MLJ: Sombra Spotlight 16: La Sombra vs Dragón Rojo Jr. (2010)

Aired: 2010-12-26
taped: 2010-11-30 @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
La Sombra vs Dragón Rojo Jr.

I've been cherry picking my way through Sombra's 2010. There were a few trios titles matches but they weren't anything interesting (I blame Mascara). There was an Aguila match I skipped too. As always, cubsfan's match finder (http://www.thecubsfan.com/cmll/roster/matchfinder.php) is the greatest tool in the world if anyone is interesting at filling in the gaps. I skipped a Volador title match too, because Volador brings out the worst tendencies in everyone he faces. If you like crazy spotfests, though, you might want to take a look.

This, however, was the first singles match we have of Sombra vs Dragon Rojo, jr. They feuded more heavily in 2012, and I'll look at those later. This was a blast, though. I liked it a ton, and I think it was yet another good indication of just how far Sombra had come. I'd liken this to some of the recent Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi matches. The spectacular stuff wasn't quite as spectacular, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable.

It was all grounded where it had to be too. It was back and forth, throughout. Every transition felt earned. There was a lot of struggle, even if it was broad. The dives were plentiful and served as chapter breaks, even on top of the other transitions. There were a few moments of call back and payoff (Dragon Lee sliding out early to try to get the advantage on Sobmra, only to have it backfire on it, and then trying it again in the tercera with much greater sucess; Sombra springboarding in one too many times and paying for it; the roll up suplex working in the primera but generating a kickout in the tercera).

That last one didn't feel over the top either. It was part of the escalation towards the big finish. This wasn't a title or an apuestas match. In that regard, there felt like less of a finishing stretch to me. There were a lot of two counts in the tercera, but the real crazy kickouts weren't until the last minute or so. I was high on some of the tags but this is probably my favorite Sombra match that I've seen for this spotlight so far. Dragon Rojo, Jr. in 2016 is no great shakes, but I'm very much looking forward to their 2012 title matches now.

Bit of character from both to close it out: