CMLL on Marca: 2020-02-07

Casas victory

Recapped: 2020-02-07

Matches:

Shockercito & Último Dragóncito beat Pequeño Nitro & Pierrothito
(9:27 [4:08, 2:23, 2:56], 2/3, ok, 00:00:00)

Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Tsukushi beat Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis
(17:27 [10:32, 4:23, 2:32], 1/3, ok, 00:17:00)

Atlantis Jr., Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr. beat Okumura, Pólvora, Tiger
(15:35 [8:06, 7:29], 1/2, ok, 00:42:57)

Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja beat Euforia, Gilbert el Boricua, Negro Casas
(15:29 [7:00, 3:24, 5:05], 2/3, ok, 01:07:13)

Felino beat Bárbaro Cavernario
(9:55, 1/3 DQ, ok, 01:34:22)

Carístico, Valiente, Volador Jr. beat Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
(11:51 [3:28, 3:53, 4:30], 2/3, ok, 01:54:54)

What happened:

just a nice suplex

Barbaro Cavernario submitted Felino to la caverneria but was quickly disqualified for refusing to let go of the hold. Cavernario slapped Edgar for calling the DQ and continued to attack Felino until Negro Casas ran out to make the save. Zacarias spent the match conflicted on who to help and walked off at the end.

Tsukushi pinned Dalys with a casita in her debut.

Thoughts:

The main event was not bad but just the usual send them home happy Tuesday match. Some things didn’t go well but the lack of creativity was the biggest problem. It’s a match that I won’t remember specifically but will remember generally as one of many similar matches.

Cavernario/Felino was a strange match. Both men worked as rudos for most of the match, leaving the crowd with no real rooting interest. The middle of the match seemed more preoccupied with what Zacarias would do, and he never ended up doing anything. The wrestling was solid if unspectacular, but the finish – Cavernario getting disqualified for holding on slightly longer than usual – was weak for the story they were telling.

Casas reversing to the headscissors on Azul was cool. I have nothing I can think to say about the fourth match except I felt really tired during it and little caused me to wake up.

Forastero riding the motorcycle

Usual spots in the tercera, and back to the back matches with long falls. This one was because they were going two falls and wanted to go the usual time, but it felt like a second straight slow-paced match. It didn’t totally keep my interest.

Tsuskushi looked tiny next to the CMLL women and her size become the story of the match. She mostly worked with Isis, which was fine if not something immediately impressive. Tsukushi making no contact with her dropkick wasn’t a good look, though Dalys may have been partly responsible. The first fall felt long and slow, the second two rushed thru to get it back on track.

Ultimo Dragoncito’s suplex looked nice and he and Shockercito tried to mix some flashy offense to end an unnoteworthy opener. Pierrothito wasn’t much into the match and it was for the best it was quick. The timing on the wheelbarrow cutter in the first fall was bad, but entertainingly so.

CMLL on Marca: 2020-01-24

perfect

Recapped: 2020-01-24

Matches:

Akuma & Espanto Jr. beat Halcón Suriano Jr. & Magia Blanca
(11:39 [4:18, 3:09, 4:12], 1/3, ok, 00:03:18)

Drone, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. beat Olímpico, Tiger, Virus
(11:56 [5:21, 3:10, 3:25], 2/3, ok, 00:21:27)

Soberano Jr., Star Jr., Titán beat Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Terrible
(11:47 [3:59, 5:10, 2:38], 1/3, ok, 00:42:53)

Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón beat Ángel de Oro, Stuka Jr., Niebla Roja
(13:04 [2:35, 2:48, 7:41], 2/3, ok, 01:04:36)

Místico beat Gran Guerrero
(15:09, 1/2 DQ, good, 01:32:25)

  1. La Mistica (3:20)
  2. DQ Gran Guerrero [mask pull] (11:49)

Felino, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. beat Carístico, Cavernario, Valiente in a relevos increíbles match
(9:25 [3:11, 2:20, 3:54], 1/3 DQ, ok, 01:54:11)

What happened:

Niebla neck adjustment

Cavernario & Felino started brawling from the moment the match started. There’s no build to it, they just fight like they hate each other. Neither man comes off as the tecnico, though it is Cavernario who leaves Felino laying after unmasking him. UG also treats Cavernario like he’s disrespecting Niebla’s memory by attacking Felino and asked for a rematch. Felino & Cavernario fight again after the talking is done, with Cavernario getting the better of it. Felino grabs the microphone saying he doesn’t know the future of Pesta Negra but thanks the fans for supporting them.

The show opens with words to and about Mr. Niebla from Ephesto, Blue Panther, Rey Bucanero, Olimpico, Shocker and Felino. The announcers wear Mr. Niebla wigs and Niebla armbands. The edcanes wear the wigs as well, and many wrestlers are wearing a Niebla styled mask or gear. Olimpico, Shocker, Rey Bucanero, Ultimo Guerrero and Felino wore their old masks.

Mr. Niebla’s family was honored after the fourth match. Franco Colombo represented CMLL and Shocker handed his mask to the family.

Gran Guerrero unmasked Místico after both had ripped up each other’s mask. Gran Guerrero shoved the referee too.

Stuka replaced Diamante Azul in the fourth match. Diamante moved up to replace Volador.

Diamond did the “next week” bumper. The crowd was reacting a lot louder than usual, but they may have to react to the wrestlers coming out to the Niebla tribute.

Thoughts:

Shocker strut

The Cavernario/Felino feuds feel like I missed a month of CMLL TV and I’m dreading going back and watching it. It’s not even abruptness that makes it hard to meet emotionally, it’s that missing part. This is specifically a storyline about two grieving friends directing that grief into anger against others, but we’re only allowed to see the anger instantly and have to assume the feelings that led to it. Their behavior in the match doesn’t begin to make sense until the talking after it. Cavernario’s supposed to be the rudo of the two, based on that post-match interaction, but that’s never allowed to come thru in the match itself. Cavernario and Felino make the best of it and maybe I’ll catch up to them as it goes along. The match itself was wrestled smoothly, and moved along well, though it had trouble following what had happened before it. Diamante Azul would be better as a rudo; he did well catching Caristico’s dive at the end.

Místico won the crowd over with a springboard shooting star press. Winning this crowd over is more impressive than the actual athletic move. Gran Guerrero gave Místico a lot too, Místico kicking out of a super version of fireman’s carry powerbomb he’s used to putting a lot of people away. The flow of the match was heavy house formula, all one moves, and pinfall attempts in the second fall. It definitely worked for this crowd, though it felt too slow for me. The effort level in Arena Mexico was much higher than the Puebla match; there wasn’t a back superplex on Monday for sure. That Monday match felt like just a normal random B-show main event, while this one came off like something that could headline a major show.

The crowd being really into the Dinamtias (and the rudos in general on this show) helped carry what was a pretty ordinary fourth match. The reaction for the trip NGD tope felt like it belonged to a much stronger match than this. The only difference between this match and most recent ones is the rudos did triple-team stomp down in the ring instead out of it, and it seemed like the tecnicos were a little jet-legged still.

The tercera was about Shocker & Rey Bucanero wearing their old mask and not much more. Soberano flew a little bit but Titan & Star Jr. weren’t part of it much. The crowd enjoyed seeing Shocker on this show and he didn’t have to do much to get their approval. That’s was good news for him.

The segunda was a little bit more active than usual even while not amounting to a lot. Olimpico came out working very hard in the first fall and then faded back. Olimpico never seems great, but maybe there would’ve been more life to his last few years had they regimmicked him under a new mask. The old mask took a decade off his age.

Akuma & Espanto Jr. are committed to the Ola Negra concept, coming up with more two-man spots to sell themselves as a team. It’s not a bad idea for an early match group. The problem is Espanto Jr. is still likely to look a fool twice a match blowing a spot. Halcon Suriano needs to be higher up for promotion if playing to the crowd counts so much.

CMLL on Marca: 2020-01-17

great timing

Recapped: 2020-01-17

Matches:

Akuma & Espanto Jr. beat Retro & Robin
(11:22 [4:13, 3:20, 3:49], 1/3, ok, )

Avispa Dorada, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit beat Amapola, Metálica, Tiffany
(15:33 [7:08, 3:15, 5:10], 2/3 DQ, ok, )

Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. beat Espíritu Negro, Pólvora, Vangellys
(15:56 [6:01, 3:21, 6:34], 2/3, ok)

Templario beat Rey Cometa in a lightning match
(6:58, super powerbomb, good)

Atlantis Jr., Kráneo, Valiente beat Ephesto, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero
(13:48 [4:55, 3:47, 5:06], 1/3, ok)

Diamante Azul, Místico, Volador Jr. beat Gran Guerrero, Shocker, Terrible
(9:48 [5:08, 4:40], 1/2 DQ, ok)

What happened:

this went better for Gran Guerrero than Templario

Gran Guerrero unmasked Mistico this week for the DQ, setting up a singles match next week.

Vangellys & Blue Panther feuded but weren’t involved in the finish. (This was like the recent Angel de Oro/Felino issue.)

Amapola was eliminated in the third fall of her match but broke up a Marcela pin on Tiffany. Metalica suffered a leg injury near the end of the first fall (trying to catch Marcela’s apron dive) and was attended to at the end of the third fall.

Thoughts:

The main event was on the level of last week, maybe a little more since the tecnicos got to do more before they got to the DQ spot, but the same sort of match. The tecnicos did their hot spots late, Gran Guerrero powerbombed Místico hard earlier, Terrible and Shocker also picked up a paycheck. Diamante Azul has done that ramp clothesline for years but isn’t great at the timing when he starts it; everyone had to freeze for a few seconds to wait for him to get there.

The semi-main was a predictable match, though one the crowd comfortably enjoyed. Valiente connected very hard on his tope. Atlantis Jr. has his routine down and varies from it as little as anyone else in CMLL, but it’s still an exciting routine. Mije and Monito being in the same corner was an odd situation.

Templario lost Rey Cometa on a catch powerbomb spot, but they nailed everything else. Their lightning match here held together better from move to move. The handspring Destroyer looked great; I’d say to save it as a finish, but I’m not sure if the timing would be right without anyone beyond Templario. Cometa’s tornillo looked cool, and Templario gave him a big shot on the powerbomb.

Avispa rope work

The Panthers seemed to get the most of their match that was possible. That’s not a high ceiling, but they’ve got their bits down. Black Panther’s tope looked cool, Blue Panther Jr. is using his cartoon physique for impressive power spots, the crowd always gets behind the older Blue Panther. Vangellys & Panther feuding but not being involved finish gives hope a boring feud may go away. Espiritu Negro didn’t look out of place in this match, which seems to be the case when most of the first/second match goes up. There’s not a big difference between them and third/fourth rudos at this point.

Amapola & Marcela didn’t have anything to do with each other until the finish. Metalica’s injury dominated the rest of the match. The disqualification may have been a way to get out of it if Metalica couldn’t do the planned finish. However, that did not appear to be the situation – Avispa’s dive onto Metalica ended the match for both of them. Metalica being so hurt made it more surprising she was able to base for Avispa Dorada’s two great spots. This match was another Dorada appearance where she got in those two spots and no more. It wasn’t because the rest were doing exciting things.

There was no particular speed in the opener and nothing much to take from it. Retro did a big two-person slam, and the tecnicos never got in another move. It’s quite a way to make that move look pointless. At least this opener was over quick.

CMLL on Marca: 2020-01-10

this looked cool

Recapped: 20201-01-10

Matches:

Fantasy & Shockercito beat Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia
(13:11 [5:29, 3:05, 4:37], 1/3, ok, 00:00:00)

Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit beat Amapola, La Comandante, Tiffany
(13:04 [7:24, 2:14, 3:26], 2/3, ok, 00:19:29)

Esfinge beat Universo 2000 Jr. in a lightning match
(7:20, nudo egipica, ok, 00:40:47)

Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. beat Ephesto, Felino, Vangellys
(19:15 [5:06, 5:31, 8:38], 2/3 DQ, ok, 00:52:40)

Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Valiente beat Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Templario
(17:29 [7:04, 2:26, 7:59], 2/3, great, 01:22:57)

Gran Guerrero, Shocker, Terrible beat Diamante Azul, Místico, Volador Jr.
(8:45 [4:36, 4:09], 1/2 DQ, ok, 01:50:39)

What happened:

they’re getting better

Gran Guerrero tossed his mask while taking a headscissors to draw the DQ. It wasn’t clear it was intentional until a replay and seemed to set up a singles match with Místico.

Ephesto hit the ropes and came up short on his normal tope in the fourth match. He seemed wobbly to start the second fall but was allowed to continue and did get better as the match progressed. Vangellys, already eliminated in the third fall, came back into foul Blue Panther Sr. to end that match in a DQ.

Universo’s knee may have gone but after taking the nudo egipica. He submitted before Edgar could make the full three count and was getting medical assistance as CMLL pulled away.

Thoughts:

Diamante Azul spent about a minute and a half kneeling on the stage, doing nothing but waiting for his comeback spot. It felt right for this match, which had a nice dive catch by Gran Guerrero that didn’t get paid off in any way and not a lot else. The fight felt improvised, with not a lot of thought before getting to the key spots at the end. Gran Guerrero’s mask removal was so confusing it seemed accidental – the tecnicos continuing the match more than normal contributed – but it ended up just being strange.

Rey Bucanero, Hechicero and Templario wrestled the semi-final as if they’d been a permanent team for years. It really clicked at the end of the first fall, when this rudos had more sequenced spots than most of the regular units. Hechicero & Templario have quietly been a great pair and Bucanero stepped up his game; turning Hechicero’s reverse monkey flip into a front cracker was the smartest bit anyone’s done with it. Star Jr. and Atlantis Jr. stepped up to match them. Star Jr.’s maybe doing the superman punch a bit but the comedy bit he did to set up the first one showed some great personality. Atlantis has become better the farther he’s gotten from mimicking his father’s moves. (The Atlantida will be back someday, but it’s been ages since we’ve seen it.) It’s tough to figure out where to rate this; so much more thought was put into it than most of the recent CMLL matches that it really stands out, but it might get too much credit for the context. It’s on the line; Valiente wasn’t as into the match as everyone else and Bucanero was literally hit or miss. Still, if you are looking for CMLL to watch, this is one to go out of your way to watch.

go team

The fourth match had some ups and downs. Ephesto crashing and burning on his tope derailed things pretty good. The second fall was a lot of stalling to allow him to get his wits back but the Panthers made an unlikely and quick comeback to win the fall got the fans pretty excited. It did not seem to carry over to the third fall at all, where some of the usual Panther tricks received a surprisingly small reaction. It was a long way to go to get a foul after all of that.

The Esfinge/Universo match seemed like it was peaking for a finish around the five-minute mask, which was fine. Universo instead broke up Esfinge’s sequence to keep it going for a couple of minutes. It added another dive and not a lot more. Nothing Esfinge did was memorable but the crowd did get into it. Universo still seems clumsy.

Marcela and no Dalys means a tecnica win. This lineup meant a weak match. It was the same as usual for the women, with some clunky sequences sticking out.

Mercurio has done well since returning, but he showed he can still mail it in when there’s not much hope of the match being good. There wasn’t much here, so we got one cool Shockercito multiple rotation headscissors spot and not much. Pequeno Violencia is not much help at this point and Fantasy remains just there.

CMLL on Marca: 2020-01-03

Super Astro Jr.

Recapped: 01/03/2020

Matches:

El Coyote & Grako beat Sonic & Súper Astro Jr.
(15:30 [6:23, 4:17, 4:50], 1/3, ok)

Avispa Dorada, La Jarochita, Marcela beats Amapola, Dalys, La Metálica
(13:21 [7:41, 1:45, 3:55], 1/3, ok)

Atlantis, Esfinge, Rey Cometa beat Misterioso, Pólvora, Vangellys
(10:56 [4:25, 2:48, 3:43], 2/3, ok)

Soberano Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. beat Cavernario, Forastero, Templario
(15:00 [3:51, 4:03, 7:06], 2/3, ok)

El Bandido beat Cuatrero
(13:08 [3:33, 9:35], 1/2 DQ, good)

Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero beat Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja
(8:49 [1:37, 3:10, 4:02], 1/3, ok)

What happened:

Cuatrero unmasked Bandido to prevent the moonsault bodyslam.

Avispa Dorada replaced Estrellita.

Thoughts:

The main event was the formula main event you’d expect from these two teams. It worked. It’s not a problem that it worked, but it is a problem that the most successful stuff in CMLL is the least creative stuff. The fans seem to go home happy and I felt like I need to watch a lot less CMLL in 2010 and we’re both probably correct with our feelings.

Cuatrero versus Bandido was disappointing. The action was good, it felt like they were trying to have a good match, but the Arena Mexico fans were rejecting it. It didn’t even seem like they were rudo fans who wanted to see Cuatrero win, the fans who did make a reaction just didn’t want to see the match at all. The booking didn’t do the match any favors either; CMLL didn’t have strong confidence in Bandido if they weren’t going to give him a win, and the mask pull came off as flat. Cuatrero & Bandido had fine if not great chemistry, this was just the wrong day or wrong place for it.

Volador was in the fourth match in name only, which was probably the biggest determent to the match being a bit better. The other two tecnicos were trying, including Soberano coming back after taking a bad fall on a spot gone wrong with Templario. This was done to form for the most part but did look pretty sharp.

Brillo Cometa

There were some occasional good spots in the tercera and a lot of nothing. This was a weird night for Cometa to break out the Brillo Cometa but it looked great. Atlantis is far ahead of Esfinge. These rudos didn’t do much but the difference between their basing and the guys in the opener was noticeable.

Nothing so interesting in the women’s match outside of Dalys suddenly losing a lot to Marcela. Those two still do their best work against each other. There still seems to be something going on where Avispa Dorada isn’t allowed to do much. She made the most of the three spots she got to do.

Coyote & Grako were rough in the opener. The timing seemed off on some sequences and Sonic didn’t get much help. Their offense has improved and Sonic & Super Astro looked good when the match could get going. It just couldn’t stay smooth for long.

CMLL on Marca: 2019-12-27

Audaz

Recapped: 12/27/2019

Matches:

Angelito & Shockercito beat Mercurio & Pierrothito
(11:52 [6:10, 1:56, 3:46], 1/3, ok, 00:00:00)

Estrellita, La Magnifica, Lluvia beat Amapola, La Comandante, Reyna Isis
(15:50 [7:10, 4:39, 4:01], 1/3, ok, 00:18:36)

Guerrero Maya Jr. beat Okumura in a lightning match
(7:32, Sacrifica Maya, ok, 00:41:55)

Hijo del Villano III, Pólvora, Templario beat El Audaz, Flyer, Star Jr.
(16:09 [4:35, 5:30, 6:04], 2/3, good, 00:55:02)

Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas beat Ángel de Oro, Titán, Valiente
(14:34 [6:44, 2:53, 4:57], 1/3, ok, 01:19:51)

Cuatrero, Forastero, Gilbert el Boricua beat Carístico, El Bandido, Volador Jr.
(10:29 [4:31, 5:58], 1/2, ok, 01:42:24)

What happened:

Cuatrero stole Bandido’s mask to pin him in the main event, winning the match in straight falls for the rudos. This seemed to set up a singles match for next week.

Thoughts:

around and around

The last match was slight for a CMLL Friday main event, with the tecnicos not getting in much of a comeback before the match ended. They wanted a two fall story and they got it, but they didn’t give a lot of action. Bandido/Cuatrero is going to be a big match for both people.

There was no particular special energy to the semi-main, even with the Angel de Oro/Felino issue going on in the background. It was a lot of people going through their usual bits for a Friday night crowd. Titan & Cavernario were the most over and worked well together, but this wasn’t anything worth writing about.

CMLL is not as experimental as AAA can be, which made the fourth match notable for an attempt to switch things up and try different things. Audaz pulled out dragonranas he didn’t do last week, Templario had a couple of ideas for spots, the finish was more complex than usual. Flyer has looked reliable in his return and was among a lot of guys who were just fine. This was a borderline good match.

a different way to land this spot

Okumura didn’t seem like he could do anything in the lightning match after a couple of minutes. It made it seem all the sadder that Maya was going to lose. And then he didn’t lose! Maya’s offense looked clean and efficient and the Sacrifica Maya was great on a guy who couldn’t do much to help. There’s no reason this match had to happen and more Okumura on FantasticaMania is not going to be great but at least justice was had.

Lluvia & Estrellita wrestled for their team in most of the women’s match, which wasn’t really a good thing. Estrellita was struggling badly in the first fall and never was particularly good. Magnifica felt iced out for whatever reason. She and Isis seemed to be on different pages when she was in. I guess they finished fine but this was barely OK.

Mercurio was gone for months, came back, and is clearly better than most every mini rudo that’s been around. It’s confusing but then also not confusing considering most every mini rudo. He and Shockercito were really well-coordinated going to the finish and he was solid throughout. This, like last Friday’s match, might be worth a closer look if you’re in particularly into these guys; Pierrothito, Shockercito and Mercurio and anyone else is the best combination.