CMLL YouTube lightning matches from August & September

Recapped: 09/12/2015

Dark Angel STRONG

What happened? They’re lightning matches, nothing happened. That’s kind of the deal. CMLL stopped posting them for no particular reason, but I had already caught up by now.

What was good? Most of this was the generic lightning match stuff, but the Dark Angel/Zeuxis match was Dark Angel’s last really good match in CMLL.

Where can I watch? They’re all on CMLL’s YouTube channel. Links are below.

Match: Fuego vs Tiger in a lightning match
Arena México, 08/04/2015
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL

Winner: Fuego (Flashina)
Match Time: 6:15
Notes: No entrances for this one. Referee is Terror Chino. The C3 announcers are calling this match as if it’s on their show for whatever reason.

two corkscrew headscissors
and two topes

Review: [ok] Better than average lightning match. It fit the usual formula, but the mat work (corkscrew headscissors!) and Fuego’s topes were nice. The finish battle over cradles was more inspired than then usually get. It felt like there was a lot more these guys could’ve done if they had more than six minutes, and it was the usual bit of building the match around getting in the trademark spots rather than telling any sort of story. It was almost literally like Tiger let Fuego get in all of his offense before taking over to get in all of his own.

gif: 248 (thru second)/321

Match: Pegasso vs Virus in a lightning match
Arena México, 08/11/2015
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL

Winner: Virus (nudo Virus)
Match Time: 7:23
Notes: Referee is Terror Chino. Back to the ‘normal’ CMLL.com announcers, Ivan and Miguel.

Pegasso doing the Pegasso dive

Review: [ok] Virus is the only one I’d trust to get an entertaining 30 second spot out of a lock up, as he started this match. Still, they went from that into the normal lightning match and didn’t really do much memorable. Virus was very concerned not to get clubbed in the head by Pegasso’s knee on his dive. Pegasso’s dive looked good, his plancha later did not. Virus’ cradle suplex looked great, and should’ve been the finish, but he had to get in one more move.

……ok

Match: Dark Angel vs Zeuxis in a lightning match
Arena México, 08/25/2015
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL

Winner: Zeuxis (cradle hooking bottom rope)
Match Time: 7:40
Notes: Referee is Terror Chino. This match took place the day prior to Dark Angel announcing she was leaving CMLL. Dark Angel’s music sounds like it was YouTube muted.

Zeuxis gets walloped

Review: [good] wrestled liked a fight both people were trying to win, and not just an exhibition of moves, which makes all the difference. There were a lot of good sequences built around either women going for the win, including Dark Angel impressively doing squats with Zeuxis on her back, the nicely done roll up back and forth, and all the finisher evasion in the last fall. Zeuxis fought like a ruda, outstriking Dark Angel (though never cleanly landing the big kick or knee smash) and Dark Angel angrily rallying back. The rope grab finish came off as strange in the results – why wouldn’t Zeuxis just win clean if Dark Angel was leaving – but worked nicely in the flow of the match and was set up by Zeuxis trying the same move earlier. No problem with that at all.

Match: The Panther vs Okumura in a lightning match
Arena México, 09/01/2015
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL

Winner: The Panther (top wristlock)
Match Time: 8:08
Notes: Referee still is Terror Chino. No entrances.

Review: [ok] Average match. Panther has good fire in his rallies, which meant he got to do one near the beginning and then not again. His topes didn’t go quite as well as they usually do. Panther kicked out of three Okumura finishes, which is more impressive when you realize Okumura has three different finishes for some reason. Crowd did not understand The Panther’s finish in the least.

these are two different topes