Recapped: 09/05/16
What happened: Dragon Lee cleanly defeated La Mascara in the main event. Hijos del Infierno kept the trios titles. Negro Casas and Mistico may be feuding.
What was good: The main event was really good, and some of the undercard was not bad.
Where can I watch it: It’s on CMLL’s channel.
Match 1: Arkalis & Astro vs Espíritu Maligno & Mini Joker
Arena Puebla, 09/05/2016
- técnicos
- Astro huracanrana Espíritu Maligno (6:24)
- Arkalis pin Mini Joker (6:35)
- rudos
- Mini Joker running behind the back piledriver Arkalis (3:06)
- COR Astro (3:29)
- rudos
- Espíritu Maligno sunset flip Arkalis (2:22)
- Mini Joker reverse reinera Astro (2:32)
Winner: rudos (2/3)
Match Time: 12:36
Notes: Arkalis and Mini Joker botched something beyond recognition to end the first, so bad that the ref wouldn’t even count.
Review: [good] this was definitely one where everyone worked exceedingly hard. It wasn’t always effective, with Araklis & Mini Joker being very hit or miss, but they went all out as far you can go in a CMLL primera for big moves. (Running behind the back piledrivers OK, dives not OK.) Espíritu Maligno was the more in control rudo, which is saying something, and Astro looked effective in his big moves. The match came to an end quick, which seems to happen a lot in these opners, but they had fun up to that point.
Match 2: Asturiano & Rey Samuray vs Ares & Policeman
Arena Puebla, 09/05/2016
- técnicos
- Asutriano ankle lock Policeman (8:37)
- Rey Samurai back heel trip cradle Ares (8:37)
- rudos
- Policeman top rope senton Rey Samurai (3:4)
- Ares kneeling reverse armbar Policeman (4:03)
- rudos
- Ares standing trap amrbar Asturiano (3:27)
- Policeman knees counter moonsault Rey Samuray (3:43)
Winner: rudos (2/3)
Match Time: 16:23
Review: [ok] a much more normal tag match. Policeman beat up some people, Arez was OK, Asturiano did some cool things and then crashed and burned, and Rey Samurai did the one thing he does in every match. I was he brought back the rope tricks he used to do instead of just doing the ramp apron every week, and the timing of the last spots made him look like a dummy for going for the rope flip moonsault. Ares likes simple armbar submissions.
Match 3: Ángel de Oro, Stigma, Stuka Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Puma, Tiger
Arena Puebla, 09/05/2016
- técnicos
- Stigma springboard huracanrana Dragon Rojo Jr. (5:31)
- rudos
- Dragon Bomb on Stuka Jr. (3:04)
- Tiger backcracker, Puma middle rope double stomp (3:33)
- tecnicos
- Stuka pin Tiger (7:11)
- Dragon Rojo pin Stigma (7:11)
- Angel de Oro mecedora Puma (8:09)
Winner: técnicos (1/3)
Match Time: 17:13
Review: [good] solid midcard trios match with the usual suspects. Puma & Tiger have the best team work in the promotion, so it’s always fun to see them get to use it. They were as in sync and as smooth as always; Tiger’s ease of getting into his figure four was impressive. Stigma’s adopted Cavernario style body-writing and generally came off as a less adept Titan in this match. He did really throw himself into his tope. Stuka and Dragon Rojo did well, and Angel de Oro was mostly forgettable. The high level of energy really carried the match.
Match 4: Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto © vs Kráneo, Olímpico, Ripper for the Mexican National Trios Championship
Arena Puebla, 09/05/2016
- Invasors
- Luciferno top rope plancha Kraneo (5:03)
- Ripper powerbomb Mephisto (5:36)
- Infiernos
- Ephesto pin Olímpico (2:52)
- Ephesto kick to the head Kraneo (3:07)
- Infierno
- Mephisto valagueza Ripper (7:04)
Winner: Infierno (2/3)
Match Time: 15:47
Review: [ok] painfully mediocre, and seemingly went on forever. There was nothing to the feud, no chemistry to the team, and some uninspiring challenges. Kraneo stood out, as usual, but they often has people in positions to do moves not very well. Olímpico and Ephesto both looked bad in this match. This looked on paper as one of the least appealing feuds CMLL could put together and proved to be that way. Skip.
Match 5: Carístico, Máscara Dorada, Mistico vs Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
Arena Puebla, 09/05/2016
- rudos
- Negro Casas casita Mistico (1:14)
- técnicos
- Mascara Dorada huracanrana Mr. Niebla (2:30)
- Carístico GTS Barbaro Cavernario (2:36)
- técnicos
- DQ Negro Casas [foul to Mistico] (5:22)
Winner: técnicos (2/3)
Match Time: 9:12
Notes: Negro Casas attacked Mistico during the pre-match.
Review: [good] a hot match, with Negro attacking Mistico before the start and those two feuding strong;y through the match. Mistico showed a lot of fire going right back at Casas when he could, looking like a match with him on chops. Mascara Dorada still isn’t letting up, nearly landing on his head on backdrops and landing huge topes on Niebla (who had no problem working him a lot in the match.) Carístico was fine, and has many possible alternate finishers when he’s in with Mistico. We’re probably getting more of Mistico/Casas and that should be good.
Match 6: Dragón Lee vs La Máscara
Arena Puebla, 09/05/2016
- La Mascara double kneesmash (0:53)
- DQ La Mascara [mask pull Dragon Lee] (1:16)
- Dragon Lee double armbar (8:33)
Winner: Dragon Lee (2/3)
Match Time: 10:42
Notes: La Mascara destroyed Dragon Lee’s mask after pulling it off.
Review: [great] Much more than I expected from them on a follow up throwaway Puebla show. The first two falls were even more incidental than the mask match, but they went back and forth strong in the third fall. They didn’t have the high end death moves of a big Dragon Lee match, but they built pretty great drama to the finish, making alternate finishes look like they could possibly end it (and the submission that did was something that normally doesn’t do it, but was done well in the moment.) Like in the mask match, the kick exchange were a lot of fun, and this benefit from not having all the outside interference of the mask match. It didn’t have the emotion of the mask match, but it still had plenty of intensity, and is really one of La Mascara’s better singles outings. I was pretty happy with this.
