CMLL on Galavision Workrate Report, 4/21/12

1. Diamante vs. Polvora:

So last week I was going nutso and being super impressed by Diamante Azul, thinking that Diamante (who I previously thought was good) had suddenly gotten really good and got pushed into main events under some sort of Blue Demon "Blue Diamonds" gimmick, and I fawned all over his somersault senton off the rampway last week. But now I found out that Diamante Azul was actually the repackaged Metro. And I'm a guy who looooves me some Metro. Metro is like a top 50 CMLL guy for me, which sounds pretty unimportant, but I'm a guy who likes CMLL more than the average joe. I genuinely think there are at least 50 really good wrestlers on their gigantic roster. Shoot, I like over 125 guys on the CMLL roster. If I ever get off our collective butts and do a 500 (totally my fault, as I know Phil and Dylan and Tom would be well on board if I spearheaded) then CMLL guys would likely take up 25% of the 500. Shoot, the top 100 would probably be 25% CMLL guys. So I dig Metro and would probably have him somewhere in the 101-200 range. And Diamante is a guy who I enjoyed last year, but would probably fall somewhere in the 400-500 range.

And then this match happened and made me feel like an idiot for doubting Diamante. And feel like an idiot for doubting Polvora. You know, some of these lightning matches feel like lame little exhibitions where the guys run through some tepid sequences in about 5 minutes (last week's Super Commando match felt like a guy who really didn't need anymore singles match time), but Diamante and Polvora treat this match as if their jobs depended on it, and it was full on best possible 1 A.M. Worldwide performance ever. Diamante is just nuts in this, spilling to the floor spectacularly on a couple occasions, making Polvora's baseball slide dropkick look deadly, taking a backdrop on the rampway, just throwing that body around. After one of the spills he gets up, runs back to the apron and immediately snaps off a springboard rana (then gets caught doing the same thing later in the match! Callback!). Polvora takes a nice Cassandro bump, Diamante breaks out a cool rolling armbar as if he just got done watching some 2001 Minoru Tanaka matches, and the match ends with a nasty spill from the top. I can't imagine a lightning match getting much better than this one. Well worth your 6 minutes.



2. Misterioso Jr./Shigeo Okumura/Namajague vs. Valiente/Stuka Jr./Hijo Del Fantasma:

Awwwww yeah! Valiente is starting to fatten up again and that can only mean good things for all of us. The chubbier he gets, the more awesome he gets, and he was pretty awesome here. Okumura is another guy I really like who I feel nobody else in the world of online pro wrestling fans really cares about. He really reminds me of guys like SUWA or Cien Caras who know how to rile up a crowd and stooge great for a tecnico. Here he helps Fantasma get a great reaction (and bumps great for Fantasma's awesome ramp-run flying clothesline). Stuka has a death with and his hands-to-his-sides tope en reversa to the floor is a thing of beauty and pure insanity. Misterioso brings big bumps and flawless tassles without fail. Here he takes a great Cassandro bump and a huge monkey flip on the floor (followed by Kemonito splash off the apron!). And then there was Namajague, whom I had never seen before this. Apparently he's a NJPW junior and here he's dressed up like Onibaba or some other Japanese ghost who has nothing better to do than hang around some Japan village waiting for some poor guy to break an insignificant promise or tell somebody an unimportant secret. Then kill him when he does after waiting for like 10 years. I feel that Namajague's matwork was about as interesting as that ghost waiting around 10 years for that guy to slip up and reveal a secret.



3. Averno/Ephesto/Mephisto vs. La Sombra/Diamante Azul/Rush:

So in my break from CMLL, it appears that guys have gotten fatter. Valiente has chubbed out again, Stuka looks fatter, and Averno/Ephesto/Mephisto have all packed on some weight. So things change, guys get fatter and still stay awesome...and yet Rush is still a tecnico. Why, oh why, is Rush still a tecnico!? This match was worked at a super fast pace, which some people will not like. Usually when you see a CMLL main event that has guys rushing through spots, then you know you're in store for about an 8 minute match with a bunch of quick, silly falls. But then this match kept going, and it kept up that pace. So really you just had a nice long match with constant action. Sombra/Averno/Ephesto put on a helluva show in the 3rd. I have no idea how those guys weren't just totally gassed. Sombra did tons of ranas, and (without checking the actual tally) I estimate that Averno/Ephesto took about 17 monkey flip bumps. The pace didn't stop for the duration, just constant bumps and neat movez. I can deal.