterfinal
(7:38, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Cuatrero & SansónbeatDrone & Rey Bucanero in the torneo de parejas familiares quarterfinal
(8:06, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Gran Guerrero & Último GuerrerobeatMáscara Año 2000 & Universo 2000 Jr. in the torneo de parejas familiares quarterfinal
(3:52, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Euforia & Soberano Jr.beatEphesto & Luciferno in the torneo de parejas familiares quarterfinal
(5:05, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Cuatrero & SansónbeatFelino & Negro Casas in the torneo de parejas familiares semifinal
(3:03, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Gran Guerrero & Último GuerrerobeatEuforia & Soberano Jr. in the torneo de parejas familiares semifinal
(2:01, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Cuatrero & SansónbeatGran Guerrero & Último Guerrero in the torneo de parejas familiares final
(4:58, DQ, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
What happened:
chops and chops
NGD fouled Gran Guerrero, which wasn’t seen. Ultimo Guerrero unmasked NGD, which was seen.
Templario challenged Volador to a title match.
Okumura blatantly fouled Stigma. There was no obvious reason why that was otherwise a Relevos Increibles match.
Thoughts:
The final trios match of the night had the best action of the show, though it didn’t transcend from usual trios match into something special. Templario and Volador didn’t have perfect chemistry but Templario did react differently to Volador than most of the people he faces and it’ll at least be a different match. A rudo actually beat a tecnico cleanly in deciding fall to build up a match, a finish I’m not sure CMLL was aware they could still do. Shocker takes headscissors is rough for everyone.
Astro moves so much faster and impressively than anyone else in his match that I started looking at the difference for a Tlaxcala resident in between traveling to Puebla to Mexico City. Astro’s got to think about adding 45 minutes each way because he shows too much promise to train in Arena Puebla hoping for a chance in the next decade.
This was delayed so I could finish off a Catch Up post. There’s less stuff on the indies that I’ve wanted to watch so far, making it a bit of a struggle. I didn’t realize this TV week would also include no match I actually liked until I got this far. Maybe the Hechicero/Drone match will be good later on.
I did figure out a bug in my MOTYC list that’ll make my life easier, so this week was totally useless.
recommended matches
none
other matches watched
rating
matches
TV Show
taped
ok
Diamante Azul, Soberano Jr., Titán vs Gran Guerrero, Shocker, Último Guerrero
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-17
2020-02-17
ok
Felino, Negro Casas, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Cavernarioin a relevos increíbles match
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-17
2020-02-17
ok
Oro Jr., Retro, Robin vs Grako, Hijo del Signo, Nitro
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-18
2020-02-18
ok
Diamond, Dulce Gardenia, Stigma vs Misterioso, Okumura, Sagrado
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-18
2020-02-18
ok
Rey Cometa vs Universo 2000 Jr.in a lightning match
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-18
2020-02-18
ok
Kráneo, Stuka Jr., Volcano vs Hechicero, Luciferno, Vangellys
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-18
2020-02-18
ok
Ángel de Oro, Atlantis Jr., Carístico vs Euforia, Felino, Último Guerrero
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-18
2020-02-18
ok
Magnus & Retro vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Marcela, Mystique, Sanely vs Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Blue Panther Jr. vs Vangellysin a lightning match
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Carístico, Diamante Azul, Titán vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Terrible
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera vs Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr. [torneo nacional increible] and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs Ángel de Oro & Sansón [torneo nacional increible] and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Cuatrero & Valiente vs Atlantis Jr. & Negro Casas [torneo nacional increible] and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Soberano Jr. & Templario vs Cavernario & Volador Jr. [torneo nacional increible] and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr. vs Ángel de Oro & Sansón [torneo nacional increible] and in a tournament quarterfinal match
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Atlantis Jr. & Negro Casas vs Cavernario & Volador Jr. [torneo nacional increible] and in a tournament quarterfinal match
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
ok
Ángel de Oro & Sansón vs Cavernario & Volador Jr. [torneo nacional increible] and in a tournament semifinal match
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2020-02-21
2020-02-21
not rated
Hijo de Centella Roja, King Jaguar, Meyer vs Ares, Black Tiger, Guerrero Espacial
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-17
2020-02-17
not rated
Astro, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Espíritu Maligno, Joker, Pierrothito
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-17
2020-02-17
not rated
Diamond, Fuego, Stigma vs El Perverso, Espíritu Negro, Toro Bill Jr.
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-17
2020-02-17
not rated
Bengala & Sonic vs Apocalipsis & Inquisidor
CMLL YouTube: 2020-02-18
2020-02-18
not rated
Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. vs Blue Panther, Ángel de Oro, Atlantis Jr., Valiente, Stuka Jr., Rey Cometain a battle royal match
This is the occasional series watching selected matches from shows/promotions I don’t recap weekly or don’t want to cover a full show. I’m trying to just write about stuff that I find interesting.
Fuerza Guerrera NG, Puma King, Séptimo Dragón vs Demonio Infernal, Dragón Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus
(IWRG @ 01/05, 15:14, good, +LuchaTV)
A well-worked trios match without a lot of memorable moments. The teams worked well within each other (or at least communicated quickly when they weren’t on the same page) and the match kept moving with good action and the finish was a nice reversal on an earlier tease. Not everything hit perfectly but the match was smooth and moved along well for fifteen minutes. Demonio Infernal fits in these matches fine despite seemingly being a step slower than them.
Dragon Bane sault
Ángel Jr., Esfinge, Sky Bird vs Aramis (Estado de México), Black Terry, Freelance
(915-656 @ 01/12, 23:22, good, Estrellas del Ring)
This is a three fall match, though it’s not entirely clear at first on the version I watched.
The match was interesting, but the IWRG guys worked as the tecnicos against the hometown Juarez guys, and the clear better wrestlers early on. The tecnicos are always supposed to be the more skilled luchadors, but they got put over so strong in the first few minutes that the Juarez guys seemed out of their league. Team Naucalpan brought them up a little bit (and I think Angel Jr. was the one who looked the best), but it was an unusual match layout given the context. This was one the better Black Terry matches since his return, getting to show off on the mat and letting his partners take care of a lot of the movement. Freelance looked sharp and was willing to randomly throw himself into the seats, and Aramis did really good some evasion spots. The Juarez team is game, they just don’t shine as much. Still, one team being clearly superior instead of everyone being 50/50 makes it a more interesting match than usual.
Freelance coming through
Dinámico vs Baby Extreme
(The Crash @ 01/18, 13:11, great, Arena Clandestina)
Baby Extreme might be putting it all together and it is exciting to see. He’s looked more consistent in his RIOT appearances and took it to a higher level with Dinamico here. The opening mat exchanges were a little forced and getting from one spot to another can feel a bit staged, but it is great when they get going. Xtreme’s problems has been inconsistently pulling off moves without hurting himself along the way. He went for some high risk stuff here, everything looked great, and he stayed in one piece. Dinamico is just as agile as him and they made a good compliment to each other. The match went wildly into the crowd, like a good Tijuana opener, and kept getting better as it went on. People would be talking about this one as one of the greatest Mexico matches in the year if it happened in CMLL, and it’s slipped unmentioned because that’s where The Crash is in 2020. It’s worth going out of your way to see.
Baby Extreme with a step up moonsault
Dinámico & Spider Fly vs Noicy Boy & Voltrex
(IWRG @ 01/19, 9:57, good, Estrellas del Ring)
Through the magic of Mexican wrestling, this is a different Dinamico than the one in the last match. These are the MexaBoys, who I probably should know better based on their flips. Though, if you can’t tell which one is which by looking at their gear, they probably need better gear of better names. Spider Fly helpfully has spider imagery on his gear and impresses the most with big spot, though this one doesn’t find a high level with just the ids working among themselves.
Spider Fly escapes
Titán vs Templarioin a lightning match
(CMLL @ 01/05, 9:16, good, HVSLuchaLibre)
There are two of these I need to watch. This is one in January, which has a lot of action but doesn’t really develop beyond usual back and forth. It’s worked at a fast pace and they’re solid at what they do, but the turn-taking is such that even a big move just leads to the other person taking over ten seconds later.
anti-air
Arez vs Kamik-Cin a Batte of Tijuas quarterfinal
(Lucha Memes/TWE @ 02/16, 10:00, good, Arena Clandestina)
This worked well as an exhibition of Arez’ holds. Skinny Kamik-C was good at being tied up in various ways, and Arez can do a lot of creative moves. It really didn’t show a lot of Kamik-C, who had a few moments but was largely overmatched. I think I can safely tell him and Skalibur apart now, but he didn’t come off strong enough.
Big Mami, Mr. Iguana, OctagoncitobeatAustralian Suicide, Parkita Negra, Vanilla
(9:51, Big Mami middle rope splash Parkita Negra, good, 00:19:23)
Keyra, Lady Maravilla, Villano III Jr. beat Dinastía, Lady Shani, Niño Hamburguesa
(13:53, Villano III Jr. beat Dinastia hanging double stomp, good, 00:57:55)
Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr.beatCarta Brava Jr. & Mocho Cota Jr.
(7:59, Hijo de LA Park behind the back piledriver Carta Brava Jr., good, 01:23:17)
La Hiedra, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr. beatHijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr.
(11:23, Texano & Escorpion Magic Killer Myzteziz Jr., good, 01:39:52)
La Bestia Del Ring, LA Park, Rush Toro Blanco beat Blue Demon Jr., Laredo Kid, Drago
(26:37, pin Demon & Dragon, good, 00:01:31)
What happened:
Shani gets all of it
The top two matches were adjusted slightly. A pair of vignettes, shown on the stream before the matches, had Vampiro encouraging Drago & Blue Demon to get along in their match. That foretold Drago being in the main event, though there was no explanation for the change. Psycho Clown saved the Lucha Brothers after an argument with the OGTs turned violent, explaining why he was now in the semi-main.
Drago & Demon ultimately did not get along, hitting each other by mistake and arguing over who got to finish off the rudos. Los Ingobernables remained undefeated.
Averno unmasked and foul Pentagon Jr. to get the win. Averno is unimpressed by the Lucha Brothers’ success outside of Mexico, feeling he’s fought the best in Mexico, and they haven’t.
Australian Suicide attacked Vikingo after the trios match (which was won cleanly by Los Mercenarios.) This attack is a follow up to a Vikingo promo asking for a rematch with Suicide. Suicide beat Vikingo two years ago in a cruiserweight title match (a rare bit of going back to a plot from Vampiro’s time in charge.) AAA showed a clip of an additional Vikingo & Suicide shoving match in the opening recap, which may have aired on TV but hasn’t made the internet.
carts died for this match
La Hiedra ran in on the second match, attacking Shani along with Keyra & Lady Maravilla. This interference happened in full view of Piero, who simply asked Hiedra to leave rather than call a disqualification. The run-in occurred early and didn’t affect the match. There’s a vague hint of Maravilla, Kerya, and Hiedra trio.
There were unusually obvious technical problems. The stream itself was issue-free, but AAA’s production side seemed as if they suffered a partial power outage late in the first match. Only the jib camera seemed to be working, and then the jib was not used for the rest of the show. (It seemed like it was moving, but they didn’t use the angle again.) There was a delay before the second match to fix the issue, though only a couple of cameras seemed to be working at first. There were possibly connected audio issues as well. The streams were also stopped and restarted before the main event, which is it appears as two separate files if you’re watching later on Twitch.
Thoughts:
I liked everything on this AAA show, and it still felt a little unsatisfying. There’s a bit of uniformity in match style and consistency that makes even the right parts feel a bit numbing. The main event was a different beast, but the undercard was a series of rudos beatdowns, tecnico comebacks, tecnico run through their spots in turn, finish, and repeat. A match with all the comedy wrestlers might stand out better than splitting them up among a few matches. An undercard match where something progresses might make them feel more memorable. I like all these matches, and I’m not sure I’ll remember them individually next week. That’s the CMLL feeling it’s best to avoid.
The main event stood out as a strong LA Park style brawl. They even brought back the drink cart spots, though maybe one too many for Laredo Kid’s back. It had a lot of violence and was a bit too oversized, a lot like LA Park himself. The tecnicos just weren’t a great fit for getting their revenge. Drago & Laredo haven’t shown those skills, and Demon showed he needs to be that bloody rudo to work at this point. A distraction spot from others setting the comeback up made it a little too clear these guys aren’t the real stars. Drago’s botched dive also messed up things. Good on Drago on finding a way to get back in the match so they could do the planned spot, but that looked so bad.
broken Octagon
Of the five undercard matches, the Parks/Poder del Norte match might have been the best. It wasn’t deep, but nothing much was. It was the shortest, but the Parks did what they could do best and got it before pushing it too far. The Parks seem a little difficult to wor with, but Carta & Cota can pull together a match with anyone and adapted to being one many short. The Mercenarios match was solid, despite not having a standout Vikingo run. He wasn’t blowing things, just seemed less spotlighted. La Hiedra held up her end of the team, and Los Mercenarios showed improved teamwork leading into the title match. It wasn’t blowing away, but it was useful as a setup to the title match.
OGTs versus Psycho & the Lucha Brothers were similarly effective if not the high-end match, which might be possible with everyone involved. Fenix had the best moments of the night and good chemistry with Super Fly. They stayed away from the Averno/Pentagon stuff until the closing moments but continues to look motivated.
Villano III Jr.’s out of control nature almost broke Dinastia’s neck in the segunda, and also was a near fall to set up a less impressive-looking hanging dropkick spot. Keyra looked the best of everyone in the match. Lady Shani didn’t do her mat wrestling bits and didn’t stand out without them, though her running kick on Keyra looked sharp. The La Hiedra run-in made AAA look silly for it not being a DQ and didn’t seem to mean anything in the match. I’d be willing to believe she was out there just to pass a message out from the back to the people in the ring, but no one’s suggested that.
Suicide pulled out more daring flying moves in the opener than he’s tried of late. He then ended up with a shoulder injury that paused the match for a bit. (Not his fault, on the damage or the pausing – they could’ve just gone on without him for a moment.) Mami was so slow climbing the ropes for a spot and so much better when she was just bulldozing people. I hope someone else sees that way and points it out to her.
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:
Star Jr.
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.
Akuma & Espanto Jr. beatHalcón Suriano Jr. & Sonic
(9:30 [5:00, 1:56, 2:34], 1/3, ok)
The dumb battle royal went 2:28
Disturbio & VirusbeatPegasso & Stigmain a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(4:45, ok)
Hijo del Villano III & TemplariobeatDulce Gardenia & Fuegoin a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(6:59, ok)
Ephesto & LucifernobeatBlack Panther & Blue Panther Jr.in a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(3:30, ok)
Soberano Jr. & Titán vs Misterioso Jr. & Sagradoin a Mexican National Tag Team eighthfinal
(5:56, ok)
Hijo del Villano III & TemplariobeatDisturbio & Virusin a Mexican National Tag Team quarterfinal
(5:24, ok)
Soberano Jr. & TitánbeatEphesto & Lucifernoin a Mexican National Tag Team quarterfinal
(5:18, ok)
Hijo del Villano III & Templariobeat Soberano Jr. & Titánin 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:
Soberano easily clearing the ring post
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.
