CMLL 01/26

2016/01/26

Fun Lucharesu - Day 1

NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016

(2016/01/17)

New CMLL

CMLL 2015/11/06

Astral & Electrico vs. Demus 3:16 & Pequeno Olimpico

Good minis match, but nothing more. Demus was awesome, Olimpico was serviceable, Electrico was… there, and Astral was good, but his execution still makes your brain hurt (many 50+ year olds hit those armdrags much faster). Also, Demus lost twice in a row by DCO. Didn’t care for that. Good shit that could’ve been so much better.

***1/4

CMLL Puebla

CMLL 2015/09/14

Valiente, Angel de Oro, Stuka Jr. vs. Dragon Rojo Jr., Polvora, Hechicero

Badass match made by the awesome rudos and Valiente’s unbelievably awesome dive. Also Hechicero is a god, but you already knew that.

***3/4

Four Rather Neat CMLL Trios

CMLL 2015/08/11

Valiente, Dragon Lee, Rey Cometa vs. Ephesto, Hechicero, Luciferno

Great match with all six guys working hard. Primera was marvelous with all the nifty matwork and eventual crazy flying (including Lee’s INSANE dive miss) that led to the tecnico win, which pissed off the rudos and hence segunda being all things dirty bar fighting. Rudos losing primera and then dishing out revenge punishment in segunda is one of my favorite things in CMLL trios. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it always works. Hechicero and Valiente were fired up. They were involved in the finish that served as a prelude to their mano a mano match one week after this. Also so good to see Cometa back!

****

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

CMLL Ketchup

CMLL 2015/08/03

Valiente, Angel de Oro, Titan vs. Mephisto, Ephesto, Polvora

Short but very to the point trio that would be even better if they got few more minutes to go all-out in tercera. The story was mostly about Polvora and de Oro advancing their feud and it worked. Everyone looked good in this match.

***3/4

CMLL Bastante Nuevo

CMLL 2015/07/17

Mistico, Valiente, Dragon Lee vs. Negro Casas, Mephisto, Ephesto

Wow, Arena Mexico casuals fucking loathe Mistico II. I mean, sure, he always gets some heat, but this is not your usual Friday night Arena Mexico event, no, this one has a huge ass crowd and they boo him every single time, no matter how much he bumps around. Children and women would cheer his dives and ‘ranas, but they’re outvoiced very fast by adult males. This match was kind of weird, it was all over the place and it produced both good and not so good moments. Negro Casas still did his thing, though, and it was great, loved the early matwork with Lee. Speaking of Lee, he was kind of non-contributor here, which is a strange (CMLL!) way to present your hot new tecnico. He also got some hate, especially after that one botch, lol. The endgame was Mistico vs. Casas, the battle of the captains, and obviously the crowd was heavily pro-Casas.

***1/2

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

CMLL Bastante Nuevo

CMLL 2015/5/19

Triton, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther vs. Kamaitachi, Tiger, Okumura

Borderline great match with everyone looking good, Kamaitachi was super here with all the natural heat he was displaying. The primera got some nice time for classic llaves lucha, great stuff. BPJ busted out maybe his best performance yet.

***3/4

Recentish CMLL

CMLL 2015/5/19

Marcela & Vaquerita vs. Tiffany & Reyna Isis

Solid ladies match that got plenty of time, the spread was proper for every fall, and while there was some aimless roaming, things were mostly held together in a satisfying manner, everything was a movement. I dug the Marcela/Tiffany match-up.

**3/4

CMLL Ketchup (two apuesta matches)

CMLL 2015/3/24

Sombra, Stuka Jr., Dragon Lee vs. Peste Negra (Felino, Negro Casas, Cavernario)

Pretty light-hearted primera, short and sweet match-ups, DL/Caveman was the best. The segunda was pretty much the same, only a little bit longer. The highlight was Sombra and Casas beating bajesus out of each other. The tercera was brawlish for awhile before the double foul/cheating by Casas and Sombra for the finish, which was funny, I must admit. All in all, fun match, but nothing that’ll stay in my memory for the rest of the week.

**3/4

CMLL 2015/3/24

Luciferno, Hechicero, Boby Zavala vs. Blue Panther, Valiente, Triton

Really neat and rather different than your typical CMLL trio match, probably because this one had Panther and Hechicero on opposite sides and as the central match-up. They had the opening scientific exchange on the mat that was absolutely brilliant and it set up the bar so high that the rest of the crew stood no chance in making a follow-up to it. They tried, but one simply cannot reach those levels of awesomeness. What surprised me most that the tercera and the climax didn’t have crazy balls-to-walls action and vivid topes, they rather built drama around tight nearfalls and submission struggling. Really cool match.

***3/4

CMLL 2015/3/20

Mascara vs. Mascara: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi

This totally lived up to its potential, such an athletic, freaky and nasty apuesta slugfest that eats little babies. In a manner of typical CMLL booking, the first two falls were short, Kamaitachi won the primera with a couple of fantastic Germans, then dominated the segunda via heavy blasts but still lost it via super double stomp. Damn, DL makes that move look like a true killshot. They obviously banked everything on the tercera, and shit man, it paid off big time. They mutilated each other just like in all those build matches, they hit all the signature moves and the crowd loved every second of it. Fucking seven hells, they really fucked up each other on few occasions, those shots were brutal. They botched two spots, probably due to fatigue, but it wasn’t anything scary that would take away from the match. Fantastic lucha de apuesta and I so want to see even more of these two, I want to see them in two totally different situations now – for Dragon’s freshly won title and in another lucha de apuesta. Their chemistry is glorious and they need to milk every atom of it before Kamaitachi returns to New Japan. The most fascinating aspect of this is they managed to get the most out of such a predictable outcome.

****3/4

CMLL 2015/3/20

Cabelleras vs. Cabelleras: Volador Jr. & Maximo vs. Rey Bucanero & Terrible

So, Volador comes out dressed as Johnny Mundo. Mkay then. Another match with terribly predictable outcome, and another match where they did the most out of what they got. Logically, the first two caidas were insanely short and once again the tercera had to carry the load. They did tons of big moves, including some awesome looking topes, suicidas and other high flying stuff, both tecnicos were top fucking notch in execution. All things considered, it was good, but the ending was mismatched and prevented the match from reaching four stars. First Volador pinned Maximo’s rival Terrible, then Bucanero pinned Volador, and then Maximo defeated Bucanero to win the big match for his team. I don’t know, it seemed kind of anti-climatic considering what the actual feuds were. I wish they did 2-1 finishes for caidas 1 & 2 and 2-0 the tercera, with Volador defeating Bucanero and Maximo defeating Terrible. This way it felt strange to see Volador taking Bucanero’s hair after he lost to him just few minutes earlier.

***3/4

Newish CMLL

CMLL 2015/1/27

Disturbio, Espiritu Negro, Akuma vs. Sensei, Magnus, Flyer

Average trio match. Flyer was botching lots of key moves, he got huge anti-tecnico heat from the crowd. Espiritu Negro and especially Magnus were bloody great here. First time seeing Magnus and he seems an awesome guy, his lucha makes sense and he’s not afraid of doing crazy shit.

**3/4

CMLL 2015/1/27

Zeuxis, Tiffany, Seductora vs. Estrellita, Princesa Sujei, Dark Angel

Nonstop action and constant movement, there wasn’t a moment in the match without someone getting smacked hard. CMLL ladies like their hard hitting style of lucha, Tiffany especially, she was the undisputed MVP of the match with all the aggression and malicious intensity she displayed. Sujei was a tremendous lady hero who takes no shit from anyone, Dark Angel was awesome as well, totally Ishii-ish, I know her as a hot fitness chick, but boy oh boy, she can wrestle very well. Damn good match.

***3/4

CMLL 2015/2/3

Zeuxis, Tiffany, Dalys vs. Estrellita, Princesa Sujei, Dark Angel

CMLL ladies do it again, this was another neat trio, with Dalys instead of La Seductora on the rudo side. They got a solid amount of time and they took advantage of it. Sujei was great.

***3/4

CMLL 2015/2/10

Divinos Laguneros (Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther) vs. Comando Caribeno (Pierroth, Sagrado, Misterioso)

The primera was literally the shortest fall ever, the segunda was mediocre, the tercera was very good and saved the match, The Panther was easily the best guy in there and once again he proved his ability to make things hot with just one move, dude’s unreal.

***

CMLL 2015/2/10

Volador Jr., Dragon Rojo Jr., Angel de Oro vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Polvora, Hechicero

Really fine trio match with great primera and peculiar finish that advanced the Volador/UG beef. The primera was nifty with everyone hitting their stuff on the mat and the rest of the match was your typical CMLL trios action, but done right. Volador and UG have a great chemistry. It’s really cool that every Hechicero match gets good amount of time for primeras to display llaves, I like to think he manages to talk the other participants backstage into it, I’m telling this because matwork is something I wouldn’t expect from this combo of names involved.

****

CMLL 2015/2/6

MATCH RELAMPAGO: Maximo vs. Rey Bucanero

Average lightning match.

**3/4

CMLL 2015/2/6

Campeonato Mundial de Parejas CMLL: Mascara & Sombra vs. Negro Casas & Shocker ©

Hot damn, this rivalry is so fruitful, it delivers once again. Casas and Shocker are pretty much a perfect tag team of surly veteran badasses schooling younger luchadors, they’re glorious in this match, especially the underrated Shocker who had great matches with Mascara and Sombra last year and the mutual chemistry is clear. Very fun match with an awesome structure.

****

CMLL 2015/2/8

Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr., Dragon Lee vs. Virus, Puma, Kamaitachi

This was fucking great all the way through, 15 minutes of high-octane action carried by Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi hate, Virus and Maya revisiting their rivalry and Delta being the MVP of the match(!), I’m telling you this was amazing and my new CMLL MOTY. Holy shit, the mask match can’t come fast enough. Maya’s dive into paying customers was both dangerous and glorious.

****1/2

CMLL 2015/2/8

Maximo, Valiente, Marco Corleone vs. Ephesto, Mephisto, Cavernario

11 minutes of crazy diving and gnarly smacking. Fuck, Cavernario/Corleone stuff was tons of fun. There was a moment with them in the middle of the ring, the caveman was mocking Marco’s antics only for the latter to punch him in the jaw silly. Smashing. Great match.

****

CMLL 2015/2/10

Maximo, Mascara, Marco Corleone vs. Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Cavernario

Super fun match, probably the funniest this year, all things Marco/Cavernario/Terrible was genuinely amusing, they played off the punching thing beautifully and all the taunts and teases were gold.

***3/4

CMLL 2015/2/13

Maximo, Atlantis, Marco Corleone vs. Terrible, Rey Bucanero, Thunder

Short but good, once again Marco and Terrible were building on their mutual love for left hooks. The finish was great.

***1/4

CMLL 2015/2/17

Divinos Laguneros (Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther) vs. Comando Caribeno (Pierroth, Sagrado, Misterioso)

Neat, heated rematch from a week earlier, this was a nasty brawl dominated by the rudos before the Panther family got a chance to execute their excellent comeback with a series of awesome moves, including The Panther’s AMAZING dive. Shit man, that one was crazy great. The fans love him, and so do I. BPJ has been improving rapidly, btw, I see him shining in this year’s Busca de un Idolo (if there is one, you never know with CMLL).

***3/4

CMLL 2015/2/13

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

Spectacular trio title match, back-and-forth tussle with everyone doing the right thing. Yes, that includes Niebla Roja as well. Funny. The Guerreros’ simple plan is to calm the pace down and tame the tecnico trio via questionable brawlish methods, and it works for a fall and a half before Sky Team’s inevitable big ass comeback. From there on, the match is a breathtaking spectacle fucking loaded with both sumptuous visuals as well as captivating story elements. Truly awesome match and my NEW match of the year by the oldest active promotion in the world.

****1/2