Recapped: 1/23/2018
Matches:
Espíritu Maligno & Policeman beat Centella Roja & Meyer
(11:32 [6:26, 3:03, 2:03], 2/3, n/r,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Halcón Suriano Jr. & Tigre Rojo Jr. beat El Malayo & Toro Bill Jr.
(9:03 [3:55, 2:57, 2:11], 1/3, n/r,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Marcela & Princesa Sugehit beat Amapola & La Comandante
(16:20 [7:47, 4:14, 4:19], 1/3, n/r,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Tyson La Bestia beat Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma, Stuka Jr.
(14:55 [4:39, 2:54, 7:22], 1/3, n/r,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Niebla Roja beat Luciferno in a lightning match
(9:59, Luciferno Crash, good,VideosOficialesCMLL)
Rush, Vangellys, Villano IV vs Euforia, Kráneo, Valiente in a relevos increíbles match
(9:58 [0:50, 4:57, 4:11], 1/3, n/r,VideosOficialesCMLL)
What happened:
The lightning match ended at 9:59 on my clock. The CMLL announcers had it at 9:58. Either way, neither Roja nor Luciferno seemed to be working towards a time limit draw tease, it just happened to end at that moment. There’s no visual clock for this countdown in Puebla. The ring announcer gave a five-minute warning but didn’t count down the time past that.
Luciferno attempts to challenge Niebla Roja for a title match after beating him again. Luciferno instead gets totally rattled by the crowd booing and loses control of the moment multiple times. It is remarkably not good, though the crowd completely getting into messing with Luciferno salvages the bit. Niebla Roja eventually makes the challenge for Luciferno and accepts it.
Thoughts:
The lightning match alone was borderline good, maybe more incredible than good given the time and post-match. Luciferno is slow at doing things, but they were actually doing things. Luciferno blocking Niebla Roja’s (very telegraphed) spinning forearm was more thought than usually move run thru effort in lightning matches. Next week’s title match, when Luciferno is likely to take a few more risks, has a chance to be good on its own. The post-match promo bit, with Luciferno having the crowd turn on him, was an entertaining scene itself and made the whole thing worth it.