taped 2014-05-20 @ Arena México
Metatrón & Sensei vs Espanto Jr. & Zayco: better than normal CMLL Tuesday opener. The format was still the same, but everyone seemed sharper and had a little more effort. Zayco and Espanto bringing out something new was fun (and needed.) Sensei looked more on target than usual and Metatron got to do something a bit different for the finish.
Goya Kong, La Vaquerita, Silueta vs La Comandante, La Seductora, Princesa Blanca: Just an average women’s match. Not many problems, but they weren’t trying anything complicated anyway – Vaquerita in particular had Dalys’ old simple armdrag move set when she got her run in the third fall. Even less Goya Kong comedy than usual, and it did feel like there should’ve been time for more than what they did.
Black Panther, Oro Jr., Starman vs Disturbio, Hooligan, Metálico: Metalico’s debut as a rudo. He does a good job of making Oro Jr. look impressive, which is a good sign for his only job for the next couple months. Oro didn’t really get that many flashy spots, but they focused strongly on the rivalry; Metalico’s better at playing his character than Oro at this point. Black Panther should probably stop doing his dive. Some of his other moves look well, though he doesn’t seem near as far along as his brother.
Dragon Lee vs Hechicero in a En Busca de un Idolo match: Very good match, among the best of the tournament if not one of the best. It had a slower start than I remembered. They’re not keeping it on the mat, but they’re not getting into the bigger spots until about Dragon Lee’s ramp running about four minutes in. Hechicero got some good rudo moments, especially the blantant choke while sitting on the top rope, but this was more a Dragon Lee showcase with the springboard in headscissors and the springboard out dropkick. Lee actually landed on Hechicero’s shin on the fall and Hechicero seemed bothered by it for a bit, but still made it thru the match okay. This ten minute draw went 10:22 because they’re really bad at starting the clock on time (and yet somehow Pompin knew time was out even though he wasn’t looking at clock.) Weirdness right before the finish with Pompin screwing up the count did not help, but the post match brawl was really good.
Star Jr. vs Guerrero Negro Jr. in a En Busca de un Idolo match: Fared badly by match order. This was kind of the match I thought we’d get in this tournament, crazy spots with no logic in between them, but the bar has been raised higher than that here. The missed tope spot worked great as a finish in the Averno/Titan feud. It occurred here with no really consequence. That’s a huge difference. Canadian Destroyer at the end looked bad and is another Destroyer. I’m not totally sure no idea why Guerrero Negro Jr. got the high scores, but maybe everyone should try not catching dives if that’s going to get you ahead.
Diamante Azul, Máscara Dorada, Rey Cometa vs Puma, Terrible, Tiger: There were five really good luchadors in this match and also Diamante Azul. Guess who’s getting the big push of the week? Azul was not any good in the first half of the match, blowing his own backbreaker and not really selling for his opponents. There was other stuff he couldn’t really control (he shouldn’t be doing duck under clothesline spots with Tiger & Puma), but his act after the match was on him and not so great. Everyone else was fun and shouldn’t be lost in this. Tiger teaming with Puma and Terrible is the ideal situation for him, and it was nice for Puma to lure Cometa into a Tiger tornillo – revenge for the million Puma’s taken. Mascara Dorada didn’t get nearly enough time here but was on fire when he was in, just picture perfect with everything. Puma was his usual self but also made the amazing Ultimo Guerrero dive catch to set up his swing. Tiger helped out a bit, but it still was impressive. I don’t know if Terrible can punch Azul into having a good match, because Azul really need someone small he can throw around with his big moves, but Azul needs to find a way to have that good match with Terrible if he’s ever going to progress.
Euforia, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero © vs Atlantis, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr. for the CMLL World Trios Championship: Borderline great match. It was just enough more than a normal title match to work, though there were a lot of familiar moments and stuck with the same singles matches up (Maya/Roja, Delta/Euforia and the other two) most of the way. The last few minutes were strong, with a lot of team coordination and extra special dives for the occasion, though the finish itself seemed to come suddenly. That can be the way with Atlantis matches. I know Atlantis only goes up to the top rope backwards to set up Ultimo Guerrero’s finish but this time it felt like a tease to a moonsault he’ll actually do if they ever have this mask match. Announcers were pretty much promising Atlantis versus Ultimo Guerrero in a mask match at the anniversary show, which is quite odd.