Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas, Último Guerrero beat Místico, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr.
(9:32 [5:30, 4:02], 1/2, ok)
What happened:
adios shoko
Negro Casas snuck in a foul on Soberano to set up the straight falls win in the main event. Volador wanted a rematch and/or an additional fall. Ultimo Guerrero accepted, was stopped by Edgar, and decided to leave.
Tiger Hattori was honored with a plaque after the tercera match. Both Chavo Lutteroth’s were part of the presentation, in their first public appearance since taking over the promotion. Sofia Alonso was in the building, did not appear.
Felino gave Angel de Oro a sunset flip powerbomb in the ring, and casually grabbed the bottom rope behind him. The referee stopped the spotted it and stopped the count. Felino complained, stalled, then gave Angel de Oro a crucifix powerbomb. Felino blatantly grabbed the bottom rope and the count was stopped again. Felino argued, Angel de Oro cradled him and used the rope to win. Felino attacked him after, then angel de Oro challenged Felino to a hair match. Felino seemed to accept. Angel de Oro came off as the rudo in the exchange, including hugging the referee.
Thoughts:
The main event seemed to be heading to a hot, if by the numbers, finale. Instead, it just ended abruptly. Soberano looked good while it lasted, Místico did a couple of things, there’s no need to see this with next week theoretically being more of a full match.
The semi-main got a lot of time. A lot of it went to NGD, which is at least what they seem to prefer to do. They looked great on offense, though these matches aren’t going to reach a higher level of excitement without the tecnicos getting a bigger run than they did here. Titan had an incredible rope bounce headscissors and generally remains good in his return from NJPW. It’s being wasted with nothing to dig into on these shows.
welcome back Kawato
Felino and Angel de Oro had a perfectly ordinary lightning match, notable only for how short it was for a Friday one, until the weird finish. This was a great simulation of a CMLL botched ending, up until they started doing promos to build a hair match. Angel de Oro cheating to beat Felino to set up the feud is strange, unless CMLL’s decided to go with the crowd and switch him to being a rudo. There was no great chemistry to suggest these two should have a feud and it does seem like another match being built up solely to give an older roster member a payoff. Maybe Felino has some great reserves for a big fight that he doesn’t show most weeks.
Hechicero generally works hard and took it to another level with NJPW people there. He caught all the tricky dives from Audaz and Hechicero, pulled off the trickiest sequences, and carried it for his side. Hechicero was out there taking missed sentons on the apron just to prove his point. Atlantis and Audaz look good in the spots they’re given, though they don’t really go far beyond those set moments. Kawato looked fine, which was better than he was for almost all of last stint.
Nakajima worked well with Isis and didn’t work much with anyone else. Jarochita keeps getting matched up with Dalys and Dalys isn’t interested in giving her all that much, so it’s hard to know if she’s any good. Silueta’s defining personality trait is “red hair”, so Tiffany going to red is an odd choice.
The opener wasn’t worth the effort to think about it. Sonic has looked promising in other matches. Not as much with this crew. I couldn’t tell if the finish was a dramatic bump or Espanto Jr. messing up the grab. History is not on Espanto’s side. By history, that means parts of the rest of the match.
Espanto Jr. & Espíritu Negro beat Magnus & Príncipe Diamante
(10:23 [4:33, 3:08, 2:42], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isisbeat La Jarochita, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit
(14:31 [8:24, 2:25, 3:42], 2/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Atlantis Jr., Flyer, Fugaz beat Hechicero, Hijo del Villano III, Templario
(9:42 [5:34, 4:08], 1/2, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Sansón beat Star Jr. to retain the Rey del Inframundo
(23:53 [4:42, 2:49, 16:22], 2/3, good, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Star Jr. entanglement submission (4:42)
Sanson powerbomb backbreaker (2:49)
Sanson fireman’s carry powerbomb (16:22)
Cavernario, Mephisto, Último Guerrero beat Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr.
(7:05 [2:41, 4:24], 1/2, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Carístico & Místico beat Euforia & Gran Guerrerofor the CMLL World Tag Team Championship
(18:14 [4:27, 3:35, 10:12], 1/3, good, VideosOficialesCMLL)
What happened:
The rudos all wrestle in skeleton themed clothing, though it’s all the same skeleton logo. Caristico is the only tecnico to do so. There is some face paint, though mostly on the referees’ faces.
Lluvia is a replacement for Marcela, advertised yet evidentially not returned from injury.
This didn’t stream live. CMLL did put up on VOD, though missing the first match and almost the entire second match. CMLL later uploaded those separately a few days later. There were some audio issues during the show as well.
Thoughts:
The Misticos title win is going to be remembered more for the outcome than the match. Both the big matches on this show got the crowd into it by the end, had decent action, were enjoyable while they’re on, and probably never worth going back to watch again. These matches lack escalation. They just keep humming around into near falls, the rudos did dives, and then they were beat by Misticas out of nowhere as soon as everyone got back in. It made for a big surprise finish, just what lead up to it didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. The Guerreros continue to improve as a 2 person unit – the double elbow drop is a nice add onto the usual double press slam spot – and theoretically the Misticos will as well. Maybe the rematches will have more.
Strange to see a match go straight fall for the rudos clean like the semi-main. This was one of a few matches that were average which looked to be far above average on paper. The Niebla Roja/Ultimo Guerrero exchanges were good, Ultimo Guerrero no-selling Stuka’s finish to pin him in a cradle in was not so good. Especially for a match where Stuka wasn’t going to get a win back. Just a match.
Star Jr. did fine against Sanson. He needed more than fine. Sanson came off as the bigger star and definitely the rightful winner; the crowd saw that and cheered for him accordingly. The extended third fall, one of the longer falls of the year, gave time for a lot of close ending. The fans brought into them but it never felt like a big moment overall, just a long time for Sanson to put Star Jr. away. This match felt like a better opportunity than last week’s Star Jr. match and it just didn’t work out.
Atlantis Jr.’s match was a slight disappointment. They really didn’t get the time to go all out, an extra problem because what we did get out of them was generally good. Fugaz doesn’t seem to have a high ceiling but is a great fit for the midcard flyer role he’s in right now. Atlantis Jr. works hard and Templario’s knee to his face looked great. Flyer getting injured on his dive and disappearing wasn’t great but he wasn’t really missed. Not sure if they cut it off due to the time or what.
The women’s match was basic, with the rare good moments overshadowed by normal timing issues. They’re definitely rehearsing these but maybe not enough given occasions where no one seems to know who goes next. Dalys looked strong, the tecnicas really didn’t stand out in anyway to argue different, same as usual.
They didn’t let the guys in the opener do anything more than they’d do on a normal Friday, and they didn’t put anyone special in the opener, so it was a normal opener on a Friday show. Espanto and Diamante had a very strange exchange. Principe Diamante having to no sell a Canadian Destroyer to stay in position for a package piledriver was kind of dumb.
Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Súper Astro Jr.beatCancerbero, Raziel, Virus
(14:30 [6:32, 2:34, 5:24], 1/3, good)
Atlantis Jr.went to a time limit draw with Templarioin a lightning match
(10:00, good)
Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, TerriblebeatDulce Gardenia, Flyer, Stuka Jr.
(16:45 [7:16, 3:49, 5:40], 1/3, ok)
Cavernario, Gilbert el Boricua, Último Guerrero beat Soberano Jr., Star Jr., Valiente
(18:49 [6:12, 2:13, 10:24], 1/3, ok)
Carístico, Diamante Azul, Místico vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas
(11:01 [7:38, 3:23], 1/2, ok)
What happened:
The main event set up a Mistico/Caristico vs Gran Guerrero/Euforia tag title match.
Gilbert tried to keep his issue going with Ultimo Guerrero, and Ultimo Guerrero didn’t acknowledge him.
Atlantis Jr. was just getting Templario in an Atlantida when time ran out. They continued to fight after the match, just as Templario & Soberano did.
Thoughts:
this not being the finish sort of gave away it was a draw
The main event was an unusually sloppy match for the guys who are meant to be feuding. There were a lot of boost headscissors which didn’t get boosted. Diamante Azul dropping Negro Casas directly on his head wasn’t much good either. Azul isn’t ever much good but the other guys can do a lot better than this. Hopefully they will next week.
They didn’t do near enough to showcase Star Jr. in the semifinal to follow up his tournament win. He did get to beat UG in the second fall, though with a submission move he never uses instead of something showing off his agility. His few spots in the third fall seemed outweighed by taking all of UG’s offense. The dive at the end didn’t go smoothly. The rest of the match was fine but it didn’t do what it should’ve been set out to accomplish.
The fourth match seemed more improvised than usual, with Hechicero and Stuka pointing people in the direction for spots. The first two falls were slow and didn’t flow well. It got better in the third – maybe I just like the tecnico stuff better? It seems to be a trend. Flyer struggled as usual, on a show where plenty of tecnicos looked better than him. He may need a mental break as much as anything.
The lightning match was slow early, with away too many clothesline and not great action. Turned into a match with nothing in between the big moves, but then shifted into big moves all the time so it worked out. Atlantis Jr. still has to improve in between those spots but he at least has more exciting spots than most of the opener guys. Templario’s powerbomb looked great and they clearly trust him more than any other young rudo to keep running these long matches with him.
Good action match with both sides working smoothly together. The first fall had some nice sequences, Cancerbero & Super Astro, in particular, pulling out an unexpectedly good exchange. It slowed down a bit in the second fall with the rudos in charge, but the third fall had good action.
My stream went out in fall 1, which is bad because it might have been a good fall. Coyote and Grako looked worse than usual and Magia Blanca wasn’t helping. The apron dives involved some undeserved faith. Principe Diamante is better than this but the rest of the guys need work.
Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Diamante AzulbeatEuforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
(10:43 [4:29, 1:51, 4:23], 2/3, ok)
Star Jr. & ValientebeatFugaz & Místicoin the CMLL Gran Alternativa final (17:42 [4:08, 2:13, 11:21], 1/3, great)
What happened:
Star Jr. & Valiente won the 2019 Gran Alternativa. The final fall came down to Star Jr. & Místico, with Star Jr. rolling thru a La Mistica into a cradle for the win. The announcers repeatedly stated Star Jr. would get to be in the main event the following week.
Thoughts:
Angelito
Star Jr. came thru big in the main event. He is a deserving winner of the Gran Alternativa, and of moving out of the second match pool of wrestlers he’s been stuck in for the last several years. Fugaz is good, both rookies had solid performances, but everything he did came off a lot like what plenty of other guys do on the roster. (Fugaz was almost a perfect fit for Místico because they do several of the same spots.) Star Jr. brought out more new ideas for the big show, stuff as complex as a new tornillo dive and a simple as a well-timed punch. He came off a better flying prospect than Flyer did last year (and definitely better than Flyer now) and giving him the big win over Místico in the end really cemented this as a big win.
This one of those shows where the stream just wouldn’t play correctly for me. Battling takes a lot of focus away from actually watching the show. My impression was the show was largely just ok, though my impressions may be more off than usual. Both the fourth and fifth matches were familiar patterned matches, missing some life or reason for them to standoff. The NGD match felt like it went much longer, though maybe it’s just the rudo routines that happen to last longer. The tecnico opposition was good and it’s great news that Atlantis Jr. can already fit in on a team like that, but they didn’t really graduate to doing anything we don’t normally see of them. NGD took a lot of the match, which continues to help them look dominate but doesn’t do much for the tecnicos. The semi-main moved a little better and had a minor Caristico/UG issue to give the match something to build around, though it also felt overly familiar.
a Stigma tight takedown
Cometa/Stigma had the theoretical advantage of feeling unusual for being a new matchup. They tended to fall back into the usual tropes, including this week’s stage dive with no real meaning. My heart sank when Stigma got Stigmatic and I was relieved when the match continued after a kickout. It probably shouldn’t be as big a deal; Cometa’s a much less error-prone luchador than Stigma, though also less likely to break from his usual routes.
I don’t know why there was an excessive violence disqualification in the second match. I don’t know why Pegasso thought a cameraman was a rudo to leap onto from the apron. It was all strange. It’s also strange that the Panthers seemingly debuted a tag team move here; for two guys who constantly team, they don’t really have many spots as a duo. It is a little progress.
Angelito would be interesting in a division where other people were trying. That is not the CMLL mini division. Pierrothito seemed to be wrestling thru an injury, not that it made a lot of difference.
Star Jr. & Valiente won the tournament and will advance to face Fugaz & Místico next week.
Felino used the ropes to beat Rey Cometa and was strangely angry about the win.
Chamuel fouled Microman once again.
Grako powerbombed Electrico in the second fall of the opener, only for Electrico to accidentally pull Grako’s mask off as he fell. (Electrico had his hands around Grako’s head to keep him up as Grako ran.) Referee Edgar immediately ruled Grako had won, though Grako angrily stomped and unmasked Electrico after the. This sequence must’ve seemed utterly bizarre to the tourists.
Thoughts:
Audaz
CMLL adjusted from last Friday’s show. They ran the same amount of, just cutting a half-hour out of it. The resulting was a show rushing to get done by the end, despite a truncated opener by several minutes. The block final did get some time for drama, but only in between the last five minutes, including a rudo attacking a tecnico before the start to get them going quickly.
The main event was absurdly short, shorter than the time it took to get everyone out there for it. The two trios tried to pack in a lot in a little time. It was still obvious how the rudos didn’t do pretty much anything, that it was nothing but a setup to a couple of finishes. Místico continues to win often in the new era.
I’d be interested in knowing how the tournament feels to people who know the outcome. There was a sense of creeping and overwhelming dread for most of watching live. Perhaps knowing Star Jr. was safely going to win would make it more enjoyable than the displeasure it was in real-time. Maybe it would take the hope of CMLL I’m currently missing. CMLL’s been so disappointing that Espanto Jr., one of the consistently worst wrestlers employed, seemed like a realistic option to win. Star Jr.’s win felt less like a triumph and more of relief about the company not slipping into senility. Super Astro Jr. & Star Jr. looked like the other best two novatos through the tournament, though Astro struggled in his first match. Yago and Sonic did well with fewer opportunities.
hope we get to see the Titan/Astro team again. Titan is short a tag partner anyway.
I nearly forgot to write about Rey Cometa & Felino. There’s not much to say anyway. Cometa did the apron headscissors again. Cometa is very repetitive, but he seems like the more promising and exciting luchador. Felino seemed grouchy even after he got his win. I missed what caused it if anything did.
The first half of the card was no better. By the standards of this undercard, Atlantis & Audaz were shining beams of light by just doing what they do in every. Atlantis, being unable to do a front roll for a snap mare, was more like the rest of the first hour. Hechicero worked as well with these tecnicos as you’d hope, though they need something more to push them farther, or maybe a better third partner.
The micros have fully stagnated at this point. Every (outside of the mask) ends with Chamuel getting disqualified. He and Microman do a couple of cool things beforehand, though not as much as they did initially. Other micros try, and it doesn’t quite work. There’s no enough variety for how often we’re seeing them.
The opener was a joke, with a disastrous finish leaving the referee laughing at his own faulty decision. The referees do have the ability to rule a mask removal accidental and keep going. That wasn’t the decision here, and everyone was left looking dumb.
Negro Casas lost to Big Daddy, Último Guerrero, Cavernario, Volador Jr., Gilbert el Boricua, Ciber the Main Manin a cage match and for the hair
(13:23, ok, 02:19:10 )
4:05 Big Daddy Escapes
4:49 Gilbert el Boricua escapes
5:38 Barbaro Cavernario escapes
6:30 Volador escapes
8:15 Cibernetico escapes
13:23 Guerrero Special Negro Casas
What happened:
Audaz
The cage match starts without Volador, Cavernario attacking him on the outside before the match starts. Volador climbs up the cage and does a plancha on anyone. A three-minute timer starts the moment he gets in, with it being shown down to the microseconds for some reason. Big Daddy does not understand the rules and attempts to leave first. Cavernario also attempts to leave. People try to bolt at the 3-minute mark, with Volador timing his climb up there just to get on the cage at the mark. Negro Casas got his hair messed up but not completely shave off, which was odd.
Fantasma was the commissioner on hand for the trios title match. He hasn’t been seen much in Arena Mexico in recent years. Rambo handled the women’s title match.
Niebla Roja & Angel de Oro asked for a tag title rematch to loud boos.
Reina Isis (Dalys) & La Infernal (Metalica) were seconds. The finish has Dalys attempting a casita, Metalica blocking it and scissoring the ropes with her legs for leverage and the three. Dalys is on her side at the pin, with one shoulder up directly in front of referee Metalico, who doesn’t hesitate in counting her down. Dalys and Reina Isis protest and get the crowd on their side while Metalica just sort of accepts it. (My read of the situation is it was an intentional botch, with the idea of Dalys losing but not really losing. The only reason Metalico would count that and Dalys wouldn’t escape when she heard him hitting the mat would be because they knew it was the designed ending.)
Rey Bucanero pulled Diamante Azul’s mask to end the first fall of the segunda. The second fall ended with the thrice-yearly DQ for press slamming someone (Titan) over the top rope, though the rudos made sure to shove the referee and all stomp down Dulce to make it a more obvious DQ.
Thoughts:
big man splash
Nothing special about the cage match. Ultimo Guerrero & Negro Casas got about four minutes to do near falls, and that was the only interesting part. Everyone else was rushed out in order. The three minutes of fighting before escapes seem less than usual, but it’s also not like that portion is ever any good. It wasn’t good here. They did sort of a royal rumble bit but in reverse for the eliminations, with everyone taking a turn getting a run and then leaving. Big Daddy left first, after having one telegraphed but good highspot with Guerrero and then looking off with everyone else. They set it up as he’ll be back, and it won’t be a good thing. None of the other early escapes did much. Ultimo Guerrero defeating Negro Casas on an Aniversario will look big in the history books and the fans did react equally big in the final matches, but the match itself is better forgotten.
The trios titles match will absolutely resonate stronger with people who check into CMLL infrequently than those who watch all of it. The match had plenty of excitement, some cool runs of dives, and a good reversal finish. It was fun. It was also not much more than we get from these guys on a normal Friday night, with that same finishing reversal sequence happening a lot and the tecnicos doing the same dives in the order often. Mistico, Carisitco, and Valiente are probably teaming again no more often than any random three CMLL people, but it was disappointing that they didn’t anything to sell the idea of them as a group of people. Both teams have had a slightly smoother version of this match before, some odd hesitations near the finish thru off the rhythm. This was a strong effort physically but could’ve used more mentally I guess. I wouldn’t put this among the best match of the year, but if you’re watching four or ten CMLL shows a year, this is probably something you’re going to enjoy and so it worked for an Aniversario.
dancing Dulce
The micros mask match was a success. Microman had lots of highspots, Chamuel based for him well, Chamuel put him in danger a bunch, and Microman hit something spectacular to win. The stage dive was cool, but it was the last few minutes that took it up for me. If Microman had just won with his normal finish it would’ve felt a bit too simple, and the Code Red came off strong. I think they probably could’ve gone even longer with this match but what they did all worked.
The relevos increibles match seemed rushed, especially early on. The Guerreros team had a lot of fun teamwork once again, and I just wish they had more time to do it. The first fall finish was clever. I hope they continue to add ideas to the tag title match. What they have here was pretty smooth and moved well, but I’m not thrilled about the match happening in a perfect fluke a third time in a row. Those boos seemed to get into the tecnicos heads in the post-match promo, they showed it, and it only made the boos louder. I don’t think they’re going away for big shows.
Metalica & Dalys had a better-executed version of the same match. Metalica did better than that disaster performance. Yet, she still seemed like she was out of gas by the last half of the third fall. Dalys seemed to take 75% of the match, and not with any direction. It wasn’t like Metalica really ever made a rally, it was Metalica getting in a move to break up the Dalys run of offense every so often. Dalys was dominant and also playing tecnica to the crowd to get cheered, which worked for her but this match-up continues to be terrible for Metalica. The finish lapped Ciber/UG as the new worst finish of the year and it wasn’t even funny. It was frustrating knowing the finishing sequence and then watching the match because there were other teases of other ways to end this. Dalys went to untie Metalica’s mask at one point. A mask removal DQ in a title match would be annoying but it’s still better. There’s the briefest of a double pin sequence, which would’ve been fine. Instead, they picked a worse finish.
mean Chamuel
The second match has some guys were helping in various degrees, some being just OK, and Diamante Azul not being OK. He’s still out of shape, wearing a random shirt o the biggest show of the year to hide it. The look isn’t as much a problem as the work. He seemed to come in when he wasn’t supposed to in the first fall (Dulce was trying to get in), which seemingly caused Bucanero to pull his mask quickly to just get out of it. Dulce and Bucanero starting right off the second fall seemed to confirm they were picking up the intended plan. The rest of the match did seem like people trying to set it up for a big show, with more thought put into the rudo section than usual, with some good co-ordination leading to the end. Dulce and Titan looked good. Hechicero continues to be great in meaningless trios matches of late, carrying this one for his team again.
The opener was better than an average Friday night opener, though it still felt like the fourth match on a Tuesday with a couple of extra moves. Tiger was the only guy who seemed to dress up for the occasion. Stigma was trying moves he doesn’t normally and didn’t have a great success rate by the end. Audaz feels like he pulls out the most unexpected dives, though it also may be the cameras not catching up to him. Fine but forgettable.
