CMLL on ClaroSports: 2017-11-03 

Zombie Casas

Recapped: 11/18-19/2017

Matches: 

Astral & Robin beat Artillero & Espanto Jr.
(10:44 [4:20, 2:27, 3:57], 1/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Drone, Esfinge, Rey Cometa beat Puma, Tiger, Virus
(15:10 [5:40, 2:28, 7:02], 2/3, good, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Cavernario, Negro Casas, Shocker beat Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr.
(13:30 [3:54, 5:01, 4:35], 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Dalys © beat Marcela for the CMLL World Women’s Championship
(15:12, good, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Sansón defeated Diamante Azul, Mistico, Soberano Jr., Valiente, Cuatrero, Forastero, Hechicero, for the Rey del Inframundo championship
(31:19, great via VideosOficialesCMLL)

  1. Valiente Indian Deathlock Forastero (06:07)
  2. Hechicero Magia Negra Valiente (10:15)
  3. Diamante Azul German suplex Hechicero (11:26)
  4. Cuatrero springboard splash Diamante Azul (14:41)
  5. Sansón Torture Rack Bomb Mistico (18:28)
  6. Soberano Fire Driver Cuatrero (20:56)
  7. Sansón super Torture Rack Bomb (31:19)

Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero beat Carístico, Rush, Volador Jr.
(3:53 [1:58, 1:55], 1/2 DQ, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

What happened: 

Sanson plancha

This is the first of the three Dia de Los Muertos show.

From the third match on, the losers of the match are dragged to hell ( a side exit) by painted up soldiers of hell. The gods of hell pose and pace on top of the stage for the matches – they appear to be played by Dalys and Rush this year. La Catrina (Gaby Bau) introduces the segment. The rudos and the edecanes are face painted up like calavera skeletons, though the wrestlers are also generally wearing glow in the dark body suits rather than being mostly painted like in previous years. The referees are half wearing makeup (as impartiality?) the matches are wrestled under a purple light, which makes it hard to watch.

The artists are honored before that part of the show starts.

Volador is the least into this concept of anyone on the whole show. Carístico also has a Pennywise thing going (plus a baby), so now the Misticos even cosplay the same. Rush trips and falls coming out, but just goes with it and slides to a pose to unmask.

Rush playing it cool

Rush fouled UG in the middle of the técnico comeback, ending the match quickly. The guardians of hell attack the Guerreros instead of the losing técnicos, and carry them out – I guess the idea Rush is still in charge. After the rudos are away, Volador and Rush unmask Carístico. Rush holds up the Ingobernables fist for Volador, and a makes it very clear to the fans what he’s doing. Volador is not committal, and Rush tells him to think about and leaves. The Guardians come for Carístico too after the other técnicos leave.

Soberano comes out in a tope hat and suit for the Rey del Inframundo. Diamante Azul has a Dia de Muertos version of his mask. Valiente dresses like normal. Mistico dresses like Pennywise from IT. The rudos are all wearing Dia de Muertos affected masks. Sides are técnicos vs rudos. Instead of the usual referees at ringside to keep everyone from getting involved, the Hell soldiers circle ringside to take the eliminated people away. It’s not quite a lumberjack feel but it leaves a lot of extra people hanging around.

Marcela tried running out the front of of Arena Mexico after she’s lost the title match, but gets captured and brought back. In general, the luchadors are much more aggressive at fighting back this year but not any more successful.

Thoughts: 

Esfinge thought something else was happening 

An ok rating for the main event was generous; it wasn’t really long enough to be anything either way. These main events after a big cibernetico or a little match can’t help but feel anticlimatic, and the only real effort was to get the match over as quick as possible. The show felt like it was over when they did the big Rush/Volador angle. Not in a way where it felt like a surprise, but more in a way where I think most people were probably turning to leave and missed it.

The Rey Inframundo was a worthwhile addition to the collection of big Sansón/Soberano matches in 2017 which also had a good cibernetico before it. They went 10:23 on their own, which was just about as long as Forastero & Valiente were in the match at all. That was far more time than I was expecting, and really gave the an opportunity to get a lot of close calls in before the finish. (Even knowing who won, I thought the superbomb set up was it, only for them to go about five minutes before.) They seemed to have less issues than the other big matches, and Sansón got to look as impressive as his técnico opponent while also finally getting the big win. The entire bit with the last four was really good too. This was an anti-Mistico crowd, but not due to his performance, looking spectacular and unjustly eliminated early.

The opening of the match thru Forastero’s elimination was the bit of craziness I look for in these ciberneticos. It slowed down a bit after there for a while. Hechicero and Diamante Azul had no chemistry together in their sequence. Diamante Azul looked more impressive in his run on his own against everyone, but still not smooth. His offense looked impressive, but I was happy hew as getting it all in, because it obviously meant it would be gone.

Puma forearm

The camerawork wasn’t strong here, with the director having not idea where to shoot when Forastero got eliminated (which might have been audio cue issue too) and missed Mistico’s ramp dive. Cuatrero and Soberano having big standoffs is not the time to cut to the stage or flashing lights. There were too many distractions for a crew that has trouble staying on target to begin with, but they generally settled down and we got the shots of the big moves late.

The women’s title match had a lot of action the whole way thru. I don’t want to say it had too much action, but did felt like they were at the same level of action from the start. It was like they went to third fall finishing sequences from early on, with the first fall ending with the sort of cradles reveals that might end a match, and everything just staying on the same note from there. Dalys was trying a lot of stuff she doesn’t normally do – the Misterioso style inverted bodyslam, the running Gory Special, and springboard dropkick stuck out as different – which helpfully filled the space. Just sprinting from the start is no problem, but they couldn’t help it form feeling like one of those matches that just went back and forth randomly without any move from either women really giving them a sense of control. This was about as good as match as they’re going to get without a story deeper than “we’re really evenly matches.” Dalys wasn’t even working much of a ruda. This was a great performance in terms of action (up until Dalys blew her finish), probably the best they’ve had of this match up, but I’d really like a new dimension to it.

The third match was the first with the special effects for Dia de Muertos, and probably benefited from it the most. It made the match harder to see, but easier to distract from the generic content. The técnicos did their usual offense, so did Cavernario & Casas, and Shocker was also there. It didn’t have much of a direction – the rudos just won the second fall out of nowhere, there wasn’t a strong comeback, and they just kept doing stuff until it was time to go home. The million cuts to the people on the stage only helped to make it feel more like something was happening. It was not horrible – Shocker’s count of Stuka’s plancha was horrible – but it was just there.

Cometa diving headscissors + superkick

The first two falls were the usual standard but satisfactory stuff from the Puma/Tiger/Cometa/Drone level crew. It really accelerates to something special as the third fall goes on, with action flying by and some well timed moments and twists on usual stuff (adding the superkick to Cometa’s headscissors was neat.) The double elimination spot really felt like when they were onto something, and this wasn’t far off from a higher grade. I’m not sure if I appreciate these guys as much as I should because I’m seeing them so often, and I kind of wonder if they’d just shock everyone if you dropped this same exact trios on a ROH PPV or something. Esfinge was the weak link here, with the laughable miscommunication miss in the first fall and wildness later on, but that wildness let to Puma just laying him out a couple times and I’m cool with that. Rey Cometa’s age and style sure would suggest he should be slowing down by now, and maybe he needs to join Pegasso and drop the 450, but he’s mostly still looks as athletic as ever and has gotten smoother somehow. I’m not sure if this would be the best singles match version of Rey Cometa but he’s excellent in trios nowadays.

The opener was a very average opening match. CMLL either needs to let Super Comando back in or let Artillero go, they’re both not as good along as they were with each other. Espanto Jr. is no Super Comando and not a great rudo, standing passively to set up técnico moves and showing no great aggression on his own. Astral & Robin tried to do things that probably looked cooler in their heads than they did for the rest of us in execution; the first fall finish seemed to a big set up that didn’t really pay off.

Dalys springboard dropkick