MLJ: Sombra Spotlight 11: La Sombra & Volador Jr. vs Atlantis & Rey Bucanero [CMLL TAG]

2009-04-07 @ Arena México
La Sombra & Volador Jr. vs Atlantis & Rey Bucanero [CMLL TAG]

So yeah, it's probably good to watch until the end of a match before judging it. I thought I was going to end up writing something about diminishing returns and the frustration inherent with watching too much of a wrestler, especially in lucha, especially when they run the same sorts of matches week after week and in front of multiple audiences. Cubsfan wrote something recently about the frustration of CMLL thinking there isn't overlap in front of its crowds in what they watch.

This match was heading the same way. Yes, there are some common tropes in lucha. I talk about the structure a lot, but there's a huge difference between holding true to a primal structure that works and hitting the same exact specifics the same exact way. Obviously wrestlers can't twist things in every match or else eventually wrestling would become a self-referential mess, and there are always signature spots and counters and transitions, but there has to be a balance and it has to be consistent within the world that the wrestlers inhabit. Someone who's never used a powerbomb before trying to powerbomb Kidman is problematic. Flair forcing people into his spots can be problematic in the same way. Maximo using the same butt stop on the second rope as his comeback in most of his matches tends to work because it's easier to set up. Rey Mysterio, Jr. using the 619 tends to work because he is like a sharpshooter, working the move into his strategy. If people just haphazardly ended up on the ropes, it'd be different. GdI having their opponents' comeback almost always be on the second alley oop works sometimes and not others. It generally depends on the execution. They're such dicks and so arrogant that it's often believable, especially since it usually leads to them taking the first fall; why not do it again, even though it never works. It would be nice if they DID hit it once in a while. One of my favorite moments in watching wrestling was seeing Tully Blanchard hit a double axe-handle to a prone opponent off the second rope. Why? Because I've seen that move countered a thousand times by a babyface getting his feet up, but I'd never seen someone actually hit it before. Execution makes a difference.

Here, a tecnico advantage in the primera exchanges ended abruptly with a shot from a rudo knee on the apron off rope running. Then in the segunda, the tecnico comeback was punctuated by kicking Rey Bucanero into the ropes so he could eat Volador's dangling legdrop which was followed on the other side of the ring by Sombra hitting the split-legged moonsault. These were the exact elements that I saw in the previous matches, just repeated. The difference, though, made it all worth it. Towards the end of the match, they went for that spot again, with Rey kicked into the ropes. This time though, Rey caught him in a goofy combo and Atlantis got his knees up. The physical execution of this wasn't perfect, but the idea absolutely was. I love callbacks like this, within a match, between matches. It's the ideal opportunity provided by the 2/3 falls format. I really think we'd all be better off if more matches went that way. I watch indy tag spotfests sometimes and there's just this dropped moment after a big move where a pinfall would make so much more sense and would better control the sense of escalation.

Volador and Sombra kicked out at two from the reversals. That was a great near-fall because it was set up to be. In general, this was a solid match. The beatdown didn't live up to Casas/Heavy Metal and the action in general didn't live up to Casas/Felino but Atlantis and Bucanero showed a lot of character. Also, despite having a lot of support coming out, they were more traditional rudos. Bucanero especially seemed to get heat, which helped the emotion of the match. This one had me worried for a moment with going back to the same well but they were smart enough to switch it up. I do wish that Sombra/Volador hadn't dressed in the goofy mixed gear though. Even the announcers got switched up on who was who once or twice. The Sombra/Volador team really did lead to some strong matches.