Recapped: 11/13/2016
What happened: Hechicero is the new NWA Light Heavyweight Champion, having defeated Rey Bucanero. Hijos del Infierno are still the trios champions. Mascara Dorada was sent to hell, but is now free from the hell of Tuesday Arena Mexico shows.
What was good: The Hechicero/Rey Bucanero match was great, but I’m not sure how well it’ll resonate to people who haven’t been following his career. The title match was routinely good trios title match – that one actually my translate better to more casual watchers, because most of my problems were with the routineness of it.
Where can I watch it: It’s on CMLL’s channel.
Match 1: Bengala & Robin vs Apocalipsis & Espanto Jr.
Arena México, 11/01/2016
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL
- rudos
- Espanto Jr. tope rope splash Bengala (2:50)
- Apocalipsis Espectrina Robin (3:06)
- técnicos
- Robin sit down powerbomb Espanto Jr. (2:10)
- Bengala Triangular del Bengala Apocalipsis (2:31)
- rudos
- Apocalipsis grounded octopus Bengala (2:10)
- Espanto Jr. Canadian Destroyer Robin (2:30)
Winner: rudos (1/3)
Match Time: 8:07
Notes: Feed joins the match early on – we might have missed a few seconds or a couple minutes. It didn’t really matter.
Match 2: Acero, Fantasy, Shockercito vs Demus 3:16, Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Olímpico
Arena México, 11/01/2016
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL
- técnicos
- Fantasy Spanish Fly Pequeño Nitro (4:32)
- Acero headscissors cradle Pequeño Olímpico (4:50)
- técnicos
- Pequeño Olimpico half crab/armbar Acero (5:06)
- Shockercito reinera Demus 3:16 (5:58)
Winner: técnicos (1/2)
Match Time: 10:48
Notes: Tecnicos won cleanly in straight falls for no reason. Tye seemed to make the first two matches shorter because this show was going to run long, but it was totally surprising.
Review: [ok] paid attention just enough to be clear this was a CMLL minis match. First was hotter than the second, crowd totally loved the Shockercito headscissors, nothing was too wrong with it but the match on Sunday was easily better. More random finishes please.
The people behind the Dia del Muertos presentations are given plaques.
Match 3: Estrellita, La Vaquerita, Sanely vs La Comandante, La Seductora, Metálica
Arena México, 11/01/2016
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL
- rudas
- La Comandante reverse campana Estrellita (5:31)
- tecnicas
- Sanely inverted STF Metalica (4:04)
- Vaquerita top rope elbow drop Seductora (4:28)
- tecnicas
- Estrellita casadora cradle La Comandante (3:06)
Winner: tecnicas (2/3)
Match Time: 13:05
Notes: This is not a Dia del Muertos match; it’s one match later. Maybe they decided to stop dragging women.
Review: [ok] Vaquerita absolutely destroyed Seductora with her top rope elbow drop, in what probably wasn’t planned. That and Estrellita playing with herself is all I got out of this match. If Sanely is the new Dark Angel, which sure seems like the concept, does that mean Metalica is on her way to being the new Amapola? Sanely’s beating someone for a mask in 2017, for sure.
Match 4: Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
Arena México, 11/01/2016
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL
- técnicos
- Valiente reverse tope Felino (2:32)
- Atlantis tirabuzon Mr. Niebla (2:39)
- técnicos
- Atlantis Atlantida Negro Casas (3:08)
Winner: técnicos (1/2)
Match Time: 5:47
Notes: This match starts with Tirantes very obviously talking to someone in his ear piece, and also the rudos jumping the técnicos. Zacarias is in his Guardian outfit, but still hangs out with his team. Mr. Niebla barely participates in the match and seems to need hold onto the top rope for balance nearly the whole match. There’s obviously something wrong with him, to the point where it’s hard to understand why he’s let near the ring, and it’s proabbly the reason this match is very short.
Review: [below average] fine for what we could compare to, I guess? There have been worse Niebla-looks-out-of-it matches, they’re getting pretty good at containing him from doing anything. It still wasn’t much of a match.
Match 5: Rey Bucanero © vs Hechicero for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
Arena México, 11/01/2016
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL
- Rey Bucanero heel pull anklelock (3:49)
- Hechicero armscissors wristlock (2:01)
- Hechicero rolling half crab (12:30)
Winner: Hechicero (2/3)
Match Time: 18:20
Notes: Seconds are Negro Casas (Hechicero) & Comandante (Rey Bucanero.) Casas is especially fired up, at one point crawling on the ramp to yel instructiosn to Hechicero.
Bucanero tries to fight the Guardians, which works on one but then numbers catch up to him pretty quick. A random female fan almost gets dragged along with instead of La Comandante, but they sort it out in time.
Review: [great] a different style title match; they started off hot, but it still came down to each guy trapping each other in exotic submissions. Hechicero had to survive to win – survive the holds, survive the German superplex, survive Rey Bucanero’s surprise aerial attack. Rey Bucanero went crazy with flying moves; the splash to the ramp he was doing would’ve been plenty, but he kept going thru the dive off the ramp and the tornillo the floor. Both men did a lot of damage to themselves – Hechicero’s German superplex bump looked scary, even though the springboard moonsault went worse. I’m not a big fan of random piledrivers, but I’d guess it was just easier to pull off than a Buca Storm. Crowd really bought into the near ending of this match and it felt like a big moment when Hechicero, exactly how you want to do a big title match. This was a success, though I feel like Hechicero’s still had more epic matches on other occasions – this is harder to recommend for people coming in cold who haven’t been following Hechicero to this point.
Another dance number is omitted. As a result, the sound is off for a while until they remember to turn it back on.
Match 6: Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto © vs Diamante Azul, Máscara Dorada, Mistico for the Mexican National Trios Championship
Arena México, 11/01/2016
Video: VideosOficialesCMLL
- técnicos
- Mistico La Mistica Mephisto (1:50)
- Hijos del Infierno
- Luciferno huracanrana Diamante Azul (3:25)
- Ephesto shoulderbreaker Mascara Dorada (3:25)
- Hijos del Infierno
- Mephsito powerbomb Mistico (5:28)
Winner: Hijos del Infierno
Match Time: 10:43
Notes: Ephesto & Mephisto are revealed to be Dalys’ two henchman for the night. Poor Luciferno doesn’t make the cut yet again. Mascara Dorada, in his last Tuesday Arena Mexico booking and last CMLL title match, tries wrestling in his original outfit. It turns out the shirt is now way too tight, so he takes off really on. Mistico and Dorada are carried off to hell, while Diamante Azul slaps hands with fans while being dragged.
Review: [good] they made it entertaining, but they only barely made good. The first two falls felt like repeats from the build up, only with the necessary finishes to get it thru. They emptied the back of big trios matches clichés in the third fall, in a generally positive fashion, but nothing was done that stood out or gave the challengers a shot of winning. Dorada looked great, and I hope he brings his rope walking senton to WWE, but this was still more of a Mistico showcase. There’s really a need for a different heel trio in the Hijos del Infierno’s place for freshness, but no sign of it coming any time soon.
