taped 2012-10-12 @ Arena Mexico
Diamante Azul vs Último Guerrero, Volador Jr., Atlantis, La Sombra, Mr. Águila, Euforia, Shocker, Tama Tonga, Marco Corleone, Terrible, Rush, Super Porky, Kráneo, Diamante, Misterioso Jr. in a CMLL Leyenda de Azul Tournament match: This had a bit of everything; comedy, dancing, people trying to murder Rush, Rush trying to murder people and accidentally hitting his own team, Volador being a jerk, Diamante Azul lifting heavy people, Diamante Azul appearing to injury people, and Ultimo Guerrero doing the Ultimo Guerrero match.
The cibernetico format is great for giving a lot of guys chances without actually exposing them. It mostly worked with Azul (outside the failed again double rotation headscissors spot with Volador.) It didn’t work with Tonga, who would’ve been edited and replayed into looking like a fool if not for the crazy flying leap to enrage Rush. I don’t know that the actual win did anything for Azul – both winning in a random rollup way that didn’t make any sense (he took UG’s move and immediately cradled him?) and with no follow up to the win – but it does make CMLL for even more goofy for refusing to admit Diamante Azul is a Blue Demon clone. It’s as if CMLL thought the fans hadn’t yet figured out Azul looks like Demon and needed to get both masks on screen at the same time, when it’s only CMLL who hasn’t figured out people are really unhappy about that whole thing.
CMLL’s problem of a couple years ago was creating way too many guys exactly like Místico, diluting the concept even if they had treated them like bigger deals. Diamante Azul and Rush are new different characters who’ve emerged since then, but they’ve still not figured out how to turn them into big enough stars to draw people back. Projecting them as (pale) imitations of previous stars is probably not the way to do it.
It’s a miracle that Kraneo survived that with his cranium intact! But who is Rush being made to imitate? My knowledge of older lucha libre is lacking, so I’m guessing Negro Casas; but that just might be the permed hair talking.
Perro Aguayo (Sr.)
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Tama tonga has in my opinion been a nice fit especially since he looks sort of Mexican. What’s the consensus on him? He messes up big spots but it works for him. Is there any ramblings backstage on Jim?