CMLL on Galavision Workrate Report, 11/19/11

I've been falling behind. I'm sorry. Turner Classic Movies has been really good lately. They've been digging deep and showing great stuff like Dodsworth and weird 70s prison movies like The Slams. So lucha fell by the wayside a bit. But I'm back. This episode had two short matches that I enjoyed. In fact, I loved the main event. It was short, sure, but everybody was working with a passion that you don't always see in your Arena Mexico main events. Volador is fast becoming my favorite luchador, but this match highlights another great Ultimo Guerrero performance, who's showing more energy in 2011 than he has in years. Main event is well worth watching. More below.



Tiffany/La Seductora/La Commandante vs. Lady Apache/Dark Angel/Estrellita:

Yeah!! Tiffany is back and she fucking ruled it in this match. Talking tons of shit and bumping all over for all the tecnicas. When did Estrellita turn? Tiffany goes out with an injury and Estrellita is just a good girl now? A good girl wearing caution tape over her business? Rachel is watching this with me and she thinks Commandante looks like Harvey Keitel. Like, current Harvey Keitel. She also looks like that couple in the crowd who look like twins (are they brother/sister? Two people who fantasize about having sex with themselves? Mother/son? Love triangle with Commandante?). Lady Apache is clearly a cut above here, though Dark Angel always looks good. Tiffany was the real superstar though. She does all these little things that can get easily skipped in lucha, such as standing on Apache's wrist while everybody gets in position to triple team her. How many times in lucha have you seen somebody just waiting around to take a beating? It drives me batty sometimes. A tecnico will get bodyslammed, and then just lie motionless on the mat waiting around for all three rudos to sync up and start beating his ass. But here, Apache runs into a boot, and Tiffany awesome stands on her fucking wrist, waiting for her rudas to get into position to commence ass beating. Such a tiny thing, but something that gets skipped a lot in rushed CMLL lucha. Tiffany is awesome.



Ultimo Guerrero/Volador Jr./Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Jushin Liger/La Sombra/Atlantis:

Liger isn't wearing his stupid yellow wig, to the thanks of everybody. Rudos attack before the fall on the rampway and it is swift and violent. Oftentimes rushed CMLL main events are just pointless quick spots and unrealistic pinfalls, with guys just being pinned after hardly taking any offense. But the rushed nature actually worked in this match's favor. The rudos were rushing through spots in the first fall, yes, but it gave the rudos a sense of immediacy and brutality, with them coming off as a wicked well-oiled machine (instead of guys just trying to get their spots in). Rojo smacks Liger around with glee, Ultimo beats the piss out of Atlantis, and Volador is my favorite wild card in lucha right now. He rarely sticks to one tecnico during a match, just floating around and beating up whomever needs it. He hits a running superkick in the first fall that is just sooooo fucking great, pretty much my favorite superkick in the history of my wrestling fandom. Atlantis gets thrown into the turnbuckles, and Volador sprints across the ring and just superkicks the feeling out of Atlantis' face. I'm not sure I've ever seen a running superkick before. It's a move performed with an opponent running towards you, or from standing next to your opponent. But Volador just sprints corner to corner and plants it under Atlantis' chin. Brutal. I literally played it back 8 times. It's around the 2 minute mark of the youtube video embedded here (huge thanks again go out to Cubsfan for posting all of these). Atlantis gets tossed violently to the floor, rudos pull off an complex slingshot/missle dropkick combo from the ramp to the ring, UG stretches the shit out of Atlantis with a nasty over shoulder single leg Boston crab, while grapevining Atlantis' neck with his legs. Fucking awesome sub. So that's the first fall, just about 4 minutes, but a non-stop violent beating.

Second fall is more rudo beatdown until the tecnico comeback, with UG taking his now-common lightning fast head over heels bump to the floor, Liger hitting a nice big plancha from the top onto Rojo, and Volador making a Sombra finish look great. Sombra had Volador in an electric chair position, dropped him into a belly to back, then dumped him with a German. It looked awesome, too.

1st fall dance partners square off in the 3rd, with UG clotheslining Atlantis' face off (nice bump from Atl off it, too), and then UG taking another ridiculous bump to the floor, with him whipping over the top and just plunging out of sight. Volador and Sombra top their sequence, though, with one of the more spectacular rope running segments since the days of Freelance regularly making tape. Crazy fast evasions, a couple great headscissors from both, Volador throws a missed clothesline that would have robbed Sombra of his taste if he didn't duck, Volador spills to the floor and Sombra hits a GREAT flip dive, which Volador then just fucking AWESOMELY ignores, standing up and swinging. Volador looked very uncooperative on that dive no sell, but in a way that totally added to the segment. I mean, Volador was practically up on his feet before Sombra, and Sombra seemed legit surprised when Volador jumped him. Back in and UG takes a THIRD nutty bump over the top to the floor (good lord!) and Atlantis hits a great dive that sends UG into the seats. Sombra hits a big moonsault into Volador, who then knocks into UG, sending him into the seats again (awesome). Rojo rolls through a rana and pins Liger to win, and this was just too much fun and awesome. One of my favorite "under 10" matches of the last couple years. WELL worth taking 10 minutes of your day to watch this.