MLJ: Carístico & Volador Jr. vs La Máscara & Rush

2015-10-25 @ Arena México
Carístico & Volador Jr. vs La Máscara & Rush

This was from the recent Elite Lucha Libre Sunday Arena Mexico show. It was Mistico I's return to Arena Mexico and was something of a very fun mess. I'm enamored to the CMLL grind where you get a lot of content every week, because none of it as that offensive, and there are a lot of chances for good, if rarely great matches. That said, over time, it all starts to feel sort of interchangeable and unimportant. This felt important.

Right from the get go, it felt like a different crowd. You get the sense that the traditional tecnico fan heavy crowds from years past have eroded over the years and a lot of what's left is there to cheer for Casas or Ultimo Guerrero and boo almost anyone who feels like a traditional tecnico. That wasn't the case here as there was a continuous chant for Mistico and even, at one key point late in the match, a chant for Volador.

Structurally, this was pretty straightforward, with just a few more wrinkles than your average match. The start had a long beatdown after an ambush, with the tecnicos fighting back just a little (probably just enough), Rush shining, especially in how he worked the crowd, and Mascara looking like a goof between his little back and forth dancing and whatever this atrocity of a move was:

They took the primera soundly and it was a solid beatdown. The segunda build to a comeback weirdly with too much of a tease. Volador's giant ramp dive really shouldn't be a hope spot. Caristico got one as well only for both of them to get cut off. The idea was good. I'm just not sure about the execution. Rush really milked the heat with the crowd here, though, so that was good stuff. The comeback seemed flubbed but everyone was watching Caristico, who hit his stuff, so it hardly mattered. It was pretty much what you'd want from a Caristico/Volador comeback.

The third fall had a bit more hamming up by Los Ingobernables, including Mascara kissing Mistico's foot on the ramp while begging off, which was pretty funny, and a decent amount of stalling, before resetting to exchanges and cutoffs. They did some nice stalling/misdirection to set up Ingobernables ambushes, which were well appreciated (and heat-garnering), and the imaginary punt into the crowd, which I feel like I haven't seen for a while. On the other side, both tecnicos got to have "vs the world" exchanges and this was all fun. It ended with Mistico going to the well once too often with his spring back off the rope and Rush catching him with a foul and ripping off his mask for the DQ.

This was all a lot of fun, but really a dual edged sword. They had more freedom to break away from the usual formula and that was refreshing but I don't think it always worked. On the other hand, they honed in on a few call-back spots and really built to the final Rush vs Mistico exchange, so the big picture was spot on. Mascara, in this less constrained setting came off as slightly exposed. It wasn't that he outright botched much. It's just that he's not all that compelling. He was best when begging off or interacting with Rush, who came off like a real star and one of the most charismatic wrestlers in the world. Rush thrives when having an opponent he can really play off of and Caristico was reveling in the attention and adulation he was receiving in Arena Mexico.

People should check it out if only because it's a fun taste of what's to come.