CMLL Martes de Nuevo Valores: 2017-04-18 

Soberano

Recapped: 04/19/2017

Matches: 

All matches aired live from Arena Mexico on April 18, 2017

  1. Akuma, Hijo del Signo, Inquisidor defeated Bengala, Príncipe Diamante, Sensei  (13:16 [5:44, 2:52, 4:40], 1/3, below average)
  2. Mercurio, Pequeño Nitro, Pierrothito beat Eléctrico, Fantasy, Último Dragóncito  (12:39 [5:20, 3:00, 4:19], 1/3, OK)
  3. Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Tiger beat Pegasso, Soberano Jr., Starman (11:15 [3:53, 2:41, 4:41], 1/3, ok)
  4. Virus beat Fuego in a lightning match (4:16, Gori Bomb, good)
  5. Euforia, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero beat Dragón Lee, Marco Corleone, Mistico (10:07 [3:54, 1:39, 4:34], 1/3, ok)
  6. Máximo Sexy defeated Terrible to retain the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship (12:47 [2:48, 0:44, 9:15], 1/3, great)

What happened:

Terrible Clash

Máximo kept the CMLL Heavyweight Championship over Terrible.

Niebla Roja didn’t get along with his team, was friendly with the técnicos, and won anyway.

Misterioso ran from Soberano early in their match, beat him quickly in the first fall. Soberano rallied to be both Sagrado & Misterioso in the second fall, and wasn’t involved in the third fall finish.

Thoughts: 

Virus puts out Fuego

The main event got a lot of positive talk live and I didn’t really see it as I was watching early on. They did Último Guerrero style early falls and it was feeling like a routine match for a while; Máximo faking being tired to lure Terrible into a second dive was smart but it didn’t feel like anything much overall. They just kept on going though, and that’s the Máximo formula for his title matches: lots of big moves, lots of back and forth at a good pace, and lot of convincing moments where it can end. Máximo mostly wins with his kiss (which Terrible may have been immune to after a decade of exposure) but can and does win matches in plenty of other ways, which makes those near falls feel more weighty. Terrible too has a bunch of possible finishers they ran thru, and no problem going thru all of them. Máximo title matches are good for some bit of psychology, and they got a random hold over just by using it to win an early fall and teasing it again as the finish. This match didn’t rise any higher level than, say, his title match with Euforia and it’s not the epic heavyweight title matches of other promotions, but it was plenty satisfactory for what CMLL is offering. This is an easy watch and easy recommendation.

The semimain was overtaken by Niebla Roja’s turn, like Friday’s match. He’s entertaining at the sabotage, and Último Guerrero is great at doing a slow burn at this idiot who’s going to have to murder soon, but the matches are never really that good during this sort of angle and this was hurt just the same. The finishing kick was the best part, and Niebla Roja & Dragon Lee continue to have exchanges which make me frustrated we’re never going to actually get that singles match.

UG is going to kill this man

Short lightning matches usually don’t work, but this one did. Fuego coming out hot worked to get the fast pace this match needed, and from a logical strategy standpoint: you’re not going to win a mat battle with Virus, might as well cut it off before it can happen. Fuego kept the action going with Virus stopping him only a few times, and the finish looked devastating. There’s not a lot to this one because there isn’t the time, but it definitely worked and is a good alternative idea for this lightning matches.

Soberano continues to look outstanding in his recent matches, and continued on his feud with Misterioso nicely in the third match. I’m not convinced it’s going anywhere – it could use more focus on one show if it was meant to be, and it could be they just went with it because CMLL’s random match generator put them together this week – but they’ve got the roles well. Soberano was just as good if not better with the secondary rudos in this. Second fall ending minute was the best portion of this match and this was significantly better than the matches prior to it despite being about the same grade.

no

The rudos were more aggressive in the minis match, but nothing done that doesn’t feel like the same thing we’ve seen out of this decision for the last five years. There were small tweaks to the usual match – Mercurio getting in a hanging double stomp to the apron, and a failed attempt to mirror that in the ring only for Pierrothito to not take the right bump – but there’s more than small tweaks needed. Even when the luchadors put in more effort, there’s no great effort being put on the people who organize these matches and it limits how high they can go. This was good on the curve but nothing that would stand by normal standards.

I was never much into the opener and tuned out as soon as they badly blew Inquisidor’s front cracker spot

CMLL Martes de Nuevo Valores: 2017-04-11 

such a long way

Recapped: 04/13-15/2017

Matches: 

All matches all aired on live from Arena Mexico, and can be seen on CMLL’s YouTube channel.

  1. Akuma & Metálico beat Bengala & Flyer (1/3, 12:27 [5:39, 2:41, 4:07], ok)
  2. Astral, Príncipe Diamante, Stigma beat Disturbio, Raziel, Sangre Azteca (1/2 DQ [Raziel mask removal Stigma], 13:53 [7:34, 6:19], OK)
  3. Princesa Sugehit beat Zeuxis in a lightning match (grounded satellite armbar, 7:34, good)
  4. Bobby Villa, Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora beat Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr., Titán (2/3, 14:38 [4:37, 5:53, 4:08], good)
  5. Black Terry & Negro Navarro © defeated Blue Panther Jr. & The Panther to keep the Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship (1/3, 20:58 [8:39, 3:18, 9:01], great)
  6. Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Terrible beat Máximo Sexy, Valiente, Volador Jr. (1/3, 7:32 [2:36, 1:40, 3:16], ok)

What happened: 

Negro Navarro & Black Terry kept the Arena Coliseo tag team titles over the Panthers. The Panther landed hard on his left hip on a late tope. He’s limping the rest of the way, but finishes the match and seems to be fine a couple days later.

Terrible beat Maximo cleanly win the Terrible Clash in the main event and demanded a title shot next week.

In a match between the three smallest main division técnicos and three of the smallest rudos, Raziel unmasked Stigma for a straight fall técnico win.

Thoughts: 

unusual counter

The tag title match was the match to watch. It was competitive and interesting even while being slower than other matches on the show. It was great to see Blue Panther in that type of environment: it’s not just his ability and knowledge of holds that makes him interesting, but his willingness and interest in getting the holds over that make him stand out. Navarro may (may) have a deeper back of tricks than Panther, but Panther also made all of Navarro’s holds feel like the meant something, and that was in actual danger of getting beat. Navarro was more like he was trapped in a puzzle but not in any great discomfort.

Navarro is great at coming up with holds in unusual sequences; the clutch submission to block a casadora wasn’t as dangerous as the kimura/elbow scissors thing, but it came as a ‘new’ counter to a normal spot. The more differnet options you have to for from one hold to another, the more drama you can pull out of a match.

always dropkicking

The last few minutes felt like an almost different match, definitely a different style of match. The Panther would fit in with the many young guys Terry’s fought in IWRG on indies, and Terry gave him a few moments to shine before he put him away. I really wish CMLL had shown a replay of the last Panther dropkick; he had to go an incredible length to land it, but they shot it from behind Terry so you couldn’t see if it missed. It obviously didn’t, and they could’ve gone back to it. Terry sticking his fingers in Panther’s eye holds to pull Panther around for the sleeper doesn’t come thru on a gif, but was a nice rudo move.

I liked this match a little more than the Junior cibernetio match a couple days later. There were iffy moments here (Terry & Panther seemed confused at one point) and not as big spots, but there were plenty of good moments and they made winning the Arena Coliseo Tag Championship feel like it meant a whole lot. Navarro did sell the importance of the outcome.

Titan moonsault

The rest of the show didn’t have those highs, but was still reedemable. The Zeuxis/Sugehit lightning match was easily better than they one they had in Puebla, a bit more alive and a bit more clever. They even managed to work Tirantes’ mugging into it, with the crowd very excited to see Zeuxis go after him until she gets cradled. Zeuxis’ moonsault is also looking better that more she tries it, though I’m not sure she’s ever going to actually hit. Finishing sequence was the same one they’ve done, and it feel like they’re ending this feud instead of advancing it, but it’s really solid action.

The Revolucionarios trios was not extraordinary, just their normal entertaining match against midcard técnicos but one executed well. No one makes more out of sunset flips into dropkicks than those guys. It was an ideal group to go against them – Maya has good chemistry with Dragon Rojo, Titan got off a spectacular moonsault, and Fuego is an great third man. It kind of seems like the rudos have hit the highest level of match quality they’re going to get without the técnicos adding more (like a group and team work) or something being on the line, but there are worst quality levels to be stuck with. Like the first two matches.

The main event was the rushed variety of the Tuesday main event. Effort was there, but not for long. Terrible & Maximo mixed up well enough that there should be some hope of Big Match Maximo and not Comedy Maximo next week. Security shoving Valiente so he wouldn’t tip over the rail was peculiar. Maximo & Volador having so many new shirts is very peculiar.

no Valientes allowed

CMLL Martes de Glamour: 2017-04-04 

Shockercito & Demus

Recapped: 04/09/2017

Matches: 

All matches aired live from Arena México, and are available on CMLL’s YouTube channel

Flyer & Sensei (2/3) Camorra & Espanto Jr. (13:13 [4:53, 3:30, 4:50], ok)

Eléctrico, Fantasy, Shockercito  (2/3) Demus 3:16, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito (11:25 [5:14, 2:42, 3:29], ok)

Virus (submission) Astral in a lightning match (6:10, ok)

Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther (1/3) Black Terry, Negro Navarro, Sangre Azteca (13:58 [7:53, 2:31, 3:34], good)

Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys (2/3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Máximo Sexy, Rey Cometa (8:57 [3:04, 3:01, 2:52], ok)

Carístico, Marco Corleone, Valiente (1/3) La Máscara, Pierroth, Rush (7:25 [3:52, 3:33], ok)

What happened:

CMLL wackiness

Pierroth and Valiente feuded all match, with Pierroth fouling and Valiente at the end. Los Ingobernables attacked Tirantes when he called for the DQ, and Tirantes actually “accidentally” took down Pierroth.

The Panther challenged for a tag title shot following his brother submitting Negro Navarro for the win. Navarro & Terry thanked the crowd and Arena Mexico for giving them a chance to wrestle there, and accepted the challenge. The first fall had Blue Panther Jr. submitting Sangre Azteca, and Negro Navarro & Blue panther double pinning each other. They get stuck in a leg lock, and Pompin seems confused at who won the fail by the time he sorted it out.

Thoughts: 

Terry breaking arms

The Navarro/Terry match was good as something much different than a normal Tuesday match. The mat work, the mean shots to set thoes holds up (like Panther’s stomp on Negro Navarro’s heel before locking on a hold), it felt like a different fight than usual. Even Sangre Azteca, who was totally extraneous to the match, wasn’t trying to force in all his spots as usual and knew when to stay out of the way. The Panther showed more than Blue Jr., who mostly did a normal CMLL match, but they all made a good job of making Terry & Navarro look dangerous. The crowd took them, with enough people who knew who they were to get behind them. This was a successful match.

The minis match was a total Shockercito show, where he got in all the hot moves, got the real upset fall win, and took the pinfall. I don’t know that Shoerkcito was everyone’s pick for the next minis champion, but matches like this, where he’s spinning around Demus four times one on headscissors, make him look like the best guy. His two partners couldn’t have been more anonymous, Shockercito alone might have carried it to a good level. Fantasy’s only impact on the match was a bad looking double elimination spot with Pequeño Olímpico.

the main event finish

Astral’s win/loss record since going to the main roster hasn’t been great, but neither has his performance. He has a chance to show off what makes him special in this one, and really didn’t stand out all that much. If you like a guy who will flip off the apron to avoid a kick, he’s the one for you, but he’s a generic muscle bound flyer. The standards for being a flying guy are higher in the main division (and he was definitely the best guy at even as a mini), and Astral’s just not one of the better guys here. On the other hand, CMLL’s not really taken performance into account when it comes to who wins and losses in the past.

There’s nothing much to say about the other matches. The semimain got the crowd more than other two, but they were very generic CMLL matches.

CMLL Martes de Nuevo Valores: 2017-03-28 

Por qué, Niebla Roja?

Recapped: 03/29/2017

All matches aired live on CMLL’s YouTube.

  1. El Coyote & Grako (1/3) Magia Blanca & Sangre Imperial (11:44 [6:05, 2:34, 3:05], OK)
  2. Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis (2/3) La Vaquerita, Sanely, Silueta (13:52 [5:30, 4:35, 3:47], OK)
  3. Sagrado, Skándalo, Virus (1/3) Esfinge, Soberano Jr., Tritón (15:03 [6:56, 4:51, 3:16], OK)
  4. Bobby Villa (counter dropkick) Titán (8:02, good)
  5. Puma, Terrible, Tiger (2/3) Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr., Máximo Sexy (12:53 [4:24, 4:22, 4:07], good)
  6. Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja (1/3) Atlantis, Matt Taven, Valiente (8:37 [2:24, 1:32, 4:41], ok)

What happened: 

this went well!

This was almost a perfect nothing happening CMLL show until the main event. Niebla Roja showed up in a strange mood, refusing to help his partners and messing up their teamwork spots for no apparent reason. After many problems, Gran Guerrero and Euforia justifiably stomped Roja. That unfortunately led to them being cradled by the tecnico to put an end to the main event. It came off more like Niebla Roja was going rudo on his rudo partners, not that he was becoming a tecnico.

Thoughts: 

this didn’t go well

The main event was all about the angle, which originally seemed like the other Guerreros were betraying Niebla Roja, but then quickly become obvious that Roja was screwing with his partners. It’s hurt by being so random and without meaning. I hope Roja is just getting shifted to a different rudo unit, because he just showed a lot against Dragon Lee and flipping him (back) to a tecnico side seems as poor an idea as it was for Dragon Rojo, Misterioso and Sangre Azteca at different times. Some bigger shuffling of the rudo units is overdue, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

The semimain was the best match on the show. It wasn’t quite at the level of last week’s Puma/Tiger match, and didn’t go as far as that one. Maya & Drone fit well with them and Maximo & Terrible got in more spots. This is one where they’re hurt by doing this match every week on TV, unable to keep switching it up every week to make these feel different. It still was enjoyable.

Metalica’s senton con giro

Bobby/Titan was a more story driven lightning match than usual, driven around Titan hurting his left ankle early and Villa going after it often. It didn’t quite play into the finish, unless we go with the idea that Titan was slowed by the injury and got caught because of that slowness. Still, I want to give them credit for trying to do something with this match more than usual, and the story didn’t detract from the better than average action.

The tercera had some good parts if still missing something to some together as a match. Soberano deciding to bring the Fosberry Flop dive in regular rotation to CMLL is fantastic, there’s been no one doing it since Fuego gave it up years ago. Triton’s following the model of his old partner Mascara Dorada, going out of CMLL as strong as possible when he could’ve easily mailed it in the last few months. Virus clowning Esfigne is always approved.

I can’t explain why, but I really like Drone doing a moonsault slightly differnetly

I have a sneaking suspicion Silueta is only getting two matches this week because Estrellita fell down very hard, but she’s been nice to have onboard whatever the reason. She’s was more reliable than her teammates in this match, and her sequences early with Metalica were the best part of the early portion of this match (Metalica/Silueta is the greatest possible not-pushed CMLL women’s matchup.) Her moonsault wasn’t so good, but the rush of near falls on Dalys before her inevitable demise got the crowd. I thought Isis was totally going to miss on her pump splash (because her partners didn’t help her with the position) and she landed it fine, so there’s that.

The opener was more interesting than normal, because it was all rookies and they were better against each other than with they have been with veterans in the segundas. (That seems to be exactly the opposite the point of veterans, but understandable with these vets.) The rookies weren’t smooth or too exciting, it’s an opener after all, and Drako & Magia Blanca royally screwed up a rope flip spot in the third. Still, they pulled out a few new moves and showed more potential in this match than they had before.

Drone smashed

CMLL Martes de Nuevo Valores: 2017-03-21 

Triton moonsault

Recapped: 03/24/2017

Matches: 

Cholo & Inquisidor beat Bengala & Leono (rudos 2/3, 17:51 [8:12, 2:51, 6:48], ok)

Nitro, Sangre Azteca, Skándalo beat Magia Blanca, Sangre Imperial, Starman (rudos 1/3, 15:21 [8:24, 3:19, 3:38], below average)

El Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón beat The Panther, Drone, Tritón  (NGD 2/3, 14:38 [4:49, 3:46, 6:03], great)

Guerrero Maya Jr. beat Virus in a lightning match (Sacrifica Maya, 9:59, good)

Negro Casas, Puma, Tiger beat Luciferno, Mephisto, Pólvora   (Team Casas 2/3, 14:50 [3:41, 4:22, 6:47], good)

Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero beat Carístico, Dragón Lee, Marco Corleone (Guerreros 1/3, 12:17 [5:26, 2:04, 4:47], good)

What Happened:

this didn’t go well

Nothing much!

Team Casas beat nearly the national trios champions in a very good match.

Guerrero Maya defeated Virus with less than a second left. It was amazing timing.

Magia Blanca was hurt when Nitro whiffed on catching him on a headscissors.

The Panther replaced his father in the tercera.

Ultimo Guerrero went into about the eight row of the crowd to confront a fan for completely unclear reasons; whatever happened must’ve happened while they were showing post fall replays. Nothing came of it, with Caristico brawling with UG to pull him back to the ring.

Thoughts: 

perfect timing

One of the best CMLL Tuesday shows in a long time, with fun midcard matches. The main event was good too but, if it had something like Cometa/Cavernario to end it, it would easily be better than Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.

I really liked both of the big trios matches, and I’m keep changing my mind on which one I’d rather better. (Part of the problem was forgetting to write down the ratings I had live; new format needs some work.) There were a lot of little things to like about the NGD match; the setup to Panther/Sanson sequence setting up Triton’s 450 splash was well down. Cuatrero stands out an athlete even with athletic flyers like the three here. The Dinamitas are at the stage where they’re constantly adding something, trying something new and it makes each match worth checking out. It really works that they’re facing the Panthers a lot lately, because it feels like when those Panthers debuted against Tiger & Puma and also kept surprising. Triton also looked great in this match, working hard even as he’s finishing up here and they’re having him lose every night in Arena Mexico. It’s a good sign for his US work. Forastero made things easier for himself by cutting out the ramp running part of his dropkick. It’s a trade of a little bit of the drama for a lot of difficulty.

The Casas trios match was a rare chance to see Puma & Tiger as tecnicos. (Negro Casas played Negro Casas, kind of existing beyond tecnico/rudo status at this point.) They worked nearly as well there as they do on the rudo side, and showed off great teamwork. This match felt more dramatic coming to the close. Nothing was really on the line, but this came off as the replacement for the owed title match, and was worked like the titles were on the line at the end. The huracanrana to end the second fall didn’t go well, but the third fall finish came off much sharper.

The Panther learn his old partner’s move

Guerrero Maya and Virus went about eight minutes without touching the ropes. They never actually bounced off of them, but used them for flying spots to get to the finish. The only problem with the match was it felt paced for a twenty minute match and they had half that amount of time, so they spent eight minutes working their way around in holds and the last two minutes trying to fit in the things the fans expected. The mat work was well done if not creative, but also a little lost on this crowd and probably much more appreciated by the people watching on YouTube. The timing of the finish was incredible, so unexpectedly perfect for CMLL that I can’t believe it was actually meant that way – like it was supposed to be a draw and the referee counted too fast for once. Everyone played it off like that was the finish (and it makes not much difference either way.)

The main event was a usual main event, with both teams getting in their high points but not too much to the match. Dragon Lee seemed on and the Guerreros were sharp. It made the match better than usual for this spot, but not something I’ll remember a week from now.

nice set up for the kick

I think Magia Blanca overshot his target on the headscissors, but veteran maestro should’ve done a lot more to catch him. He may physically be unable to do so, he moves quite slow, but maybe that’s a reason not to put him out there. The biggest upset is they played out the third fall mostly normal instead of the usual quick to the end bit when there’s an injury.

It was nice to see Cholo is alive. Bengala didn’t appear to be thrilled to be in another boring opener, especially to take the Cholo Driver at the end.

push up revenge

CMLL Martes de Nuevo Valores: 2017-03-14 

Rey Cometa sends Cavernario back to the stone age

Recapped: 03/15/2017

Show Data: All matches aired live from Arena Mexico. You can view the show on their YouTube channel. Also, we learned this week the mysterious MegaSports show that no one has ever seen is airing this show, so this show will air in front of a tiny audience at some point.

Match Results:

Eléctrico & Fantasy  beat  Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Olímpico (falls 1/3, 14:54 [7:34, 3:30, 3:50], good)

Drone, Metatrón, Starman  defeated  Arkángel de la Muerte, Canelo Casas, Nitro (falls 1/3, 19:34 [10:02, 3:23, 6:09], ok)

Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus defeated Esfinge, Fuego, Tritón (falls 2/3, 15:45 [7:11, 2:14, 6:20], ok)

Olímpico, Sam Adonis, Vangellys defeated Ángel de Oro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Johnny Idol (falls 1/3, 13:45 [5:24, 3:19, 5:02], ok)

Rey Cometa ©  defeated  Cavernario for the Mexican National Welterweight Championship (20:51, great)

  1. Rey Cometa Spanish Fly (4:03)

  2. Cavernario cavernaaria (1:44)

  3. Rey Cometa Canadian Destroyer (15:04)

Marco Corleone, Máximo Sexy, Volador Jr. defeated  Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero, Terrible (falls 2/3, 6:23, ok)

Developments:

thru the corner tope

Rey Cometa cleanly defeated Bárbaro Cavernario to keep the welterweight title. Cavernario was stretched out after the match (in what appeared to be the usual selling of a Destroyer in a big spot.) Drone replaced Magnus in the second match.

Thoughts:

change of direction headscissors

Comera/Cavernario was another strong chapter in their rivialry. It was full of big dramatic moments in the match, even while leaving some of their most dangerous spots in the back. They’re skilled enough to cycle things out and showcase other spots – Cometa’s rolling cutter felt knew, the superplex hadn’t been a big part of their previous matches but got over well here as a near fall. They set up the new set up for the cavernaria in the last match, used it in the first fall, and used it as a fake out again near the end. They’re also better at selling than they get noted for; Cometa’s worn down by the end of a match, crumpled in the corner after a particularly hard Cavernario chop. This had the big dives, and they all look spectacular. It just didn’t have the crowd reaction. This was a match the Tuesday crowd didn’t seem to have a strong connection with, and it took them a while to really get into it where it might have gotten a longer and bigger reaction on a Friday. It didn’t quite feel as good as their best work, but it’s a fine follow up to the match they’ve done before. Hopefully this leads to more for them both, even if it’s not against each other.

One of the advantages to this new format is I don’t feel the necessity to save five different versions of “this was a forgettable B-show match, but [A] and [B] did something good.” That’s particularly useful on this show, which felt kind of dead outside the title match. It wasn’t helped by running very long (with Arkangel’s match going a lot longer than needed, as always), but the effort wasn’t particularly strong. Half the people in the fourth match looked like they’d rather be doing anything else, and it was hard to miss.

this was a nice strong moment from Electrico

The opener actually felt technically good, with Pequeño Nitro & Electrico having a few really good sequences. I couldn’t get into it himself – I’ve been numbed by the unending minis openers – but it was the obvious exception of people working harder than usual and might work better out of context.

Esfinge & Triton have a bunch of tag team spots, but seem to be running out of time to actually get a 2v2 match from CMLL unless Esfinge’s also going to Chicago. Drone being stuck back exactly where he was as Hombre Bala was some good gallows humor. Canelo looked halfway decent with him, but that’s a mirage. Starman’s finish is named the Starman Crash, and I didn’t even come up with that one.

gif: 848/1103/

this was not a strong moment from Olimpico
Cavernario collapses Cometa