Tag: CMLL Claro

Recapped: 04/14/2017

Matches: 

All matches aired live from Arena Mexico. They aired on ClaroSports and can be seen on my YouTube channel (although only the last two hours will be available until YouTube finishes processing it.)

1. Mercurio, Pequeño Nitro, Pierrothito beat  Shockercito, Stukita, Último Dragóncito  (1/3, 14:45 [6:13, 3:48, 4:44], ok)
2. Soberano Jr. won Block A of La Copa Jr. Nuevo Valores (good)
   1. The Panther springboard dropkick Signo (8:14)
   2. Canelo Casas half nelson release suplex Oro Jr. (9:03)
   3. Drone corner headstand double knee smash Espanto Jr. (14:04)
   4. Cuatrero spinning crucifix powerbomb The Panther (15:40)
   5. Soberano sit down piledriver Canelo Casas (19:39)
   6. Cuatereo springboard elbow Drone (26:00)
   7. Soberano guillotine moonsault Cuatrero (30:34)
3. Ángel de Oro vs Hechicero in a lightning match (Skayde Special, 8:53, below average)
4. Diamante Azul, Stuka Jr., Valiente beat Mephisto, Negro Casas, Sam Adonis (1/3, 14:03 [5:06, 5:10, 3:47], ok)
5. Carístico, Dragón Lee, Mistico beat Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Niebla RojaA (2/3, 11:33 [4:25, 2:22, 4:46], ok)
6. Último Guerrero © defeated Atlantis to retain the NWA World Middleweight Championship (2/3, 17:00 [4:26, 0:53, 11:41], good)

What happened: 

Último Guerrero kept the NWA middleweight championship over Atlantis.

Niebla Roja continued to not get along with Gran Guerrero & Euforia, preferring to fight on his own and to be friendly with the técnicos. Roja didn’t throw the match, but the lack of teamwork cost them any chance of a win.

Último Guerrero introduced the mascots in the 04/30 match, announced he was training them, and they had a skirmish to promote the match.

Soberano beat Cuatrero to advance to Copa Junior Nuevo Valores tournament. Blue Panther Jr., Forastero, Sansón and Esfinge are among those in next week’s block

Thoughts: 

Atlantis & Último Guerrero had their usual match. By which I mean pretty much the same Último Guerrero match as ever with a few Atlantis spots plugged in. The one major wrinkle were a couple teases of the Atlantida in the third fall, giving at least some danger/hope the match could end before the inevitable moonsault attempt. They still ended up for the moonsault, and this was not the one time a year where someone kicked out of it. This was Último Guerrero at his best (and worst), a high level CMLL main event match that most of the promotion is trying to emulate done exactly as they wanted to do it, which the crowd enjoyed – and I still can’t recommend it because it doesn’t really interest me all that much. Maybe I’m in the wrong field.

The main event at least exactly fulfilled the potential of the match. The semimain didn’t. It was disappointing to team up those three técnicos for a match which was mostly about Niebla Roja not getting along with his partners. This about the normal pace for these things, and the técnicos did get in a few trademark big spots, but the match was an excuse to tease the breakup. And the breakup really didn’t advance that much, so it could’ve been something they just did at the end of the match instead of the whole way.

The fourth match had heat because of who was involved and a receptive match, but not a really a noteworthy match. Diamante Azul looked lost I the first fall, missing a trip spot and then being off sync the rest of the way. The match itself had no great rhythm past that point. It got over but not something needed watching.

The spot of the lightning match was Hechicero’s handspring pause elbow drop. Even he didn’t seem to know what he was doing in the middle of it and his carelessness at the end led to Angel de Oro suffering some sort of facial injury. (Angel de Oro didn’t help himslef here; he started to roll on his own just as Hechicero was finally doing the elbow drop.) Hechicero botching his springboard moonsault at the end was either incredible rudo bumbling or a really poor way to end the match. Oro & Hechicero have had good interactions before, but this was not one of them and I don’t know what the deal was. This wasn’t on the técnico.

This Copa Junior cibernetico is going to remembered for a while, even if it had some noticeable imperfections. It was iffy for (what turned out to be!) the first half. Guys like Espanto and Oro were trying hard for the occasion, but Cuatrero seemed off and purposefully slowing down the match at times. It made more sense in the end, he had a large load to carry and was trying to make it in one piece. Cuatrero had a strong night considering, and some of his best moments came in the last few moves of the match. This match was also about making Soberano and he pulled it off well. Getting Panther out of the way early helped Soberano shine on his own a little more, but he also did himself with his dives and big spots. My biggest problem with this match was there a lot of fat in this match, and it would’ve flowed better if they cut it down closer to twenty minutes. They went for it all and may have exhausted the crowd out by the end. (They also seemed to annoy Tirantes, so there are definite positives.) This was enjoyable but I think you have to be a big CMLL fan to want to watch it all. Soberano’s single final will likely top this if they give him any one to work with.

The opener was the same bit of disappointment as the semimain. It was a good looking técnico side and it had more time and less angle than the other match. It didn’t have rudo who were invested or moving great. They looked slow, no point slower than Mercurio staircase dropkick. The técnicos, especially Stukita, did pull the crowd back into it after they were quick to boo early, but not enough to make this good. Shockercito is going to miss Demus so much.

Recapped: 2017-04-07

Matches:

All matches were taped taped on Arena México at 04/07/2017, and aired on ClaroSports. They’re on my youtube channel.

Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro (2/3) Acero & Aéreo (14:46 [6:45, 3:41, 4:20], ok)

Princesa Sugehit, Skadi, Silueta (1/3) Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis (14:43 [7:15, 3:40, 3:48], below average) 

Sam Adonis  defeated  Rey Cometa in a lightning match (9:10, powerbomb w/feet on the ring, good) 

Atlantis, Diamante Azul, Stuka Jr. (2/3)  Kráneo, Negro Casas, Último Guerrero (9:03 [2:29, 2:30, 4:04], OK)

Angel de Oro won the 2017 Reyes del Aire (29:44, great)
taped on Arena México at 04/07/2017

06:14 Volador backcracker Luciferno
10:15 Cavernario mammoth dropkick Titan
12:01 Máximo rope walking plancha Gran Guerrero
14:32 Hechicero cradle Dragon Lee
14:32 Volador quebrada Mephisto
17:39 La Mascara double knee smash Valiente
18:22 Mistico Mistica on Cavernario
19:57 Hechicero conjuro Maixmo
20:25 Carístico Carsitica La Mascara
21:41 Volador backcracker Hechicero
23:41 Euforia Soberana Carístico
24:15 Niebla Roja middle Furia Roja Mistico
24:47 Volador top rope headscissors Niebla Roja
29:35 Euforia Soberana Volador
29:44 Angel de Oro mecedora Euforia

What Happened:

Angel de Oro won the 2017 Reyes del Aire. Yes, Angel de Oro. For the third time. He submitted Euforia a second after Euforia submitted Volador.

Carístico and Volador got into a fight with each other during the match, with Mistico trying to play peacemaker. Niebla Roja and the Guerreros didn’t seem to be friendly, but Roja otherwise fought as normal rudo. (The match had been billed as having a battle royal, but they cut it out.)

Atlantis submitted Último Guerrero in the semifinal and challenged for a NWA Middleweight Championship match next week. UG accepted.

Sam Adonis defeated Rey Cometa, using the ropes to get the pin.

CMLL announced a Copa Junior Nuevo Valores would begin next week.

Skadi replaced Sanely in the women’s match.

Thoughts:

The main event had some incredible stretches of action, sequences as good as they’ve done in any one of these crazy ciberneticos. The pace was incredible most of the way and very compelling; I couldn’t find time to make any notes beyond keeping track of eliminations because I didn’t want to take my eyes of the screen. The lower level of the last five minutes – from Niebla Roja and Volador both nearly landing on their head on the headscissors slip thru the finish – hurts this from being a match of the year contender, and Angel de Oro as the winner also doesn’t help. Still, this is a match you really ought to see just to be amazed. Valiente looked great during his portion, Hechicero got a few big moments, there was a finisher move melody that came off fantastic, all the Misticos and Volador doing dives in a row was cool, and Carístico & Volador was a great touch that works even if they never bother to follow up on it. Endings are overaly important to me, and you may get more out of this if that doesn’t concern you, because there was about 20 minutes of incredible action in this one.

The semimain seemed super rushed, as if CMLL was mostly worried about having enough time for the main event. (They did!) Atlantis and UG is a well trod feud, so it doesn’t really matter they didn’t do all that much to build up a title match here. Diamante Azul stole the match, looking more impressive tossing around Kraneo than anything he did with Pierroth. His ramp dive at the end looked awesome too. It also felt more like build to the Kid’s Day show, with Zacarias & Mije beatup por Monito.

Their were some iffy moments in the lightning match – the Canadian Destroyer didn’t look right, Adonis couldn’t find the ropes with his other foot stood out – but I thought it was still a good effort for the first single’s match they’ve given Adonis. Adonis took most of Cometa’s offense well, had stuff he could do on his own, and the crowd was really into the match. Cometa seems to have a knack to play the heroic Mexican better than most guys in his spot, and comes off sympathetic easily.

The women’s match was messy and not up to even the usual level for these things. Metalica & Skadi worked a lot together here it and it was compelling, not always for positive reasons. Some exchanged looked bad, some looked surprisingly OK, and sometimes it looked like Metalica was really getting kicked in the face. It’s strange they trust the people who display the less skills do more dangerous spots in this second match.

The técnicos tried hard to make the opener something noteworthy. It didn’t quite work, but the first fall was pretty good for this position. The rudos did go with the big spots and Pequeño Nitro took a big bump to the floor, but Mercurio also clowned around a bit. This match mostly proved Aereo is much better than Acero and might be useful in an environment where he was allowed to do things. Acero can do things too, but he can only do them slower than average and not as gracefully. This was good on the sliding scale of openers but I think it needed a little more for me.

Recapped: 03/31/2017

All matches aired live on ClaroSports. They can be seen on my channel.

Matches:

1. Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro (1/3) Stukita & Último Dragóncito (14:06 [4:24, 3:37, 6:05], ok)
2. Amapola, Tiffany, Zeuxis (1/3 DQ) La Jarochita, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi (11:43 [5:36, 3:04, 3:03], below average)
3. El Cuatrero, Máscara Año 2000, Sansón (1/3) Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther (12:50 [4:27, 2:19, 6:04], good)
4. Marco Corleone, Máximo Sexy, Volador Jr. (1/3 DQ) Kráneo, Mephisto, Pierroth (10:18 [2:35, 5:01, 2:42], ok)
5. Diamante Azul, Stuka Jr., Valiente (2/3) Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero (11:10 [4:36, 1:58, 4:36], ok)
6. Matt Taven (2/3) Rush (12:22 [2:42, 2:46, 6:54], good)

What happened: 

Matt Taven cheated to beat Rush in the main event. The finish was a bit of nonsense. Taven had Rush pinned clean after the same frogsplash he used to win the second fall. Rush never kicked out, but the referee stopped counting because Pierroth appeared on the apron. Taven got up and brawled with Pierroth, and Rush & Pierroth double teamed him. It’s unclear why this was not a disqualification. They came back in the ring, Taven blocked a single kick, cradled Rush and used the ropes to get the win win. Rush said he’d get his revenge when Taven returned and Taven confirmed he would return, but he was also going after Máximo and the heavyweight title. (My educated guess is Taven’s taking over the role intended for Yoshitatsu, who made that same heavyweight challenge after his match with Volador but is now not expected back.)

Not much else happened. Pierroth got his team DQ-ed in a match they were about to lose anyway by fouling Máximo. Valiente submitted Último Guerrero and repeated his mask versus hair challenge, but only in a backstage interview. Sugehit got her team DQ-ed for unmasking Zeuxis, in a spot that looked messed up. Sugehit struggled for a while to get the mask off and it didn’t feel like the match was supposed to peaking at that moment. No challenges followed for that.

The most exciting development was Reyes del Aire was announced for next week.

Thoughts: 

Eh. A few matches around the OK/good line, not a lot higher.

Rush/Taven was the best match on the show, bringing good intenstiy and more drama to a crowd that was more invested into it than anything else. They were not invested in reacting the way CMLL wanted them to react (foreigners who don’t actually do in ring turn are always going to get booed in situations like this), but Taven reacted well to booing. It was just iffy times. Taven has a lot of flashy kicks but they’re literally hit or miss and too many looked like they were missing for me to get to into this. The finish was a jumbled mess. The distraction bit was bad, there was no reason something that’s a DQ every other time wasn’t a DQ here, and they went right to about the same finish they had before hand. Might as well just have counted three on the frog splash and shocked everyone.

Dinamitas/Panthers was the best of the rest. The usual quality match between these two teams, without being the best for either side. It was just an easy match where they both got in their fancier spots and looked better than the Panther’s new outfits. It also had the trademark Panther bit of building up to what seemed like an ending, and then taking it back down a couple notches ot build up again. Mascara was less watching the other guys do double teams, and more integrated as part of the team. I knew Mascara was submitting Panther as soon as the second fall ended and they hadn’t do a spot yet. It makes no sense, but it makes CMLL sense.

There’s nothing much to say about the two upper card trios matches. The semimain was a little better one, but both were the kind of generic trios matches you’d get in the top spots most days of the week. We got a few nice spots, and a moment of nostalgia with Bucanero & UG reunited, but nothing much to write about. The Máximo/Pierroth trios match felt very generic, and the DQ very tacked on for no obvious reason.

The opener was slightly above average on it’s curve, but not enough to rise to a recommendation. It was another match where Stukita came off a star, finding ways to be cool in a match format seemingly designed to make sure no one could be one. Mercurio & Nitro helped by playing off him, but then Mercurio kind of pulled it down with a lot of comedy. He seemed to be entertained and the crowd somewhat. The match slowed down late. Still would take this over most openers.

Sugehit & Zeuxis got in a few of their now normal exchanges and the crowd reacted to their feud, but the match surrounding it wasn’t much at all. Skadi and Jarochita are trying but they didn’t add here. Skadi still has issues with timing and positioning, and Jarochita’s just doesn’t seem effective in her role. Amapola celebrating the ill gotten win was nice but skip this.

Recapped: 03/24/2017

This aired on ClaroSports live, but was region blocked outside of Mexico. It is on my YouTube channel.

Matches: 

Demus 3:16 & Pierrothito defeated Eléctrico & Shockercito (rudos 1/3, 15:52 [6:33, 4:34, 4:45], OK)

Dalys, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis defeated Princesa Sugehit, Sanely, Silueta (rudas 2/3, 18:05 [9:03, 4:38, 4:24], OK)

Hechicero, Kráneo, Ripper defeated Máximo Sexy, Stuka Jr., Titán (rudos 1/3, 11:44 [3:54, 3:12, 4:38], great)

Niebla Roja defeated Dragón Lee in a lightning match (Takahashi style Canadian Destroyer, 6:49, good)

Ángel de Oro, Mistico, Valiente defeated Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas (técnicos 2/3, 8:54 [2:54, 1:46, 4:14], good)

Diamante Azul, Matt Taven, Volador Jr. defeated La Máscara, Pierroth, Rush  (técnicos straight falls, 6:32 [2:45, 3:47], ok)

What Happened:

Matt Taven used a distraction and a foul to beat Rush in the main event. It was a straight fall win, after Pierroth passed up the first fall win to unmask Diamante Azul earlier. Taven challenged Rush to a rematch of their September match next Friday, and Rush accepted.

Zeuxis defeated Princesa Sugehit again. She got a little help from a trip from the outside to land her big dropkick.

Niebla Roja also picked up a pin on Dragon Lee. It felt like build to another match, but there were no challenges.

The ring announcers and edecanes did live skits to promote the Boing apple drink/cup giveaway

Thoughts:

The tercera was the match of the night, a match which looked good on paper and was much better in reality. They started off with a dynamic Titan/Hechicero battle and kept a fast pace throughout. Maximo’s kiss spot was clever, and slamming a big guy (and falling down) alwayss gets over. Titan might have cleared a new height record on his moonsault and was part of a really good moonsault. Even the rudos winning didn’t deflate the crowd much.

Dragon Lee & Niebla Roja was good while it lasted, it just didn’t last as long as I hoped. They showed good chemistry here, with Niebla Roja looking as good as he’s ever looked opposite of Dragon Lee. They left it really unclear if this is meant to go anywhere, but any Dragon Lee singles loss should go somewhere at this point.

The crowd enjoyed the semimain and the finishing sequence was well done, but it felt more routine and less to it than the earlier men’s trios. I didn’t realize how short it was until checking the clock, but it explains why I didn’t see as much in this match. Still fun to see Negro Casas do Negro Casas things and he was in good form here.

The women’s match was shakey. It’s good to see Silueta still exists; she can be an average luchadora and that’s better that most people here. She might have been above average here, because she managed to have a problem free exchange with Reina Isis to start. Reina Isis later messed up a handspring back elbow, if that was what it was. Sanely did not have a great match either. Sugehit/Zeuxis was the fulcrum of the match, but it didn’t feel as strong as before, not like a pending big mask match.

The minis match wasn’t those guys “A” game, with the rudos not really into it (the more biting, the less Demus cares) and Shockercito seeming invisible until the third stretch. They had a lot of time, too much for what they were going to do.

The main event was the usual Diamante Azul/Ingobernable thing. Diamante Azul did his double clothesline, Volador had a nice tope con giro, but I’m tuned out on this now. Taven winning via foul was an actual surprise. Seems unlikely he’s getting the win next week, but it’s obviously positive indicator about how much CMLL loves Taven. They don’t give two singles matches in three Fridays to pretty much anything; it’s a timing issue here, but also an endorsement.

Recapped: 03/10/2017

What happened: Diamante Azul won the main event in the record book, but was really just left unmasked and humiliated again. Niebla Roja & Dragon Lee and Marco Corleone & Sam Adonis have minor feuds going on, but the one between Misterioso & Soberano seems to be getting serious quick.

What was good: Most everything I got to see. The main event wasn’t much good (nor was it trying to be much good), but everything else we got to see was good. It lacked a standout match and we lost the Stuka/Bobby match due to streaming issues, but it was an overall enjoyable show.

Where can I watch it: It’s on my channel.

Read More