Recapped: 2018-11-23
Matches:
Akuma & Espanto Jr. beat Oro Jr. & Súper Astro Jr.
(11:39 [5:38, 2:14, 3:47], 1/3, ok, 00:00:48)
Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Fuego beat Kawato San, Okumura, Universo 2000 Jr.
(12:38 [5:00, 2:31, 5:07], 2/3, ok, 00:19:45)
Soberano Jr., Titán, Tritón beat Dark Magic, Luciferno, Vangellys
(9:37 [4:54, 4:43], 1/2, ok, 00:41:58)
Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr. beat Ephesto, Mephisto, Penta 0M
(11:11 [3:09, 2:16, 5:46], 1/3, ok 01:01:24)
Cavernario beat King Phoenix to win CMLL’s Leyenda de Plata Tournament
(20:26, 2/3, excellent, 01:25:26)
- Phoenix Fire Driver (4:25)
- COR Phoenix (4:49)
- Cavernario cavernaria (11:12)
Cuatrero, Forastero, Máscara Año 2000, Sansón beat Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero
(11:10 [3:55, 2:26, 4:49], 1/3, good, 01:58:55 )
What happened:
Mascara Año 2000 wrestled in his mask for his 40th Anniversary match. Templario now has a color matching Guerreros outfit and was said to be an official member post-match. UG tried to use a rope grab to beat Mascara 2000, but Mascara escaped with help from the ref, and Mascara did the same to UG. Mascara challenged Último Guerrero a hair match after, and Guerrero seemed to agree.
Fenix dramatically landed on the floor after a Cavernario moved out of the way of a tope con giro. Cavernario splashed him, and Fenix was counted out to end the second fall. Cavernario later splashed Fenix from the stage in the third fall, which may have left Fenix injured (or maybe more injured.) Cavernario defeated Fenix on his second cavernaria though the finish came off strangely – Edgar didn’t indicate a submission immediately, rushing to break up the hold and then declaring Cavernario the winner. The doctor immediately checked on Phoenix with more concern than CMLL’s usual worked injury spots, and he was stretchered to the back as Cavernario was given the Leyenda de Plata.
Thoughts:
Mascara 2000 might have improbably had the best Anniversario match of the four this year. They had him do less than the legends in the other matches while picking his spots and giving him a suitable win. It worked fine because the other seven guys were having a strong match around them. The Dinamitas and Guerreros meshed better than in the recent Puebla run, and Templario looked great as the newest Lagunero. If CMLL had actual tag teams, he and Gran Guerrero should take the good chemistry they showed here and form a regular team. The kids provided a lot of action and Último Guerrero getting outsmarted at the end worked for the occasion. I do not think a Mascara 2000 versus Último Guerrero singles match would be a good idea, but this went well enough that they could talk some fans into it.
King Phoenix versus Cavernario was the CMLL house version of Toxin versus Fly Star. There was extreme violence by Arena Mexico standards, some very impressive and deadly moves that probably should not be done by right-thinking people. If you’re going to crash and burn on a tope con giro the floor, and maybe you shouldn’t, at least they made the most of it. They made Cavernario’s splashes memorable if also completely insane. Both men were more selling “broken” than “exhaustion” by the end, and it was very believable that they were broken. Most everything seemed to go how they wanted and it was pretty exciting in the end, though it did seem like the crowd was stronger into the last match than this one. I’d put this match about the same as level as the quality of the last, and hope they don’t try to top this for personal damage.
The fourth match didn’t come off well. Penta missed on catching Místico and then missed on a trip in the second fall. The comeback was off too, with wrestlers not taking a bump for Volador’s offense, probably because Penta had to go right into a spot with Carístico. Even the Mistica at the end didn’t go well. They had a lot that got over with the crowd I between that, but the match could’ve obviously gone better. It’s still a little frustrating on CMLL bringing in Penta to do nothing with him, but I’m about to give up on that.
Titan’s team won in straight falls while also taking a lot of the match, which meant a lot of high points to the match and good action. The rudos did better basing for the técnicos than figured, with Dark Magic doing fine catching Triton’s dive and Vangellys moving around better this week. Luciferno worked very hard on his side to make the match worked and it was a borderline good match.
The second match was an average Panthers match. It was a little stronger in the third fall with near falls every fifteen seconds. It was a little weak in the first fall when Black Panther was trying to led Kawato thru some complicated mat work. This was crowd pleasing and quickly forgettable.
Super Astro has a sort of magical style, and that made the opener better than usual. He brings a bit more fun to these matches than most técnicos. Oro had a good springboard headscissors. The match was still sloppy, especially at the end of the first fall and the length set up to the Signo/Espanto spot on the outside.