CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2017-03-31 

Taven wins?

Recapped: 03/31/2017

All matches aired live on ClaroSports. They can be seen on my channel.

Matches:

  1. Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro (1/3) Stukita & Último Dragóncito (14:06 [4:24, 3:37, 6:05], ok)
  2. Amapola, Tiffany, Zeuxis (1/3 DQ) La Jarochita, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi (11:43 [5:36, 3:04, 3:03], below average)
  3. El Cuatrero, Máscara Año 2000, Sansón (1/3) Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther (12:50 [4:27, 2:19, 6:04], good)
  4. Marco Corleone, Máximo Sexy, Volador Jr. (1/3 DQ) Kráneo, Mephisto, Pierroth (10:18 [2:35, 5:01, 2:42], ok)
  5. Diamante Azul, Stuka Jr., Valiente (2/3) Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero (11:10 [4:36, 1:58, 4:36], ok)
  6. Matt Taven (2/3) Rush (12:22 [2:42, 2:46, 6:54], good)

What happened

Stukita will find a way to get in his splash

Matt Taven cheated to beat Rush in the main event. The finish was a bit of nonsense. Taven had Rush pinned clean after the same frogsplash he used to win the second fall. Rush never kicked out, but the referee stopped counting because Pierroth appeared on the apron. Taven got up and brawled with Pierroth, and Rush & Pierroth double teamed him. It’s unclear why this was not a disqualification. They came back in the ring, Taven blocked a single kick, cradled Rush and used the ropes to get the win win. Rush said he’d get his revenge when Taven returned and Taven confirmed he would return, but he was also going after Máximo and the heavyweight title. (My educated guess is Taven’s taking over the role intended for Yoshitatsu, who made that same heavyweight challenge after his match with Volador but is now not expected back.)

Not much else happened. Pierroth got his team DQ-ed in a match they were about to lose anyway by fouling Máximo. Valiente submitted Último Guerrero and repeated his mask versus hair challenge, but only in a backstage interview. Sugehit got her team DQ-ed for unmasking Zeuxis, in a spot that looked messed up. Sugehit struggled for a while to get the mask off and it didn’t feel like the match was supposed to peaking at that moment. No challenges followed for that.

The most exciting development was Reyes del Aire was announced for next week.

Thoughts

if posters were a thing, a poster of Zeuxis doing this knee smash would be a cool thing

Eh. A few matches around the OK/good line, not a lot higher.

Rush/Taven was the best match on the show, bringing good intenstiy and more drama to a crowd that was more invested into it than anything else. They were not invested in reacting the way CMLL wanted them to react (foreigners who don’t actually do in ring turn are always going to get booed in situations like this), but Taven reacted well to booing. It was just iffy times. Taven has a lot of flashy kicks but they’re literally hit or miss and too many looked like they were missing for me to get to into this. The finish was a jumbled mess. The distraction bit was bad, there was no reason something that’s a DQ every other time wasn’t a DQ here, and they went right to about the same finish they had before hand. Might as well just have counted three on the frog splash and shocked everyone.

usual Cuatrero springboard craziness

Dinamitas/Panthers was the best of the rest. The usual quality match between these two teams, without being the best for either side. It was just an easy match where they both got in their fancier spots and looked better than the Panther’s new outfits. It also had the trademark Panther bit of building up to what seemed like an ending, and then taking it back down a couple notches ot build up again. Mascara was less watching the other guys do double teams, and more integrated as part of the team. I knew Mascara was submitting Panther as soon as the second fall ended and they hadn’t do a spot yet. It makes no sense, but it makes CMLL sense.

There’s nothing much to say about the two upper card trios matches. The semimain was a little better one, but both were the kind of generic trios matches you’d get in the top spots most days of the week. We got a few nice spots, and a moment of nostalgia with Bucanero & UG reunited, but nothing much to write about. The Máximo/Pierroth trios match felt very generic, and the DQ very tacked on for no obvious reason.

Diamante Azul is strong

The opener was slightly above average on it’s curve, but not enough to rise to a recommendation. It was another match where Stukita came off a star, finding ways to be cool in a match format seemingly designed to make sure no one could be one. Mercurio & Nitro helped by playing off him, but then Mercurio kind of pulled it down with a lot of comedy. He seemed to be entertained and the crowd somewhat. The match slowed down late. Still would take this over most openers.

Sugehit & Zeuxis got in a few of their now normal exchanges and the crowd reacted to their feud, but the match surrounding it wasn’t much at all. Skadi and Jarochita are trying but they didn’t add here. Skadi still has issues with timing and positioning, and Jarochita’s just doesn’t seem effective in her role. Amapola celebrating the ill gotten win was nice but skip this.

this kick did land well