Lucha Azteca7 Elite: 2016-08-27

cool exchange leads to Dragon Lee countering the handspring in the best way
cool exchange leads to Dragon Lee countering the handspring in the best way

Recapped: 09/04/2016

What happened: Zumbido cheated to beat Bandido, Dragon Lee defeated Flamita, Mr. Niebla fouled Maximo, but all of that set up a match on show we didn’t see or appears to have gone nowhere.

What’s really happening is CMLL and Elite are breaking up. This is the last Elite show in Arena Mexico for the time being, a kind of lame duck show without anyone knowing it was a lame duck show. The following week was a best of episode, and a new era for the promotion will kick off the week after. There’s no indication of any of this on the TV show, but the Liga Elite tournament is noticeably missing.

What was good:  Dragon Lee versus Flamita was really good while obviously not coming close to their ceiling. I liked the opener.

Where can I watch it: It’s on my channel and the Elite channel.

Match 1: Golden Magic & Valiente vs Rey Escorpión & Sharlie Rockstar
Arena México, 08/21/2016
Video: 
thecubsfan

  1. rudos
    • Rey Escorpión top rope legdrop Golden Magic (1:50)
    • Sharlie Rockstar El Pozo Valiente (2:08)
  2. técnicos
    • Valiente Indian Deathlock Sharlie Rockstar (1:55)
    • Rey Escorpión COR [Golden Magic top rope moonsault] (2:21)
  3. rudos
    • Rey Escorpión Aguijon Mortal Golden Magic (5:55)
    • COR Valiente & Sharlie Rockstar [Valiente tope] (6:21)

Winner: rudos (1/3)
Match Time: 10:50

Review: [good] solid tag team match between some random teams. They meshed well, better as opponents than as partners. Golden Magic had another good night, looking good on his dives. Sharlie had one of his better matches, up until whatever spot he and Valiente were struggling with at the end. I’ve never heard the referee audible on the countout of the ring. Some of that is the crowd, but they’re micing the ring differently for these shows. Valiente being counted out on his own dive is weird wrestling logic.

Magic springboard armdrag
Magic springboard armdrag

Match 2: El Bandido, Emperador Azteca, Metaleón vs Decnnis, Fresero Jr., Zumbido
Arena México, 08/21/2016
Video: 
thecubsfan

  1. rudos
    • Zumbido moonsault Emperador Azteca (7:38)
  1. técnicos
    • Bandido headscissors armbar Fresero (2:57)
    • Metaleón hiptoss powerbomb Decnnis (3:04)
  2. rudos
    • Zumbido mask pull Bandido (3:18)
    • Fresero powerbomb Metaleon (3:40)

Winner: rudos (1/3)
Match Time: 14:22
Notes: Fresero does the Money Rain bit, and the Fresero Dollars lay on the ramp for the rest of the show. Scorpio & Decnnis are in as (another) combination of the Guapos, and Guapito is with them. Decnnis and Metaleon both his shoulder braces on. About a minute into the third fall, a badly aimed Fresero top rope con giro causes him to land on Emperador Azteca’s head, and Azteca is knocked out. They show some replays, which look very ugly. He’s stretchered out moving very slightly as the match continues around him. Match continues, with Bandido getting his (kinda) move on Zumbido, Zumbido pulling Bandido’s mask off, and the referee only turning to be distracted by Guapito after the mask is off. He misses Zumbido’s pinfall for a while as a result.

Review: [ok] The ugly looking injury takes a lot away from it, but this was a promising trios match to that point. Fresero was having a good match of basing for people, less so in protecting people. Fresero’s dropkick on Bandido in the first fall was so hard that everyone else ran in the ring. Bandido’s finish is really cool looking, but it takes really skilled guys to take it cleanly and it didn’t quite happen here. Decnnis and Zumbido seemed alright, but the match didn’t stand out and everyone might have been hurt by the match having to be changed on the fly (and you could see everyone trying to figure out what the were going to do.) Azteca getting hurt really makes this not fun to watch, but they might have had a pretty good one if they had avoided that and maybe this is still watchable if you just skip that part.

Bandidio pulls off a twirl into a headscissors
Bandidio pulls off a twirl into a headscissors
I guess the breeze got him
I guess the breeze got him
Bandido double headscsisors
Bandido double headscsisors

Match 3: Estrellita & Lluvia vs Keira & Muñeca De Plata
Arena México, 08/21/2016
Video: 
thecubsfan

  1. tecnicas
    • Lluvia step over tirabuzon Muneca de Plata (3:05)
    • Estrelltia Star Gate Keira (3:13)
  2. rudas
    • Muneca de Plata corner sit Lluvia (057)
    • Keira Devil’s Wings Estrellita (1:10)
  3. tecnicas
    • Lluvia corner dropkick Muneca de Plata (2:17)
    • Esterllita middle rope plancha Keira (2:37)

Winner: tecnicas (1/3)
Match Time: 7:00 shown
Notes: Highlights of the falls aired.

Review: [ok] This match is really mostly notable for Elite choosing to air it as highlights, and not a second of Blue Panther versus Argoz (replacement for Black Terry.) I can only imagine how that one must’ve gone. Keira hasn’t really stood out as much on Elite shows as she does on the super-indies. Just as much, the CMLL women are much more aggressive against the outsiders than in their own trios matches. Lluvia found another gear in kicking people.

Estrellita probably shouldn't have sat down
Estrellita probably shouldn’t have sat down

Match 4: Dragón Lee vs Flamita
Arena México, 08/21/2016
Video: 
thecubsfan

Winner: Dragon Lee
Match Time: 10:01

Review: [great] Flamita’s injury couldn’t hurt this match too much, it’s still a fairly incredible match between two exciting young luchadors usually on separate paths. The subtle differences between the two of them are more apparent with them facing off. Dragon Lee is a little bit stronger, Flamita is more polished and able to string more together. Also, Flamita has an infinitely better standing Spanish Fly. Their athletic ability in this match is impressive, but so are their chop battle. Flamita’s injury comes about two third thru, when he puts his hands down on a frog splash and hurts his arm. (The advantage to doing the voiceover later is evident here; the announcers are quicker at picking up Flamita’s injury than they might have been in real time.) Flamita holds the arm in for the next minute, but just keeps on going. It may have caused them to finish up early – the back and forth feeling of the match switches to being three huge Dragon Lee spots – but it doesn’t really affect the quality of the match at all. This didn’t feel close to their ceiling against each other, more like a really great tournament match than a title match or something bigger, but it’s cool that we get to see it all on a big stage.

20160827elite_match4-2
running boot to the head
Flamita much better at this than Mascara
Flamita much better at this than Mascara

Match 5: Máximo, Súper Crazy, Xtreme Tiger vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Felino, Mr. Niebla
Arena México, 08/21/2016
Video: 
thecubsfan

  1. Peste Negra
    • Mr. Niebla tirabuzon Máximo (2:09)
  2. técnicos
    • Extreme Tiger frog splash Barbaro Cavernario (2:31)
    • Super Crazy Ephesto Roll Felino (2:35)
  3. Peste Negra
    • Mr. Niebla foul Máximo (4:57)

Winner: Peste Negra (1/3)
Match Time: 9:41
Notes: Senorita Cometa tries to join the técnicos before the match, but can’t get in the ring. Referee gets bumped on the kiss, incredibly, and Niebla fouled Máximo for the win.

Review: [ok] A normal weekday Peste Negra with unusual opponents. They were still building to the Máximo/Niebla kiss as always. Like always of those matches, it’s good fun for the crowd and less interesting for having seen it so many times. Tiger/Cavernario seems like a fun singles match and they get to work together a little bit here, especially at the finish.

Extreme Tiger dive
Extreme Tiger dive