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INTRO
It’s been a couple months since I dropped one of these. That’s my fault. My vacation landed at just the right time to throw off both May and June. I’m back now and not a moment too soon as CMLL is gearing up for their big Anniversario show next month. Let’s recap the good and the bad over the last month in the premier lucha libre promotion in the world.
HITS
Magia Blanca & Tornado & Rey Pegasus vs. Virus & Infinito & Cerebro Negro Jr.
Good match. Each man got a chance to shine. Tornado stumbled on the ropes a couple times but he didn’t let it get in his head. The Tornado/Rey Pegasus Doomsday crucifix finisher continues to be one of the most brutal finishes in wrestling.
Los Herederos vs. Los Forajidos
Good match. Hijo de Stuka Jr rolling El Coyote into place for a splash by El Cobarde should be studied by other wrestlers.
Zankodan Jr & Barbaro Cavernario vs Dragon Roja & Star Jr.
Good match. The finish to the first fall was odd with Star Jr using the ropes for leverage first before Zankodan Jr used them to score the win. Heels won a rare two straight falls. Faces challenged for a rematch.
Tessa Blanchard & Garra Negra vs. Persephone & Keyra
I must admit this was a really good match. Garra Negra was isolated the entire first fall before being pinned with a nice bridge out of a sitout powerbomb. The hot tag was a little botched. Garra Negra pinned Keyra after an Angel’s Wings. Persephone trying to avoid Tessa was good storytelling. Tessa getting the deciding fall on Perse with a tiger bomb would seem to set up a title match at some point. Tessa being a babyface still doesn’t sit well with me.
Volador Jr. vs. Flip Gordon (World Historic Middleweight Title)
Soft hit for a good match with an unexpected title change and win via a Mexican Destroyer.
Mìstico & Mascara Dorada, Atlantis vs. Los Hermanos Chavez & Hechicero
Strong main event. Atlantis didn’t embarrass himself. Los Hermanos Chavez got the win pinning El Sky Team which means the Angel de Oro push continues apace which is good to see.
Los Forajidos vs. Los Herederos (National Trios Title)
Really good match that kicked into another gear in the final 8-10 minutes. Hijo de Stuka Jr hit Vaquero Jr with a cutthroat spinning rack bomb for a two. Vaqero Jr responded with an avalanche Dominator for a two. That made Felino Jr pinning El Coyote with a Magistral cradle a bit anticlimactic.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Dragon Rojo Jr. & Star Jr vs. Barbaro Cavernario & Zankodan Jr.
Quick first fall ended with Star Jr pinning Zankodan Jr with a victory roll. Second fall ended with the rudos hitting a giant swing/dropkick combo on Dragon Roja Jr followed by Barbaro Cavernario pinning him with the springboard Vader Bomb. Third fall ended with Zankodan Jr faking being low blowed by Star Jr resulting in DQ. Good match, unusual finish with the faking of a low blow. Maybe Zankodan Jr has been watching old Eddie Guerrero matches.
Ikuro Kwan & Volador Jr. & Ùltimo Guerrero vs Flip Gordon & Títan & Templario
Really good while it lasted. Rudos controlled a lot of the match. Último Guerrero hit Templario with an avalanche face first suplex which Ikuro Kwan followed up with a shining wizard to the back of the head for the win. Kwan then challenged Templario to an MLW Middleweight Title match. Templario responded with a strong promo accepting Kwan’s challenge and challenging Ùltimo Guerrero to a match
Blue Panther vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Fine for what it was. Blue Panther is 65yrs old and still going. He didn’t embarrass himself and took a couple risky dives but ultimately fell to Claudio. It’s good to see AEW talent not just getting jobbed out
Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs. El Sky Team
Really good match. I do wish that Los Hermanos Chavez had worn their normal outfits instead of dressing like Mìstico and Dorada. Mìstico got the win with La Mistica.
Johnnie Robbie & Thunder Rosa & Tessa Blanchard vs. Sanely & Olympia & Persephone
Good match. First time seeing Johnnie Robbie and she looked good. Nice grappling exchange with Persephone early. I didn’t love the spots late in the match where the dives to the floor basically had to be no-sold in order to get to the next dive. Finish was surprising in that Rosa got the pin instead of Tessa who’s been setting up a match with Persephone.
Templario vs. Ikuro Kwan
Really good match in spite of Okumura’s repeated interference. Kwan’s size provided a nice contrast. Templario’s running moonsault from the ramp into the ring remains impressive. They got a good kickout on Kwan’s shining wizard before Templario finished him powerbomb into the lung blower.
El Sky Team vs. Los Infernales
Good match. The first fall was dominated by El Sky Team’s sensational high-flying and capped off by Mìstico tapping out Averno with La Mistica. The second fall was all Los Infernales who isolated and triple teamed Mìstico. They went after his mask ripping it to the point where it was virtually impossible for him to keep his face covered. The rudos getting themselves disqualified by unmasking Mìstico resolved my concern and made everything make sense.
Team Mexico (Capitan Suicida & Valiente Jr. & Fugaz & Pantera Jr. & Xelhua) vs. Team Japan (Okumura & Yutani & Shoma Kato & Yujiro Takahashi, Douki)
Really good match and a nice preview of the International Grand Prix with exactly half the amount of competitors. Most of the competitors got an opportunity to shine, with Douki shining the most with two eliminations via the Douki Chokey and the eventual win over Xelhua. One slight down note, this was my intro to Takahashi. I wasn’t impressed. He looked like a fan and his wrestling was basic at best. I would’ve eliminated him first instead of second to last.
Tìtan & Neon vs. Leon Cage & Austin Aries
Another good match that acted as preview for the Grand Prix. This was my first time seeing Cage and he was impressive for a 19yr old. I just wish he didn’t have to team with someone as slimy as Aries. The CMLL team winning made sense after the outcome of the first match.
Star Jr. & Dragon Rojo Jr. & Templario vs. Zankodan Jr. & Barbaro Cavernario & Ùltimo Guerrero
Pretty good match with multiple rivalries interlaced within. The key one here was Star Jr and Zankodan Jr. Star Jr coming out with the contract and a mic in his hand demanding a signature was interesting. It stood out because it’s unusual for CMLL. The match really started before the bell. Zankodan Jr won the first fall with a Tiger Bomb on Star Jr. Star Jr deliberately got disqualified to lose the second fall by unmasking Zankodan Jr to bait him into accepting the hair vs mask match for Anniversario 93 and it worked. This was all well done.
Tessa Blanchard vs. Persephone (CMLL World Women’s Title)
Very good match. Despite being so toxic she can’t get hired in the US, Tessa is still talented. She and Persephone had great chemistry and I liked the hot start before the bell. The German suplex on the apron was gnarly. Tessa kicking out of the BT Bomb was a nice hope spot before she lost to the top rope moonsault. Persephone winning was the right choice. I was just a little surprised it was a clean win and I wonder where that leaves her for Anniversario. Thankfully there’s still plenty of time left to build something.
Roderick Strong vs. Hechicero (CMLL World Heavyweight Title)
A soft hit for really good albeit cold title match. It also acted as another preview of the Grand Prix as both men are on opposite sides of that match. Strong reversing the second Mad Scientist Bomb into a crucifix pin might’ve been the spot of the match.
Mascara Dorada vs. Komander
A sensational match in spite of the fact that it was the finals of yet another tournament. Seriously if you think AEW has a lot tournaments, CMLL has them beat. Nonetheless Dorada and Komander are both incredible at what they do and some of the sequences they put together almost defied the laws of physics. Even an questionable spot like Komander and Dorada taking an awkwardly long time to set up a top rope move was saved by Dorada somehow landing on his feet.
MISSES
Thunder Rosa vs. India Sioux (National Women’s title)
This match was unfortunately a miss. Besides being a cold match for a secondary title, it was a little too slow and sloppy for my taste. Royals dropkick remains terrible. Rosa won which is whatever. Remember when she was the savior of the AEW women’s division during the pandemic?
MLW in CMLL
Though my absence meant we didn’t get to talk about the big CMLL/MLW show in May which was in my opinion a flop of an event, the continued appearance of MLW titles and talent such as Austin Aries affords me the ability to vent. MLW is utterly irrelevant in the pro wrestling world writ large. It’s the promotion people go to when they can’t get hired anywhere else. It’s not prominent enough for CMLL to give its time or credibility to. Ikuro Kwan is a good wrestler but getting access to him isn’t worth having to platform someone like Austin Aries who is arguably more toxic than Tessa Blanchard. CMLL has relationships with AEW, New Japan, and RevPro. They don’t need MLW.
Kemalito
I understand that he’s sort of the mascot of the company but he seems to come out with both rudos and technicos. The audience loves him, but to me he’s a little bit distracting
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