Recapped: 08/16/2016
What happened: Ares was unmasked. Ultimo Guerrero kept the middleweight championship. The minis went to a draw.
What was good: The minis match and the tercera were the ones I liked the best.
Where can I watch it: It’s on CMLL’s YouTube channel.
Match 1: King Jaguar, Meyer, Star Jr. vs Artillero, Fuerza Chicana, Hijo del Signo
Arena Puebla, 08/15/2016
- tecnicos
- Meyer wheelbarrow face slam Artillero (7:13)
- King Jaguar el Puplo Fuerza Chicana (7:33)
- rudos
- Artillero Stretch on Meyer (4:07)
- Fuerza Chicana legs cross armbar Star Jr. (5:34)
- técnicos
- Star Jr. corner dropkick Hijo del Signo (4:38)
Winner: técnicos (1/3)
Match Time: 17:45
Review: [ok] I was mildly distracted during parts of this, but it seemed like a better match than usual for an opener, if not a totally remarkable match outside the context. Star Jr. looked great, still managing to get in big spots even with the limitations of the opener, and is really underutilized to be in an opener. King Jaguar & Meyer looked better than recent appearances, and everyone else was mostly fine. (Hijo del Signo was not, but that’s normal.) They match seemed a lot shorter than the time I recorded, so either it moved well or I really wasn’t paying attention.
Match 2: Astral, Asturiano, Eléctrico vs Demus 3:16, Espíritu Maligno, Pierrothito
Arena Puebla, 08/15/2016
- técnicos
- Asturiano springboard moonsault Pierrothito (5:38)
- Eléctrico springboard elbow drop Espíritu Maligno (5:57)
- rudos
- Pierrothina on Eléctrico (4:18)
- Demus top rope splash Asturiano (4:32)
- DRAW
- double pin Demus & Astral (4:45)
Winner: Draw (1-1-1)
Match Time: 15:14
Notes: Demus bridged on backwards cradle, pinning both himself and Astral. Both argued they got their arms up and Demus challenged the técnicos to a rematch next week.
Review: [good] Enjoyable minis match with a unique ending. The draw felt earned with the work that came from it and it’s a different way to set up the normal rematch than the usual foul or mask pull. Asturiano looked very smooth, especially with his flying spots early on. Demus and Pierroth were in serious mood, which helped make this work better. The thought process behind Electrico’s big ramp dive was nice, but it took way too long set up – the dive sthat followed were a lot better. It does fit the usual pattern with Eléctrico & Astral, who look less like they’re fighting and more like they’re performing. Still, their performance generally worked for this match.
Match 3: Fuego, Stigma, Stuka Jr. vs Fujin, Okumura, Raijin
Arena Puebla, 08/15/2016
- técnicos
- Fuego casadora cradle Okumura (4:41)
- Stigma pin Fujin (4:41)
- Stuka pin Raijin (4:41)
- rudos
- Stigmatica on Fujin (3:07)
- Okumura superplex Stuka Jr. (3:47)
- técnicos
- Stuka Jr. torpedo splash Okumura (4:10)
Winner: técnicos (1/3)
Match Time: 12:38
Review: [good] The normal enjoyable Stuka & Fuego formula match, with the Japanese guys going right along with them. Those two técnicos are just know what they’re doing at all time. Fuego was very into this match, reacting on the apron and messing with the edecanes when he wasn’t in. Stigma was up and down in this match, but really didn’t hurt things, and they mixed up the finishes nicely. The near fall on the dives being cut off into triple Michinoku Drivers was a great idea, and something they should use as an actual finish some time.
Match 4: Black Tiger vs Ares, mask vs mask
Arena Puebla, 08/15/2016
- Ares legs tied standing armbar (0:36)
- Black Tiger splash (3:00)
- Black Tiger headscissors double armbar (9:50)
Winner: Black Tiger (2/3)
Match Time: 13:26
Notes: No seconds. Ares jumped Black Tiger right off the bat and toped him. Ares is Francisco Gonzalez, announced as 40 years old and 25 years a wrestler. (On the luchawiki, we have him as actually 47.)
Review: [ok] This had hope in the few minutes, with Ares coming out hot, but Black Tiger took it back to his slow speed and lack of excitement. There were a few more big moves than usual for the occasion, and more drama just because the mask were on the line, but it just dragged for stretches in the middle. Tirantes was also an active problem in this one. He was too busy shaking for attention to signal the finish. His usual slow count bit really hurt it even more, and only served to draw attention to himself as usual. Ares & Black Tiger did a lot of cradle near falls, which the crowd never really bought and the seemed to turn on by the end. They did better the last few minutes, but it wasn’t good as a whole.
Match 5: Atlantis, Máscara Dorada, Mistico vs Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas
Arena Puebla, 08/15/2016
- técnicos
- Atlantis casadora cradle Mr. Niebla (1:21)
- rudos
- Mr. Niebla tirabuzon Alantis (5:49)
- rudos
- Barbrro Cavernario powerbomb w/feet on the ropes Mistico (2:38)
Winner: rudos (2/3)
Match Time: 9:48
Notes: Mr. Niebla replaced Negro Casas. Mistico demanded a singles match, and then a mask vs hair match.
Review: [ok] this one peaked too soon. It started of very hot in the first fall, and continued entertainingly so thru the usual Peste Negra bits in the second fall, but really slowed down in the third. It seemed like they were taking it down to speed back up for a hot comeback, but it instead just had a couple of very quick dives and a finish after one more moves. Mistico and Cavernario sounds really good and I’m expecting it to be good next week, but they haven’t totally clicked in these matches as of yet. Maybe it’ll just happen next time. No Negro Casas was disappointing, but Mr. Niebla stooged around well. Mascara Dorada didn’t get a whole lot to do in this match.
Match 6: Último Guerrero © vs Shocker for the NWA World Middleweight Championship
Arena Puebla, 08/15/2016
- Shocker Dos Caras clutch (5:37)
- Ultimo Guerrero Pulpo Guerrero (2:28)
- Ultimo Guerrero inside cradle (7:17)
Winner: Ultimo Guerrero (2/3)
Match Time: 15:22
Notes: Seconds were Raijin (Shocker) and Fujin (Ultimo Guerrero). They did not get involved.
Review: [below average] I found this tremendously frustrating. It really wasn’t worse than could’ve been expected, and Shocker deserves credits for taking many of Ultimo Guerrero’s big moves. The problem was Shocker has to get in position. Shocker’s biggest struggle is movement, and his biggest skill is getting the crowd to cheer for him, and they did a match built around Shocker moving a lot and neither man playing to the crowd much. Shocker looked like Mil Mascaras, 2016 Mil Mascaras, every time he had to climb the ropes, and they just kept on doing more spots where he’d have to climb the ropes. The spots generally looked OK, but the excruciating time spent in between the moves broke all credibility. The problem wasn’t as much the physical limitations, but the mental ones not to understand what would and would not look good. They might have stood a chance bluffing their way thru with smart brawling and playing to the crowd, and they went for a dry big move kickout match. That’s going to work for UG with Mascara Dorada, but they should know the difference between Mascara Dorada and Shocker. They just stuck Shocker into the usual formula match, to the expected painful results.
