Recapped: 2020-02-14
Matches:
Cancerbero & Raziel beat Eléctrico & Oro Jr.
(14:46 [7:01, 4:48, 2:57], 2/3, ok)
Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis beat Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Tsukushi
(17:35 [8:15, 2:46, 6:34], 1/3, ok)
Atlantis Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. beat Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas
(8:55 [2:49, 2:29, 3:37], 1/3, ok)
The dumb battle royal went 3:25
Diamante Azul & Gilbert el Boricua beat Guerrero Maya Jr. & Universo 2000 Jr. in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(9:03, ok)
El Bandido & Último Guerrero beat Flyer & Hechicero in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(4:47, ok)
Carístico & Forastero beat Mephisto & Titán in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(5:28, ok)
Felino & Niebla Roja beat Dulce Gardenia & Okumura in a torneo nacional increible eighthfinal
(6:02, ok)
El Bandido & Último Guerrero beat Diamante Azul & Gilbert el Boricua in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal
(3:38, ok)
Carístico & Forastero beat Felino & Niebla Roja in a torneo nacional increible quarterfinal
(3:53, ok)
Carístico & Forastero beat El Bandido & Último Guerrero in a torneo nacional increible semifinal
(7:11, good)
What happened:
Forastero & Caristico won three matches, advancing to the 02/28 tournament final.
Thoughts:
CMLL had to be thrilled with how the tournament went. Most of the matches aren’t worth going out of your way to see standalone, but the hour of matches coalesced into an entertaining product. The Ultimo Guerrero & Bandido team was about as successful as could be possible in three matches. They had great teamwork, and most of that teamwork was about Bandido doing something incredible. Bandido & Caristico also meshed great in the block final, with Caristico pulling off moves he’d never try normally. I’m not sure what more should be done with Bandido and UG, but this is the most effective Bandido has come across in CMLL.
That team was the best, despite not winning. They weren’t the only contributors. Caristico & Forastero were less exciting but still a solid winner. Dulce Gardenia continues to get moreover, producing the biggest reaction for a Okumura match in a long time. (It seemed a mistake to eliminate Gardenia after one match.) Hechicero & Guerrero Maya appeared extra motivated by the opportunity to face different people, playing off Bandido & Mesias well. Titan & Mephisto had the best matching gear and made the most of a short rudo bit. The crowd bought into this tournament, especially the final, making this a better watch than it seemed when the opener was getting no reaction.
The tercera was the shortest of the three opening trios matches, though they did much more than expected giving Volador’s unhappy expression walking to the ring. It was a race through the tecnico highspots, only broken up by the rudos quickly winning the second fall. Negro Casas seemed determined to break himself, between taking the Valiente tope and a hard tumble out of the ring. Atlantis Jr. has two good runs of offense in every match and no more. Though that seems to be the case for most every midcard CMLL tecnico.
The rating on this Friday’s women’s match and last weeks is the same, but this was the more successful of the two. Tsukushi got a good showcase to start the match and came off as more of a star this time around. The rest of the action was steady if not impressive; it didn’t drag as much as last week despite going just about as long. The Dalys backbreaker was an impressive spot.
Raziel kicking Oro Jr. directly in the side of the head wasn’t nice. Neither was the rest of the opener. The rudos mailed it in with no particular speed or quality, blowing one of their double teams in an obvious fashion. They didn’t give the tecnicos much outside the first fall and there’s no great need to watch this one.