Recapped: 02/08/2019
Matches:
Metálico & Nitro beat Príncipe Diamante & Robin
(15:54 [7:54, 4:37, 3:23], 2/3, below average, 00:01:02 )
Okumura, Misterioso Jr., Universo 2000 Jr. beat Black Panther, Drone, Rey Cometa
(11:29 [4:09, 3:38, 3:42], 2/3, ok, 00:25:00)
Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Místico beat Gran Guerrero, Hijo del Villano III, Villano IV
(8:18 [3:03, 5:15], 1/2 DQ, ok, 00:46:31)
Gilbert el Boricua, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush beat Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Valiente
(14:56 [3:18, 6:01, 5:37], 1/3, ok, 01:00:58)
The dumb battle royal went 3:32
Último Guerrero beat Diamante Azul in a CMLL Universal eigthfinal
(3:14, Pulpo Guerrero, ok, 01:29:24)
Cuatrero beat Soberano Jr. in a CMLL Universal eigthfinal
(4:42, crucifix powerbomb, ok, 01:43:58)
Niebla Roja beat Mephisto in a CMLL Universal eigthfinal
(3:40, reverse campana, ok, 01:51:00)
Volador Jr. beat Sansón in a CMLL Universal eigthfinal
(3:21, huracanrana, ok, 01:56:30)
Último Guerrero beat Cuatrero in a CMLL Universal quarterfinal
(4:02, Guerrero special, ok, 02:01:58)
Niebla Roja beat Volador Jr. in a CMLL Universal quarterfinal
(5:04, Canadian Destroyer, ok, 02:07:32)
Niebla Roja beat Último Guerrero in a CMLL Universal semifinal
(6:00, reverse campana, good, 02:13:39)
What happened:
Niebla Roja won the block to face Terrible next week in the Universal final.
The Villanos jumped Papa Atlantis before the match, and Hijo del Villano III fouled Atlantis Jr. to end it.
Thoughts:
I didn’t give most individual matches of the Universal tournament a strong grade, but it was still good as a package and significantly better than usual. Last week’s final had the better high end matches but everything here was watchable with more thought than usual. It’s also possible I would’ve got more into the individual matches if I wasn’t watching two other sat the same time. Only the Diamante Azul match was the traditional “loser uses up all his offense” tournament match. The Niebla Roja/Mephisto match felt like the opposite, Mephisto just getting in nothing in and taking the loss. Volador/Sanson & Cuatrero/Soberano had good counters out of usual stuff, and both the second round matches felt fresh. Niebla Roja really seemed to have a chance when he made the final and beating Ultimo Guerrero cleanly (after beating Volador cleanly seven minutes before) felt like a big deal. It was an interesting and surprising choice that played better than Valiente’s advancement three years ago.
CMLL continues to put over Gilbert strong, even if he’s not very good at this point and they have no particular direction for him. It’s like they’re waiting for something to come up and just keeping him ready until it does. Rush & Carístico were in the semi-main trios a bit, Carístico definitely so, but there wasn’t much going on around them and this was a very forgettable match. Bestia attempted to use a finish that was very much beyond him; stick with the senton.
The tercera was a vast improvement in energy over the two matches. The Villanos are into the feud and the Atlantis are fighting to survive. Atlantis Jr. & Hijo del Villano III looked better this week until the very obvious slip late in the match. Hijo del Villano at least reacted well. Papa Atlantis and V4 brawled a lot, but it felt like the sons were the focus. Gran Guerrero & Místico were a level above everyone else and are the match I’d like to see, but that was clearly not the plan here.
The segunda was a standard midcard match, maybe a little worse than usual. Okumura coming in hurt the match, not just because it was Okumura. Kawato helps to add my interest in these because there’s a chance he might actually get better. There doesn’t seem to be chances for the rest of this group. A lot of it is people being overexposed, but The Panther feels less exciting than a year ago. The boomerang kick spot went quite bad, the topes aren’t as good and the mat wrestling is gone. Not that I’d expect it with these rudos.
Metalico’s flashy entrance distracts from the fact that he’s often counterproductive once the whistle blows. He seemed to cause Robin to be hurt at the end of the match. Nitro doesn’t have a flashy entrance. He was the better of the two there. Diamante has cool spots that seemed to take a long time to set up. Avoid this match.
