Recapped: 04/22/2018
Matches:
Magnus & Robin beat Akuma & Metálico
(9:45 [3:55, 2:38, 3:12], 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Eléctrico, Fuego, Pegasso beat Disturbio, Hijo del Signo, Nitro
(14:19 [3:19, 3:49, 7:11], 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
the dumb battle royal went 4:36
Magia Blanca beat Reyko in a torneo Nuevos Valores eighthfinal
(3:47, top rope michinoku driver, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
El Coyote beat Fugaz in a torneo Nuevos Valores eighthfinal (3:43, cristo, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Príncipe Diamante beat Maquiavelo in a torneo Nuevos Valores eighthfinal
(4:54, cavernaria, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Principe Daniel beat Príncipe Odín Jr. in a torneo Nuevos Valores eighthfinal
(6:23, crucifix cradle, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Magia Blanca beat El Coyote in a torneo Nuevos Valores eighthfinal
(4:02, super michinoku driver, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Príncipe Diamante beat Principe Daniel in a torneo Nuevos Valores quarterfinal
(3:17, fisherman’s suplex, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Magia Blanca beat Príncipe Diamante in a torneo Nuevos Valores semifinal
(5:22, super Michinoku Driver, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Diamante Azul, Mistico, Niebla Roja beat Felino, Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero
(10:57 [2:35, 2:12, 6:10], 2/3, n/r, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Dragón Lee vs Mephisto
(17:03, 2/3, good, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
- Mephisto Devil’s Wings (3:12)
- Dragon Lee standing Spanish Fly (2:27)
- Dragon Lee casita (11:24)
What happened:
Magia Blanca advanced to the final of the Nuevo Valores tournament.
Thoughts:
Dragon Lee/Mephsito was the usual big Mephisto match, built around near finishes and long pauses. The big moves didn’t look quite as sharp as usual. Dragon Lee couldn’t do his Spanish Fly modification well with the bigger man, Mephisto’s attempt at doing Flamita’s Retardor move didn’t go great, the finish seemed messed up almost to the point that they should’ve gone for another move. (I thought that’s what happened with the double stomp, but it turned out not to be the end of the match.) This is good and got the crowd by the end, but doesn’t give you anything special from these guys. I watched this after Dragon Lee got hurt, and watched it wondering if there was an obvious sign. Outside of the tape wrap on his right knee, there’s no sign of what’s coming.
Nuevo Valores thoughts
- Reyko seemed just OK. The Spanish Fly spot looked nice, and needed because he didn’t stand out in other ways.
- Fugaz looked fast and flew a long way on his tope. Coyote messed up one of his early spots, which didn’t derail the match but must be disappointing when you’re only getting a few moments to make an impression. He still won over the crowd and everything he did looked sharp.
- This is the best Maquiavelo has looked in his few CMLL appearances so far. He had more offense than before – this might be the only time we get to see him do dives on a stream any time soon – and he showed more of a rudo edge.
- I’m sure last minute deciding to take Templario & Audaz out of this led to some scrambling for a replacement. I’m also sure there are dozens of luchadors training inside CMLL who would been thrilled to have a 3 minute match as a pay off for years of training. Many of them would’ve done just as well as Principe Odin, who looked slow and awkward at times. His opening round match was more a showcase for Daniel, instead of the usual loser getting in all his spots.
- Coyote wants to do a lot, and he’s just not as smooth enough to pull it off. The chained suplex in his opening match needed a couple tries, his second match dive was amazing but also out of control. He’s trying though, and should be good if he can just get regular work. He was right where he needed to be on Magia Blanca’s dive.
- Principe Daniel showed more fire and energy in these matched than he did in Puebla. He was the better luchador in the second round match with Principe Diamante and should’ve advanced to the block final. He seems like he has decent skills and can get the crowd to care about him, but he needs a character more memorable than being the third different Principe in this tournament.
- Principe Diamante showed the same problems here he has since debuting. He can do some stuff well but nothing especially great. He has no particular personality or character; even his Diamante name is downplayed with the white on white mask he wore for this tournament. He’s always changing his look too. Even the ramp moonsault is something we see a lot of people do. Principe Diamante just feels assembled from ideas for other luchadors but nothing that makes him unique.
- Magia Blanca felt like the right winner in this block, though it’s weird because he looked right because he came off as more experienced than everyone else in the nuevo valores tournament. You can tell he’s an Último Guerrero trainee because he gets over his big moves by using them over and over again. He also might be a little bit better as a rudo than the tecnico role he has here. The bump he took for Diamante’s flipping DDT was nice.
I couldn’t think of much to write about the segunda match. It was alright. Disturbio winning with a technical move seemed to amaze everyone, including Disturbio. Pegasso fits in better in these matches than Friday ones.
The opener was nothing special. Magnus & Robin got to be a team, but didn’t do any team stuff outside the stereo senton finish. It was mostly their standard match with a less time, and with Metálico doing less comedy than usual. Crowd really didn’t care about it.
