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

Arena Puebla Ketchup

CMLL 2015/09/07

Molotov, Lestat, Tigre Rojo Jr. vs. Toro Bill Jr., Rey Apocalipsis, King Jaguar

Relatively fun, albeit heatless for the most of time. Bill and Apocalipsis are a fun act.

**3/4

Arena Mexico 09/04 Quickie

CMLL 2015/09/04

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

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

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

CMLL Ketchup Goes On

CMLL 2015/2/24

La Sombra vs. Rey Bucanero

The first two falls got two minutes each, which is your modern CMLL standard and something we have to accept, but they used it well, I loved La Sombra being a dickbag badass and breaking the ring girl’s “Segunda Caida” sign on Bucanero’s head. The finish to segunda was kind of fishy, but waddaya gonna do. The tercera had its cool moments and spots, but in the end it was all about cheating and ugly finish attempts. Solid match overall, but nothing to write home about.

**1/2

CMLL 2015/3/3

Divinos Laguneros (Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther) vs. Virus, Tiger, Puma

Oh yeah, this was fantastic. Slick, smooth and rather clean match, just a straight-forward trio with so much good in it, so, so much good. The match-ups in the primera were BP/Puma, BPJ/Tiger and Cachorro/Virus. The first two were really good with some really smart and well executed hold-for-hold chain wrestling, but then came The Panther and Virus and just tore the house down with their rapid fire scientific llaves, their chemistry is off the charts. The entire primera was pretty much perfect. The segunda had pissed Virus busting out his very best throwback llaves onto Panthers, everyone moved onto high spots and it ruled, especially The Panther’s epic dive. Jesus fuck, I love that spot so damn much. The tercera was very good, but unfortunately it was only four minutes long, they didn’t aim for an epic, that’s a shame because these two teams are more than capable of it. We even got some BP vs. Virus action, which was beautiful to see, only for Puma to heel it up and sucker-punch BP from behind and break the whole thing. This match is also the best Blue Panther Jr. has ever looked.

****1/2

CMLL 2015/2/17

Angel de Oro, Dragon Lee, Titan vs. Peste Negra (Negro Casas, Felino, Cavernario)

Could’ve/should’ve been much better instead of just going through motions. The opening minutes looked promising, but they never quite went there. Felino is scary bad. He’s, like, really, really, REALLY awful nowadays. The match could’ve used more of Dragon Lee vs. Casas, and Cavernario fooling around. Glad to see there are more unresolved issues between him and Titan.

**1/2

CMLL 2015/2/24

Volador Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero

First two falls were quite terrific, UG was a tremendous force of evil and Volador was bumping well for him. Volador’s comeback superkicks were stupendously stiff. The beginning of the tercera was still very good but then they hit a reset button and just moved onto exchanging big moves until the finish. The crowd kind of died too. Shame, this could’ve been a great match if they stayed focused and tight.

***

CMLL 2015/2/24

Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr., Triton vs. Polvora, Luciferno, Kamaitachi

This was borderline excellent. Nifty little sprint with a constant rush hour running and quick exchanges, it was insanely rhythmic and captivating. Kamaitachi <3!

***3/4

CMLL 2015/3/3

Ingobernables (Rush, Mascara, Marco Corleone) vs. Shocker, Negro Casas, Euforia

Such a great and genuinely fun brawl. Negro Casas had good intentions at the beginning as he tried to chain wrestle La Mascara, but then Rush, Marco and Shocker just started talking smack at each other with no one thinking of backing up, sort of like in jail. And then the whole “this might be a clean match for at least one fall” thing fell apart. Left hooks, directs and kicks everywhere, taunts and gimmick infringements, gang isolations and ruthless beatdowns, the whole thing was both hilarious and badass at the same time. We got a little bit of everything in there: Rush/Casas, Rush/Shocker, Marco/Shocker, and it was all awesome. The finish was super clever, enjoyed it. This was a fantastic tussle and everyone should watch it.

****1/4

Panther/Virus

CMLL 2015/4/7

MATCH RELAMPAGO: The Panther vs. Virus

Of course this was damn neat! The first six and a half minutes was nothing but beautiful hold-for-hold struggle in the middle of the ring, usually with Virus leading the scientific mat game, but that was not The Panther being legit lost in the ground game, no, that is simply the story of the Virus matches – no one can outdo him in gracious catch lucha, although The Panther came really close here, hence Virus breaking his rhythm with a chop and a kick to the gut, but then The Panther sends him to the floor and executes a beautiful suicide dive. However, after few fast moves he falls right into Virus’ catch trap and loses the match. Virus’ plan worked! This was such a smart and simple match with a tremendous layout. Shame Virus lost his title to Dragon Lee before we could get The Panther defense. Oh well…

****

Newish CMLL Ketchup

CMLL 2015/3/17

Campeonato Mundial Mini-Estrella de CMLL: Mercurio vs. Astral ©

Great match that could’ve been a masterpiece if Astral didn’t look fucking CLUELESS at least 3-4 times during key submissions and transitions, he was trying to bust out some ultra complicated fancy holds only to fail miserably. But at least he made up for some of it with that great finish. Virus should come back to the division and teach him a lesson of five. Very dramatic third fall, seeing all the old ladies and teen girls losing their shit was priceless. Mercurio was outstanding here.

****

CMLL 2015/3/10

Blue Panther Jr., The Panther, Esfinge vs. Okumura, Puma, Tiger

Lucha on auto-pilot. There were some cool moments here and there (Cachorro’s dive!), but overall this was mostly uninspired and too by-the-numbers.

**3/4

CMLL 2015/3/10

Ingobernables (Rush, Sombra, Marco Corleone) vs. Terrible, Shocker, Negro Casas

Fucking sweet, this was right up my alley, just look at the line-up, it’s five guys who adore throwing nasty smacks at their opponents… and Sombra. I like Sombra, but here I didn’t care for him at all, I was too busy marking the fuck out for all things BRAWLING, the entire match was nothing but gang isolations and vicious beatdowns, just a complete tussle. Goddamn it, it’s so good to see Rush back in action where he belongs, here he is, against the three dudes whose hairs he took, there’s plenty of heat and hatred, left hooks, chops, surly forearms and uppercuts are being thrown around all over the place, stomping and kicking, just awesome. Rush and Marco look fabulous in the same unit. Fantastic match full of violence and charm, and be sure I’m the only one rating it this high, I’m well aware of it, but these CMLL brawls involving Rush are just amazing in its simplicity.

****1/2

CMLL 2015/3/17

Atlantis, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Hijos del Infierno (Mephisto, Ephesto, Luciferno)

Good match albeit little bit aimless. The rudo trio hanged surprisingly well with the tecnicos in athletic sense, but their control sessions were nothing special to spice things up. Of course Maya did his crazy tope into customers.

***

CMLL 2015/3/17

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

Short match that started off normally but turned into a brawl very quickly, overall it was enjoyable prelude to the title rematch. Probably.

***1/4

CMLL 2015/3/17

Campeonato Mundial de Parejas CMLL: Rush & Marco Corleone vs. Negro Casas & Shocker ©

Another quality product of the Casas & Shocker vs. Ingobernables rivalry. Not a high-end tussle like some previous tags and trios but still a very good semi-brawl with Casas being punished like some young punk, and this is the 50 and something year old Casas we’re talking about here. The Shocker/Marco punchfest was fun, Rush getting bored with ground game and going into striking was also fun, the finish was such a sweet little thing, all in all this was enjoyable enough.

***3/4

CMLL 2015/3/13

Shocker, Rey Bucanero, Terrible vs. Atlantis, Volador Jr., Maximo

Fun little nonstop brawl prelude to the double hair match, with Atlantis and Shocker brought in to exchange falls. Great crowd heat for this one.

***1/2