Lucha Worth Watching: March CMLL

Negro Casas/Barbaro Cavenario/Mr. Niebla vs. Soberano Jr./Marco Corleone/Valiente  CMLL 3/13/18

ER: Damn, you guys. Casas comes back from an injury and he's tan as hell and mean as hell. Every Casas comeback match I've watched has seen him as a total asskicker, he's been far more aggressive, working really differently than just a few months ago. And all the rudos got the same message: Be total assholes. Niebla runs around the ring punching face, Barbaro is landing stiff splashes and kicking guys in the guts, Casas is picking guys off left and right (what's with that weird leg swipe takedown he ran in and did to Soberano?). This was a rudo team to be reckoned with. But the tecnicos took their beatdown in stride and integrated perfectly. Corleone has had a fun year getting beaten down. We've dealt with superman Marco for quite awhile, but I much prefer take a beating/big comeback Marco. Casas and the boys slap around everyone, lighting up chests all over Arena Mexico, and the tecnicosall get big moments: Soberano flies off the entrance ramp, Corleone comes sprinting back into the ring, Valiente hits his big moonsault to the floor (and really this guy crashes harder and faster on dives than almost anybody). It all comes down to Casas and Soberano, with Casas reversing an Irish whip by just kicking Soberano in the shins, fighting over a Casita...and then Cavernario just runs in and punts Soberano in the balls. I mean right in the balls. Casas had him held prone, he was distracted fighting off Casas, and he just took a furry boot right to the balls. Heck yes to all of this match.

Drone vs. Blue Panther Jr.  CMLL 3/23/18

ER: This was a fun take on the typical lightning match formula, a little grittier and a little messier. They didn't go after a lot of smooth lucha sequences, or, they did and that's not what they ended up with. I liked the jagged edges. A Drone headlock takeover that has some stopped momentum, making it look more like he's yanking Panther over by the neck, or a messy rolling figure 4 by Panther, with his ankle kind of slipping out so he has to roughly yank it back into the sub, or them fighting around the ring for an armbar, Drone rolling through and keeping his arm secure while Panther holds onto it and tries to drag him to the mat like a rottweiler. Drone uses some fancy footwork to chase Panther on a dive, running and sliding around the ring before hitting a dive past the ringpost. Panther later roughs him up on the floor, including giving him a press slam onto the barricade. Panther is bigger and there were some fun spots around him catching Drone and slamming him, Drone takes a big bump off a lariat on the apron, that kind of thing. It was a tougher match than I went in expecting, and I like that.