Recapped: 2020-01-06
Matches:
Black Panther, Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr. beat Sagrado, Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr.
(10:44 [4:13, 2:50, 3:41], 2/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Felino, Hechicero, Mephisto beat Audaz, Rey Cometa, Star Jr.
(13:55 [6:50, 7:05], 1/2, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Bárbaro Cavernario, Hijo del Villano III, Negro Casas beat Atlantis Jr., Kráneo, Soberano Jr.
(13:47 [5:55, 3:36, 4:16], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Príncipe Diamante beat Espíritu Negro, mask vs mask
(11:25, 2/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
- Espiritu Negro Canadian Destroyer (1:23)
- Principe Diamante Spanish Fly (2:15)
- Principe Diamante arm scissors (7:4)1230-2017
Carístico & Místico © beat Cuatrero & Forastero for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship
(19:24 [6:08, 3:42, 9:34], 1/3, good, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Dulce Gardenia vs Kawato San for the hair
(11:34, 2/3, good, VideosOficialesCMLL)
- Kawato armbar (2:00)
- Dulce Gardenia posing armbar (1:55)
- Dulce Gardenia reverse campana (7:39)
What happened:
Kawato San lost his hair, Espiritu Negro lost his mask, Mistico & Caristico kept the tag titles and this is all very old news by the time you’re reading this.
Thoughts:
There was a point where Kawato in a big-time match like this would’ve been a disaster. This was not a disaster, so that’s progress. I think Kawato was not supposed to catch Dulce’s early dive as well as he did, which is a remarkable change of habit. It was also missing much excitement from Kawato; the only near fall he has late is a referee distraction induced cradle. It is Dulce Gardenia spots from there for the last couple of minutes, Kawato existing only as something Dulce can easily overcome. Both wrestlers seemed hesitant at times during the match, more affecting how much the other had to stand to wait for moves rather than causing something to go wrong. It didn’t go wrong, the match was just missing some snap. The crowd and the occasion carried this to worth watching, though I can’t imagine wanting to watch it again.
The concept of going all in the semi-main was doing the same run of Destroyer seen on the indies two years ago. It wasn’t really strong then either. The tag title match did give all the usual beats with these two teams, just with one less man on each side. They were successful in getting the tecnicos an impressive win, doing a lot of the usual stuff well. Forastero broke out the ramp dropkick for this match. Cuatrero messed his springboard finish but was smart enough to keep going. This was solid and enjoyable even if not really creative.
The first fall Canadian Destroyer in the Principe Diamante/Espiritu Negro match was horrendous, shouldn’t have ended the fall, and may have dug a grave too deep for the rest of the match to dig out. The mask match got negative reviews live and seemed fine a week later on video. It wasn’t great, they couldn’t dig out of that hold because they did nothing particular to stand out. Principe Diamante & Espiritu Negro had a competent match without going the extra mile expected in title matches. Espiritu looked more tentative, perhaps more nervous than he had in the lead up to this match. Diamante, forever consigned to looking like eight different tecnicos on the roster, added a flash armbar as a special finish. It wasn’t special, especially since Espiritu was so close to the ropes but couldn’t try to get on them. They didn’t blow anything badly beyond that Destroyer, which puts this ahead of some matches in a spot. They also didn’t really seize the opportunity.
Negro Casas had fun interactions with Kraneo in the third. Cavernario was so over at the end. Soberano looks impossibly more rail-thin in his gold gear. Everything was fine and there’s not much to remember about this match.
Two long falls mean no third, as demonstrated in the second match. The match didn’t have a great rhythm with that setup, with the first fall being a more enjoyable than the first. Hechicero seemed to take most of the match for his team and seemed worn out by late in that second fall. Audaz brought back his flip escape spots, but the timing on the team spots wasn’t great. Tiger Infante had some weird counts in this one.
The opener had midcard names and a midcard match. It was better than the usual but wouldn’t have stood as the fourth match on a Tuesday. Guerrero Maya, Black Panther, and Drone are all underpushed teams, though they didn’t make a notable impression in this one. Tiger did well in keeping up with Drone.