Recapped: 06/30/2017
Matches:
All matches aired live from Arena México
Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón beat Drone, Pegasso, The Panther
(14:09 [5:56, 2:55, 5:18], 1/3, good)
Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa, Titán beat Pólvora, Ripper, Virus
(15:37 [6:35, 3:44, 5:18], 2/3, good?)
Dragón Rojo Jr., Mephisto, Sam Adonis beat Atlantis, Blue Panther, Soberano Jr.
(15:19 [4:21, 3:16, 7:42], 1/3, good)
Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys beats Misterioso Jr., Pierroth, Rush in a relevos increíbles match
(7:36 [2:44, 4:52], 1 DQ/2, Arena México, ok)
The battle royal went 3:12.
Shocker beat Valiente in a CMLL Universal eighthfinal
(3:52, powerbomb with feet on the ropes, ok)
Volador Jr. beat Hechicero in a CMLL Universal eighthfinal
(6:58, off the rope headscissors, good)
Negro Casas beat Ángel de Oro in a CMLL Universal eighthfinal
(2:21, casita, ok)
Dragón Lee beat Luciferno in a CMLL Universal eighthfinal
(5:51, hanging double stomp, good)
Volador Jr. beat Shocker in a CMLL Universal quarterfinal
(4:28, backcracker, ok)
Negro Casas beat Dragón Lee in a CMLL Universal quarterfinal
(3:55, casita, ok)
Volador Jr. beat Negro Casas in a CMLL Universal semifinal
(5:54, reverse frankensteiner, good)
What Happened:
Volador Jr. won Block A of the Universal tournament, defeating Hechicero, Shocker and Negro Casas to advance to the final on 07/14.
Vangellys snuck in a low blow to beat Pierroth in straight falls. The start of the match was more interesting than the start or the middle: a luchador in a Sombra outfit accompanied Los Ingobernables to the ring. The announcers wondered if it was the real La Sombra without mentioning that name (and the real La Sombra teased that he was at the arena.) It appeared to be someone else in the outfit.
Blue Panther and Sam Adonis are working a lot against each other in matches. It’s unclear if it’s meant to be an actual angle or them doing their own thing.
Marcela & Volador Jr. each received the Copa Bobby Bonales.
Thoughts:
The Universal tournament had two styles: the matches with Shocker and the matches without him. Shocker’s match with Valiente was a nothing match meant to save as much as possible of Shocker for the next match. (The guy who won last year’s tournament was quietly eliminated first.) That was a decent plan, only Shocker still didn’t have enough left to finish a four and half minute match with Volador before gassing out badly. Shocker did a multiple quebadora spot and was just done but had to go on. He needed a bit of a break before the match could wrap up. This was not a good idea.
The rest was a good idea! Hechicero/Volador was the lightning match they’ve never had but should again. Luciferno/Dragon Lee was Luciferno going all out in his annual loss versus Lee. And Negro Casas was great as usual: he made Angel de Oro look like a chump, he recreated about half of his Monday lighting match with Dragon Lee, and he took crazy punishment from Volador Jr. again. They should be giving Casas another trophy. These matches were short but felt like they had a lot to them.
I know this week’s Pierroth/Vangellys match wasn’t bad, because the promos afterwards definitely were bad and the match didn’t last long to be of that quality. This was the predictable build up a couple weeks out from the hair match, a match that’s not going to work at all unless Rush carries the match like he’s taking care of the talking. Guessing at the Sombra mystery was a lot more fun than the match.
The tercera played like the week delayed reward for Soberano winning the En Gran Alternativa. He got a to of the offense on his side, he dove off the stage, and they generally showcased him well. The crowd was loudest for Adonis, riled up whenever he’d grab the flag, thrilled when the técnicos finally ganged up on him. I assume Adonis & Panther are doing their own thing here, but maybe they can make it into something real. Adonis took great care of Panther on the Finish.
The second match struck me as a simple match done well, where the opener had a bit more effort. They did everything really well; Virus was sharp, the técnicos were effective in their movements, and they built strongly to the end of falls. These guys have really strong timing too, with not the hesitation sometimes seen in the other one. It also had the totally random Virus/Ripper issues and Ripper wrestling in his Psicosis outfit for unexplained reasons.
This show opened with a rare fun opener. It didn’t feel like they totally let these guys go (though we got the dive), but both teams did a lot more than most people are allowed to the opener. Drone was exciting if sloppy early, and he and The Panther work well together. There’s no chance he’s going to replace Blue Panther Jr. as the regular partner, but he would work as the trio partner. All the action doesn’t work if the NGD aren’t on the other side and willing to go with it; I almost don’t want to see them moved up because the midcard tecnicos won’t have any one better to work with right now. There are better exhibitions of what they could do, but this match was a good showcase of how useful they are for everyone else.