Recapped: 07/04/2017
All matches aired live from Arena Puebla, 07/03/2017
Matches:
Asturiano, Black Tiger, Meyer beat El Malayo, Fuerza Chicana, King Jaguar
(13:35 [6:38, 2:41, 4:16], 1/3, ok)
Marcela beat Dalys in a lightning match
(7:56, Michinoku Driver, ok, via: VideosOficialesCMLL)
Soberano Jr., Stigma, Titán beat Disturbio, Misterioso Jr., Sagrado
(12:22 [5:49, 2:59, 3:34], 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Espíritu Maligno beat Ares in a hair vs hair match (14:37, 2/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
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Ares double amrbar (2:04)
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Espíritu Maligno seated nudo (2:56)
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Espíritu Maligno alejandrina (9:37)
Diamante Azul, Valiente, Volador Jr. beat Kráneo, Mephisto, Ripper
(12:20 [6:10, 6:10], 1/2, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
Pierroth, Rush, Último Guerrero beat Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Terrible
(10:18 [2:21, 3:47, 4:10], 1/3, below average, via VideosOficialesCMLL)
What happened:
The Fake Sombra – or a different one – was with Rush & Pierroth as with Friday. This time, the announcers didn’t shy away from identifying him, going the other way and definitively saying this was the real La Sombra we had seen for a while. The actual Manny Andrade traveled back to his hometown during the rest of the week and then went back to NXT. Since the idea is this is the real Sombra, the Fake Sombra went away too, at least until the next NXT vacation.
Diamante Azul wore a half Metro mask, though the announcers just referred to it as something from his past. (Metro was a sponsor , and maybe “was” is the reason it didn’t get named.) Kraneo fouled Volador for the DQ, something that went nowhere even though they were on opposite sides again the following week.
Both men came to the ring wearing their old mask for the hair match. Tirantes slow counted during the match, even at one point in the third fall where Ares appeared to pull Espíritu before the finish. Ares got his head shaved in the ring, and threw some of it at Espiritu.
Misterioso attacked Soberano at the start of their match, but fooled around and got cradled by Soberano at the end. Misterioso still took Soberano’s mask after the match.
Dalys came thru the crowd to attack Marcela to start the match. It helped her control Marcela for the first three minutes of the match, but she still ultimately lost to Marcela’s tapatia. Marcela challenged for a title shot next week.
Thoughts:
There wasn’t much reason to expect a lot out of the main event, given who was involved. They delivered on less than that. Rush & Pierroth only seemed to be interested when they were doing the Sombra angle, and not into the match at all. Rey Bucanero was doing the most on each team, but there wasn’t much to be had with the other guys. Shocker didn’t seem keen on taking the corner dropkick with his messed up jaw. This was a waste of time.
The semimain wasn’t much, an easy night for some guys who’ve had long days lately. Volador’s schedule probably caused this to be an off night for him, but it’s not like he was holding back this one. It was inactive and tedious, especially during the rudo controlled second fall. Diamante Azul easily slamming Kranoe was one of the more impressive things he’s done. His tope was not.
The hair match was a disappointment. The feud has been badly done, but Arena Puebla talking them into it seemed likely and there waas a big crowd there. They just didn’t come across as caring that much, and the match was just a collection of moves with no meaning. They built it around a surprising amount of dives, especially Ares doing more here than he’s done in the entire feud to this point, and those looked good, but it didn’t feel like it was going anywhere before the finish. Tirantes slow counts were really annoying on this show, and he just takes over the match for a couple minutes in the early with them and with arguing with both guys. I think it’s an attempt to get head for a match that isn’t really getting one – if the fans are booing him, at leas they’re making some noise – but it doesn’t get that reaction and it felt like the moment to check out on this match.
The lightning match was technically but the crowd did not seem to care about it at all. They did the things sort of bits that should make for an exciting match, and had more believable near endings than typical for a lightning match. The crowd just didn’t seem all that into it. Dalys moved way to the side on Marcela’s corner dropkick. I wouldn’t want to take it either.
This tercera got better as it went along but not so much that it felt totally watchable. It was really just the Soberano show, with him and Misterioso working their feud pretty well. I hope they’re actually heading to the match because their interactions have gotten better as they’ve gone along. Sagrado remains really good, both at talking the fancy offense and doing little things for the tecnicos.
The opener was more aggressive than usual, probably because it was a big show, but the energy didn’t translate into an interesting match. It was a few more action but not much stood out and it still came off as slow at times. Doing the dive tease and having both guys slide out instead just sort of made everyone look dumb, as usual. Every fall ended with a top rope move and only Black Tiger’s senton at the end looked good.