Recapped: 04/16/2018
Matches:
Arkalis, Millenium, Rey Samuray beat El Perverso, Fuerza Chicana, Rey Apocalipsis
(12:34 [5:24, 3:52, 3:18], 1/3, n/r, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
El Malayo, Grako, Templario beat Fugaz, Principe Daniel, Reyko
(13:55 [5:56, 3:17, 4:42], 1/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Kaho Kobayashi & Princesa Sugehit beat Dalys & Zeuxis
(13:08 [7:04, 3:09, 2:55], 1/3, below average, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón beat Ángel de Oro, Dragón Lee, Niebla Roja
(12:53 [3:03, 2:27, 7:23], 1/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible beat El Malayo, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
(12:05 [3:50, 4:07, 4:08], 1/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Carístico beat Mistico
(14:54, 2/3, good, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
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Mistico La Mistica (1:50)
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DQ Mistico mask removal (2:23)
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La Carística (10:41)
What happened:
Malayo worked twice because Shocker didn’t make it to the show. He hasn’t been back on a CMLL show as of two and half weeks later, though he is workig.
Dalys & Kaho are feuding the match, heading to a title match.
Sansón got away with a mask pull on Draogn Lee to set up the win.
Thoughts:
The main event was swung by the emotions brought into the match and expressed by the fans during it. The action itself was neither especially fast or numerous but, because it was between these two people, normal action felt a lot important. Carístico looked the better of the two, showing more on offense and capturing the fan’s attention during the match. Mistico has the personality to pull of being a rudo but not really the style. He had to be the rudo because that’s the way the fans were turning the match, but he didn’t really take over the match strongly like you might want a rudo, and the third fall your turn/my turn stuff was actually an improvement over the last two falls. Even considering they might be able to do more with a second try in Arena Mexico, this doesn’t seem like it’ll be a sure fire great match if they ran it back again. It also doesn’t seem like it needs to be to work. They just need to do something that’s not a disappointment, and this was not a disappointment.
The semimain was competent but not really interesting, and with a worthless DQ finish. Rush actually sort of tried, in that he actually tried to take Malayo’s face off with his dropkick. Rush didn’t think to pin him because no on was really paying attention, and so this fall when longer that it was supposed to. Of course Malayo took the super bomb too. La Bestia’s outfit is silly on it’s own. It’s sillier still paired with Rush & Terrible dressed in Ingobernable t-shirts. Does Bestia understand the look of the group he’s in? It’s unclear. I’d like to imagine this as the start of Bestia being split off from the group but we couldn’t be that lucky.
The four match wasn’t far off being good, but the timing just felt off in a couple places (and really obviously in one spot.) They had the pace of a good match, just missed a little bit. I really like the Dinamtias stomping. It’s very energetic.
The women’s match was sloppy. This is the start of Kaho’s big title shot, and she wins falls with a slow huracanarana and a standing moonsault that doesn’t land right. She’s generally OK otherwise in the match and Zeuxis’ antics are amusing in this match, but this wasn’t overall strong.
The second match featured the Jalisco guys in the next day’s Nuevo Valores tournament. Everyone had a fine técnico showcase run in the third fall and didn’t stand out one way or the other the rest of the match. Fugaz was the sharpest of the three, his huracanrana to win the second fall was nicely snapped off, but it wasn’t an overwhelming margin. Templario was less showy here than normal, so maybe one match isn’t a good way to judge anyone.
CMLL’s lineups normally don’t have enough logic enough to go as far as sending messages. This trios match, with five guys who uprooted their lives to train in Mexico City and made it at least far as a tournament, sure felt like it should be a sign to Malayo. The Puebla rudo sometimes does things I do not like but whoever put together this match thought he was exactly on the level of the people CMLL considers prospects at the moment. I have no idea what Malayo wants out of his lucha libre career, but the universe is telling him to go to CDMX.