CMLL 01/26

2016/01/26

CMLL 01/19

CMLL 2016/01/19

Arena Mexico 09/04 Quickie

CMLL 2015/09/04

Muy Buena Lucha

Chilanga Mask 2015/08/16

1.      Psycko Kid, Astro Rey Jr., Fulgor I, Fulgor II vs. Rey Apocalipsis, Tony Cisneros, Extreme Fly, Luz Clarita

I know maybe one of two guys here, at best, so naturally I had no idea what to expect, other than it had to be crazy by default considering it’s an indie atomico we’re talking about here. When they were doing the actual crazy shit, the match was good, there were two amazing series of spectacular dives and topes, but the problem is they wanted to try other things as well, and it was mostly a failure. Regular in-ring stuff was not very good, matter fact it was really bad and sloppy at many moments, not to mention all the awkward eliminations. But oh well… At least we got the dives. Passable match, but barely.

**

2.      Dr. Cerebro vs. Virus

Yep, this match is a true delicacy for all the matcore enthusiasts out there, me being one of them. The match was 16 minutes long, with 13 minutes being spent entirely on the mat and then with 3 minutes of “action” leading to a fantastic finish. That’s it, they didn’t need to do more. Everything felt purposeful, raw and sophisticated at the same time. The matwork was crazy good, totally insane, it’s some of the most mesmerizing chain wrestling you’ll ever see, with struggle for every move. The way they were jockeying for positions was brutally good and it looked both intense and gracious, all those escapes were mindblowing.

What a goddamn match!

*****

3.      Keira vs. Zeuxis

Good opening matwork with some really painful holds, great, intense strikes and rough beatings all around, but the match was just not good, not enough for three stars. The last 3-4 minutes almost ruined the whole thing. I don’t want to see package piledriver kickouts in my wrestling. I don’t need that crap, especially not coming from ladies. And that wasn’t even the only highly implausible kickout, mind you! The finish, however, holy fucking SHIT! Probably the sickest thing I’ve seen in a long ass time, it was only one split second, even less, before a decapitation. Just a nasty dance of death, Grim Reaper was lurking closely.

**3/4

4.      LUCHA DE QUATRO TERCIAS: Aero Boy, Super Mega, Magnifico vs. Iron Kid, Alas de Acero, Aramis vs. Impulso, Belial, Arez vs. Disturbio, Garrobo Punk, Ciber Punk

This match had a little bit of everything, but at the end of the day, it delivered in key aspects. It was crazy, dynamic, action-packed, there were some batshit insane spots, etc. I mean, shit, there was 12 fucking competitors in the match, with only Disturbio not being an indie guy, and ***1/4 is as good as it gets all things considered, trust me on this. Some botches and funny failures did happen, but nothing too hard that would ruin the mood, so yeah, overall this match didn’t leave me grouchy.

***1/4

5.      Trauma II vs. Blue Panther

Another great matcore match with story being Trauma II trying to impress Blue Panther with his rich lucha knowledge, passed on him by his father Negro Navarro, T2 was trying to show everyone his father’s school is just as good as Panther’s. This match was all about the matcore, and the escalated “action” was even shorter than the one in Cerebro/Virus, and guess what – the finish was just as awesome, but still, this match is clearly at least one level below Cerebro/Virus. The body of work just wasn’t as captivating and tight. But fuck me, Cerebro and Virus sure as hell set the bar too damn high, because this was still a nifty mini-classic. The aforementioned finish was the best part of the match, its simplicity and brutality was off the charts, and I really want to buy a drink or three to whoever thought of that one.

****1/4

6.      Guerrero Maya vs. Guerrero Maya Jr.

In case you’ve been living under the rock, Maya Senior is actually Black Terry. And Maya Junior is his alleged son. Which means this is a father on son, son on father violence. But it’s nothing new for these two troopers, as they’ve been feuding on indie scene for quite a while now, and then there’s their bitter feud from IWRG years ago, so they’re not strangers to beating each other silly. This started off as something we’ve already seen in Cerebro/Virus and Trauma/Panther, but you just knew something’s off with these two fucks and it was only a matter of time before hell breaks loose, tensions were high during those opening minutes. And then a violent blood brawl started, first with Maya Jr. laying some serious smackdown on his dad, making him bleed, ripping his mask, pretending he’s not 63 years old, etc. He even used Arena Naucalpan’s signature bucket for a headshot. Nasty! Senior’s eventual comeback was amazing and led to 5-6 picture perfect minutes of revenge violence. Terry is probably the best brawler in business, he’s proven that countless times before, and once again here as he was charging on his son with elbows, Jake LaMotta jabs, super stiff kicks to the spine, he made him bleed hard, he used that bucket back on him, etc. The entire thing was one big orgy of mayhem, I adored it. The final 2-3 minutes saw both men selling the beatings inside the ring and trying to win at all cost, which led to a DQ finish. Since I knew there’s no way this would end up clean, I was fine with the way they called it a day, and especially because they fought some more after the match.

This was amazing, boys and girls!

****3/4

7.      Caifan & Avisman vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Hechicero

Some truly great parts here, but also some headscratching parts as well. Like, there were just enough annoying moments that prevented the match from being great. Early matcore was very cool and when they transitioned into a strike-heavy slugfest it got even better, but as the match was getting longer, its structure was getting looser and looser, and some illogical stuff occurred. I’m not going to bother you with all the details because the match was 25 minutes long and lots of it happened in there. Hechicero and Caifan still have a great chemistry and it looks we might get another singles clash between the two. I’m pretty damn pumped for that!

***3/4

8.      SUPER LIBRE: Pagano vs. Trauma I

So, this Pagano fella, right? He gets bed rep on internet because he’s a trashy hardcore guy, but I think it’s just because most fans hate the style. Newsflash – he’s not that bad. I mean, sure, he’s not very athletic or technically sound, he can be pretty sloppy and too slow at moments, but at least he’s willing to bump hard and do crazy shit to compensate and to entertain the crowds. I guess that’s why he’s one of the most popular indie guys in Mexico this year. He brings blood and violence, and knows how to work with weapons.

This was a really good hardcore tussle, with both guys taking turns in desecrating each other with chairs, forks, broken glass bottles, lighttubes, PUNCHES, etc. The match had its structure and flew well, more or less. All those Pagano negatives I mentioned in first paragraph happened in this match too, but good things outweighed that easily. All things considered, this was a super fun hardcore brawl with tons of violence and brutality, I recommend it.

***3/4

Satanico/Panther

CaraLucha 2015/07/25

Satanico vs. Blue Panther

Man, this match can serve as a school example of how a shitty and poorly executed “dirty” finish can bring down the whole thing. Everything before the finish was a suave, slick and charming old school llaves loaded with nifty armdrags and armwork. These are two of the very best luchadors of all time and they will always have good matches, no matter the age. I just don’t get the ending route, it just doesn’t make any sense why they went with that, smh…

**3/4

Newish CMLL (Lazy-Ass Edition)

CMLL 2015/06/09

Angel de Oro, Stuka Jr., Pegasso vs. Hechicero, Okumura, Bobby Zavala

Typically good trios match in three acts and great reminder of Hechicero’s amazing talents, him and Zavala were killing it here.

***1/4

Newish CMLL

CMLL 2015/5/29

Ingobernables (Rush, Sombra, Tetsuya Naito) vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia, Thunder

Naito el Ingobernable is fantastic, and if he carries over that attitude to New Japan, it might end up being epic. He slaps people around, steals UG’s signature hand gesture, constantly does the obnoxious eye thing, his offense is stripped down, just in general he looks and acts mean. And then when it’s time for bumping for tecnicos or doing highspots, he does it perfectly, he’s simply an outstanding rudo invader from Japon. This trio brawl was excellent, the first two falls got plenty of time for developing plots and stories, I was positively surprised to see the segunda getting WAAAY more time than your typical CMLL segunda caida. Ingobernables slapping the Guerreros and Thunder around and decimating them was wonderful, the comeback was well done, and then we got UG and Thunder developing/accelerating their own beef by stealing falls on Rush from each other. Needless to say, they were noth involved in some heavy smackfests with Toro Blanco, and it was great. You know what, I’d totally like to see them doing a 3-way apuesta clash, would be radical! And to cap off this entire thing, we got an awesome post-match tussle, pure chaos and beatdowns everywhere. Excellent match!

****1/4

Newish CMLL

CMLL 2015/5/26

Pequeno Olimpico & Pequeno Nitro vs. Ultimo Dragoncito & Fantasy

Slick and clean match, everything was so smooth and the layout was catchy and designed to bring out the best. The Pequenos were relentless aggressors and the tecnicos’ comeback was super. I also really liked the finish.

***1/2

CMLL Bastante Nuevo

CMLL 2015/5/5

Campeonato Mundial de Parejas CMLL: Atlantis & Blue Panther vs. Negro Casas & Shocker ©

Really good match, but not a worthy follow-up to the all-out brawl from a week before. The primera got a plenty of time and it was spent on the mat for its entirety, the match-ups were Casas/Panther and Shocker/Atlantis, they worked tight hold-for-hold style and it was great, basically the entire primera was a mini-match perfection. The segunda was a nothing fall, it went under two minutes and really it was just a cheap CMLL trick we see all the time. The tercera looked very promising based on video time, but unfortunately it was quite short, way shorter than primera and also some weird shit happened in there. I really have no idea why they held back in the tercera, instead of going full throttle they worked a low-bump style that seemed more like a table-setting of some form, instead of culmination of previous work in the match.

***3/4

CMLL 2015/4/28

Campeonato Mundial Trios del CMLL: Guerreros Laguneros (Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia, Gran Guerrero) vs. Sky Team (Mistico, Volador Jr., Valiente) ©

This was so similar to the previous match, the primera got over 10 minutes and it was glorious, it was mostly spent on the mat (GG/Valiente, Euforia/Mistico, UG/Volador) and it felt really natural and organic, the pacing was great. Then the segunda happened and it was really short, CMLL style, and the tercera was good in places, but also too by-the numbers in other places. But as a whole, this was a damn fine and enjoyable match, even though it doesn’t touch some other efforts from the rivalry.

***1/2

CMLL 2015/5/3

Campeonato Nacional Peso Welter: Barbaro Cavernario vs. Titan ©

Goddamn amazing match where every fall got enough time to develop stories and subplots, it was truly awesome. The primera was a swell back-and-forth matfest that escalated into semi-big moves which the Caveman won, and thus he gained tremendous confidence that carried into the segunda where he properly beat the shit out of Titan, whose eventual comeback was excellent. And then the last fall was the very best CMLL style could offer, there was a lot of big moves and smart callbacks and cut-offs that linked to their previous clashes. Cavernario didn’t do his crazy, knee-shattering splash to the floor (which is good for his health), instead he let Titan do it instead of him, hehe, who cares, Titan’s crazy anyway. Really amazing lucha title match and it’s so fucking beautiful that both Dragon Lee and Cavernario are singles champions at the same time, it means CMLL is doing at least something right. Now, if only they put some strap on The Panther too, I’d never say one bad word against them again.

****3/4

CMLL 2015/4/24

Sky Team (Mistico, Volador Jr., Valiente) vs. Hijos del Infierno (Mephisto, Ephesto, Luciferno)

Solid two fall sprint, but nothing to write home about, except for Sky Team triple dive that’s tailormade for highlight reels.

**1/2

CMLL 2015/5/5

Mercurio, Pequeno Olimpico, Pequeno Violencia vs. Shockercito, Stukita, Electrico

Fun, vivid minis’ sprint with constant movement and rapid fire exchanges. Shockercito and Stukita shined in terms of slick techniques and athleticism, while Mercurio shined at being a great dickbag.

***

CMLL 2015/5/5

Virus, Tiger, Canelo Casas vs. Fuego, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther

Another neat trio from Virus, Tiger and the Panther boys, about what you expect from them, grand stuff all around, highlighted by STUPENDOUSLY beautiful tope from The Panther.

***1/2

Newish CMLL

CMLL 2015/4/26

Campeonato Nacional Trios: Reyes del Atlantida (Atlantis, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr.) vs. Peste Negra (Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas, Felino) ©

As good as it gets with Niebla and Felino in the ring at the same time. Fuck me, they are truly awful.

**1/2

CMLL 2015/4/26

10-MAN CIBERNETICO: Sombra, Mascara, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Ripper vs. Marco Corleone, Titan, Polvora, Kamaitachi, Morphosis

Fun, action packed cibernetico. Team shuffling led to some amusing moments. Nothing must-see, just a nice 20 minutes to kill.

***1/4

CMLL 2015/4/17

MATCH RELAMPAGO: Polvora vs. Titan

Usual good work from these two, Polvora was especially effective in rudo role, he did the domination parts very well. Obviously Titan did a number on himself via dangerous bumps and dives. Dude’s crazy and needs to tone it down, for his own health’s sake.

***1/4

CMLL 2015/4/21

Dragon Lee, Fuego, Triton vs. Virus, Tiger, Puma

Really good match, although not the sprint I expected. They took their time and the match was generally slower than your usual Dragon Lee/Tiger/Puma affairs. The best thing about this one was Virus not forgetting his beef and title loss to Dragon Lee, they had ace sequences here, but that’s such a given already, their chemistry is off the charts. Puma was great too, practically right up there with DL and Virus. Damn good match!

***3/4

CMLL 2015/4/21

Sky Team (Mistico, Volador Jr., Valiente) vs. Guerreros Laguneros (Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia, Gran Guerrero)

Typical CMLL trio with a three act structure, a fall and a half it was all about Guerreros, then the tecnicos made the high flying comeback, although I gotta give them credit here, the ending to the segunda was quite unusual for modern CMLL, and then we got a back-and-forth tercera. Good match!

***

CMLL 2015/4/28

Magnus, Flyer, Oro Jr. vs. Disturbio, Canelo Casas, Hijo del Signo

I should probably watch Magnus more frequently, but what can I do when he’s always paired with Flyer. In case you wondered, Flyer is a botch machine, dude has major problems with executing the most basic lucha moves and combos, yet he keeps getting regular Arena Mexico spots. Such a CMLL thing to do. Hijo del Signo is someone I’ve never seen before and it needs to change after this match, he’s a badass and his submission finisher is rather unique and groovy.

***1/4

CMLL 2015/4/28

Campeonato Internacional del CMLL-Reina: Princesa Sujei vs. Narumiya ©

This was bollocks, I felt really bad for Princesa, it sucked she had to deal with embarrassingly awful Narumiya. Probably the worst performance of the year, she botched a lot, sucked at timing, etc. Disgrace.

bad

CMLL 2015/4/28

Atlantis, Blue Panther, Dragon Lee vs. Negro Casas, Shocker, Vangelis

This was an amazing brawl, vicious and mesmerizing tussle that felt like a throwback asskicking helter-skelter. In some other era, Atlantis’ mask would be ripped off and blood would be pouring down his face, also Blue Panther would bleed a bucket or two, with Shocker licking their blood respectively. Unfortunately, there’s no juicing in modern CMLL, but no biggie really, great wrestlers still find many ways to make it work. This match is pure example of modern CMLL brawl executed down to a T, each fall got plenty of time and stories and subplots were highly developed. The focus is Atlantis & Panther vs. Casas & Shocker, with Dragon Lee and Vangelis in supporting roles. And it’s kind of surreal and awesome to see the veterans paired up and beating bajesus out of each other, you get the real sense of CMLL’s roster depth and size, also you get the sad feeling of many missed “dream match” opportunities. Rudo trio was dominating the match for a long ass while, and they were fantastic at it. The first 90& of the match was incredibly one-sided, just a badass rudo mayhem, which is one of my favorite things in lucha. This is a must-see match and I can’t wait for the tag title match next week, it’s guaranteed to be great after this fantastic build-up.

****1/2

CMLL 2015/4/26

Stuka Jr., Stigma, Pegasso vs. Virus, Okumura, Nitro

Kinda by-the-numbers match, but hey, this is still a Virus sprint, co-starring Stigma, so of course it was good.

***

CMLL 2015/5/5

MATCH RELAMPAGO: Titan vs. Gran Guerrero

Good match, one helluva Titan carryjob.

***