Catching Up With the Summer Time CMLL, Vol. 1

I barely watched any CMLL during this last summer due to many reasons, the main being the exhausting G1 Climax, so now I cherry-picked the matches that sound really fucking good on paper, and man, some true gems right there, here's my Vol. 1:

CMLL 2014/6/30

Mascara vs. Cabellera: Asturiano vs. Pequeno Warrior

Two small prelim guys tore Arena Puebla down in this fantastic apuesta match. It had a raw, gritty feeling, it didn’t even feel like a CMLL match, but rather like a fierce indie slugfest. I don’t know anything about this feud nor I watched any of the matches that built to this one, but fuck me, they were so good it didn’t even matter. Pequeno is the mini version of Psicosis, I guess, and his amazing performance here secured him a worldwide nomination for the Biggest Prick, the shit he did was so old school, he was a relentless, merciless son of a bitch who abused both Asturiano and his second. Pequeno’s second was also a marvelous douchebag here, they were taking constant shortcuts, cheap shots and ambushes, I’m not going into details, just sit down and enjoy this tremendous lucha de apuesta. Shame about CMLL’s no blood policy, because that was the only thing missing here.

****1/2

CMLL 2014/9/16

Negro Casas, Cavernario, Hechicero vs. Sombra, Diamante Azul, Dragon Lee

The rudo trio is basically a dream team, so much swag there, their teamwork is impeccable, and the best thing is, they’re willing to throw a nasty punch or two to make things go their way. La Sombra was actually the “weakest” in terms of displayed quality here, as Dragon Lee got another chance to shine, and he took it, while Diamante Azul busted out the best performance since I’m watching CMLL on a regular basis. To sum up, this was a killer trio.

****

CMLL 2014/6/24

Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero vs. Atlantis & Titan

Less than seven minutes long, but borderline great, there was no feeling out process, everything was about hit & run, the whole match pure intensity and hatred.

***3/4

CMLL 2014/6/27

5-on-5 TORNEO CIBERNETICO: Escuela Negro Casas (Negro Casas, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Cachorro, Soberano Jr.) vs. Escuela Virus (Virus, Hechicero, Guerrero Negro Jr., Super Halcon Jr., Star Jr.)

Long and ridiculously fun cibernetico with no slow moments, there was a constant movement, usually involving heavy hitting or high flying. Some spots were blown early in the match, but here – it was the part of the charm and kind of added to the story, because there were many young and inexperienced fellas, and the older dudes made sure the mistakes were being acknowledged, sold and punished. The combos that rocked were endless here: Casas/Hechicero, Virus/DL, Virus/Cavernario, Virus/Cachorro, Hechicero/Cavernario, Hechicero/Cachorro… and – Casas/Virus at last. To my knowledge they never met mano a mano, hopefully that changes sometime in the future.

****1/4

CMLL 2014/6/24

Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero vs. Blue Panther & Cachorro

Five minutes of surly awesomeness.

***3/4

CMLL 2014/6/24

Virus, Morphosis, Olimpico vs. Triton, Fuego, Stigma

Virus vs. everyone else carried this match to greatness. Holy shit, Virus is truly incredible, honestly I can’t stress it enough, his mat stuff with Fuego was smashing, and the hate displayed to Stigma, brrr, mouthwatering.

****

CMLL 2014/7/8

Atlantis, Valiente, Rey Cometa vs. Euforia, Dragon Rojo Jr., Polvora

Great match where Cometa displayed the whole luxury of his talent, he really might be the best flyer in the world today.

****

CMLL 2014/7/4

Atlantis, Valiente, Titan vs. Guerreros Laguneros (Ultimo Guerrero, Niebla Roja, Gran Guerrero)

Very nice Atlantis/UG prelude trio with a particularly smart and funny finish.

***3/4