Recapped: 2020-07-14
I’m starting at looking at 1995 episodes of CMLL TV, but I think I’m just going to end up bouncing through whatever 90s one I can find when I have a chance to do this.
Brazo de Oro beat Gran Markus Jr. © for the Mexico City Heavyweight Championship
(CMLL 01/31 @ 17:32, good, Roy Lucier CMLL)
What Happened: The Mexico City heavyweight championship – literally a title just for the city – would pop up in CMLL from time to time as a midlevel heavyweight championship. I had Brazo de Oro listed as the champion here, but he’s definitely challenging and this is the title change.
Review: [good] A solid technical title match. I didn’t know what to expect given my experience with these two men is mostly when they were much older. It didn’t look good when it started with some slow mat wrestling. It got much better than there. In 1995, they’re surprising agile big men with decent speed and good drama. Gran Markus was easily getting up and down and Brazo moved around like a much smaller man. This isn’t a match of big moves, but the finish caught me by surprise nicely. Much better than I thought looking at the match listing, closer to being great.
Héctor Garza, La Fiera, Silver King beat Black Magic, Dr. Wagner Jr., Emilio Charles Jr.
(CMLL @ 02/03, 13:46, ok, Roy Lucier CMLL)
There’s a strong first fall and a good ending in this trios match, and a lot of running clothesline spots that make the match tedious in between. Silver King appears out to lunch at the end of the first fall, struggling setting up his own finish and then forgetting to go for the pin. Garza, Emilio and Black Magic are more positive standouts. It ended up fine enough but nothing worth seeking out.
El Hijo del Solitario, Kato Kung Lee, Shocker beat Arkángel de la Muerte, Cachorro Mendoza, Felino
(CMLL @ 02/07, 14:17, ok, Roy Lucier CMLL
Slow and not so interesting. You can see Arkangel looking a lot more agile than he would end up, and Kato Kung Lee still showing flashes of his own mobility. It just doesn’t go anywhere outside of that match up. It ends suddenly and anticlimactically with an Arkangel foul. Pass.
Negro Casas, Silver King, Vampiro beat Bestia Salvaje, Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo Del Gladiador
(CMLL @ 02/10, 16:59, ok, Roy Lucier CMLL)
A tedious encounter despite some individual good wrestlers. The first fall goes really long for no reason, and the third fall seems like they edited out the comeback. Or maybe just worked a weird match. Vampiro and Wagner did not seem to be getting along at all; Wagner was clearly upset with Vampiro after he refused to do a spot on the floor late in the second fall and kept at him about it.