Lucha Worth Watching: Templario + Metalico, Dinamitas vs. Pierroth Familia

Templario/Metalico/Arkangel vs. Astral/Pegasso/Starman (CMLL 10/3/17)

ER: Who is Templario and why do I need to watch so many more of his undercard matches!? I have never seen him before (though I think he only recently started showing up on occasional Arena Mexico undercards, so I don't think I've missed tons), and he's like a 4th Dinamita. He works really fast in this match, bumping big for the tecnicos, but gives as he gets: he's a guy who will whip fast on an armdrag but also snap one off. I'm not sure I've ever seen Astral look better working fast mat exchanges and quick rope running than here opposite Templario. They matched up most of the match and I came away really impressed. The best was in the tercera when he took and awesome somersault bump through the ropes to the floor after getting faked out by Astral, then perfectly catching Astral's gorgeous handspring rana to the floor (where he vaults from in ring, handsprings off the apron, and flips into a rana). He fit in great with best buds Arkangel and Metalico, always quick with a save (and throwing nice clubbing forearms during saves). Metalico's ham was especially delicious here. He comes out wearing tattered office attire and carrying a rocking horse. Why? For he is Metalico. Later he kisses a woman in the front row. And this was no grandma kiss, he planted one on her lips, lips that have kissed before but never so publicly, paying attention to her, noticing her nice sequined dress, telling her with his eyes that she looks good for her age, making her sister giggle and the woman herself blush and wave it away. The cameras cut to a young lady holding a baby. One might think that lucha camera crews just like cutting to cute ladies. One might also think that this camerawork was implying that this particularly lady was just another in a long line of ladies who have been gifted a child by Metalico. Later, he would eyeball the big butt of the tercera ring card girl. Later still, he would take a nice bump on the floor from a slick Pegasso headscissors. The rudos got each others' backs, I loved the three of them stomping the flipping tecnicos, and again, this was the best my memory can recall Astral looking, and it sure felt like it was because of his dance partner: Templario, my new dreamboat with horrible torso tattoos.

Cuatrero/Sanson/Forastero vs. Mistico/Dragon Lee/Comandante Pierroth (CMLL 11/24/17)

ER: This was the finals of a mini tournament that included teams made up of dinasties. You had the Panther family, The Munoz family, the Dinamitas, Felino's family, fun little concept and I love the family tradition in lucha. All styles of wrestling obviously have generations, but the family aspect in lucha seems to be more much powerfully respected in lucha. This is super fun and energetic, with the Munoz family all being heels. I've seen Lee work rudo with Rush on an indy show, but I don't recall seeing Mistico and Lee working rudo on CMLL TV, with their nefarious father. The Dinamitas work tecnico for the first time I've seen, and it's funny as they don't really wrestle any differently, but they're now doing their offense against three guys acting like dicks, so the fans are into it. Munoz familia has some great bullshit in the primera, with the three of them working a new twist on their soccer ball volleying as they instead play a little game of baseball with Lee tossing an invisible head to Mistico who blasts it for a home run, holding the pose. Later, Pierroth fakes the crowd into thinking he'd actually attempt a dive, and ends up slowly bouncing off and flopping through a somersault to pose like Burt Reynolds in Vanity Fair or Shawn Michaels in Playgirl with the belt (which I believe was used as Segunda Caida's masthead from 2007-2008, before I joined). The Dinamitas are all lanky and mean, which makes them seem like valiant tecnicos. I love their catapult monkey flip spot that flings Cuatrero fast and upside down into the corner. They do axe handle attacks and act as great bases for Mistico and Lee, and there's something about rudos doing gracious highflying that seems deliciously disingenuous. It feels like showing someone up, flashy hubris, even if it's done the exact same when they're tecnicos. The rules force the concept force the perception. Lee hits a wild rana leaping from the ring to grab Cuatrero on the apron, with Cuatrero flipping onto the floor. Cuatrero is the best. Naturally Rush comes sliming out at one some point, and I know they rarely do 8 mans but add Rush to one side and Masacara Ano Dos Mil to the other and I'd love to see that. There's mask yanking and shenanigans, but you knew that. This was a real fun role reversal, well worth the time.

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Lucha Worth Watching: Fresh Casas Match-Ups! Tournament Lucha?

1. Negro Casas/Canelo Casas vs. Valiente/Astral (CMLL 6/9/17)

ER: Leave it to Casas to make a 1st round tournament lucha match something approaching meaningful. It's 5 minutes but plenty enjoyable, with Valiente breaking out weird World of Sport matwork that he doesn't normally break out, and Astral getting a big chance to shine against normal sized people, while Casas has a long showdown with the former/current mini. This is the first time Casas and Astral have ever had reason to be in the same match, and fresh match-ups/new allegiances are the one saving grace of tournament lucha. Casas hypes it up all match and make it feel like a huge deal that he's going toe to toe with this kid who's half his age. He stooges around for him, keeps pace, and gives Astral moments to shine. Astral makes the most of it, hits a wild double jump tornillo, Casas set him up to look like a big deal and he did. Canelo isn't great but he spends his segments dedicated to being a rudo instead of shoehorning highspots, and I appreciate that. Tournament lucha should be a little more like this.

2. Negro Casas/Canelo Casas vs. Caristico/Soberano Jr. (CMLL 6/9/17)

ER: Another fresh Casas match, as Soberano has been lingering in the undercard for a few years, prior to his 2017 push up the cards. At his best he's shown to be a bump freak with some cool movement, at his worst he's a bad Volador clone. But he's never squared off with Casas (they were in a decent Cibernetico in 2014), and that's obviously the money combo here. Casas is great throughout, and I loved his stiff body/timberrrr selling of Caristico's superkick, loved his stiff forearms and lariat on Soberano (and Soberano lands some nice kicks to the chest later). Casas brought interesting character to strike exchanges, we build to a fun moment of Casas snapping off a nice 57 yr. old rana, but Soberano cartwheels out of it and hits his nice long-legged version. The home stretch was really wonderful: Soberano finding multiple ways out of La Casita, with Casas getting more and more desperate as he became more obsessed with beating him. Casas starts with a simple drop toehold to lead to La Casita, but Soberano yanks his arm out, so Casas dropkicks his knee to get him back into position but Soberano shoves him away, back off the ropes and Casas dropkicks him to the knee again, but Soberano rolls through to his own pin! Generous performance from Casas here, truly the theme of the day.

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CMLL Worth Watching 10/12/14, 12/26/14 & 1/4/15

1. Welterweight Cibernetico, feat. Rey Cometa, Fuego, Mascara Dorada, Negro Casas, Kamaitachi, Titan, Sangre Azteca, Triton, Delta, & Polvora (12/26/14)

When I first got into lucha it was ciberneticos and Rey/Psicosis matches that broke me in. And then once I discovered lucha brawling I lost interest in ciberneticos. When I started watching lucha I went in not understanding its complexities, went in assuming like it would be like a never-ending WCW Saturday Night spotfest. I didn't realize at the time what a low bar I was setting, and just how deeply I would come to accept lucha into my life. Ciberneticos just became a waste to me, as it was mostly guys rushing through spots with no sort of character, and fairly quickly I learned that lucha was much better as a character piece than as a spotfest. But obviously there can still be some tremendous spots and occasionally you still get a cibernetico such as this one with tons of fun stuff. Cometa and Fuego really shined in this one, with each hitting some nutso dives (gotta compete with the televised craziness of Lucha Underground after all), but Cometa here seemed more fired up than I've seen from him in over a year (that middle rope tornillo is so cool!) and had a nice snap to everything he did, Dorada took some major bumps, Fuego finally looked like the guy that people have been pimping him to me as, Sangre Azteca is dressed like Michael Jackson in The Wiz, and I *love* when Casas gets in a match like this with some younger guys and shows he can run circles around all of them. Casas in these kind of showcases brings out something else entirely in him, as everybody seems nervous about hitting their spots while he just seems like it isn't even a job to him, always smiling big and having a ball. Kamaitachi always misses stuff with gusto and I loved Casas grabbing ahold of him and dismantling his leg. Very fun, well worth the time.

2. Astral vs. Electrico (10/12/14)

Well hey these guys went out and had a nice little match! I can't recall the last minis singles match I really enjoyed but who cares because this was real good. Really I liked all of this, with the opening mat stuff being nice and snug, great headlock takeovers, nice Indian deathlock variations applied nice and quick, Electrico's caida-winning submission was a thing of beauty. The nutsy dives start in the second and we really get a couple of doozies, with an Astral bump around the ringpost leading to an Electrico dive out the corner, and later on we get a huge double springboard Astral tornillo. There was too much cool stuff in here to list it all, but these two really clicked something good.

3. Hechicero, Hombre Sin Nombre & Sagrado vs. Guerrero Maya Jr., Dragon Lee & The Panther (1/4/15) 

New year, and some new blood starts showing up on TV! Hombre sin Nombre is Hooligan this go 'round (not really sure the need to stop being Hooligan, but whatevs) and The Panther is the former Cachorro. Salgado works so much better as a rudo, it's not even funny. We've been putting up with this butthole's bad tecnico routine for a fucking decade now, watching him botch spots and have no clue where to be in the ring. Here he's a bully who makes it his match-long goal to target Lee and it's great. He doesn't even seem to care about winning, just wants to beat down Lee. Hechicero gets to run the joint in there and him matching up against Maya is a blast. Maya himself had a wonderful showing, culminating in him hitting an absolute bonkers flip dive through the ropes on Hechicero, hitting way high up on Hechicero's face/chest, bending him over the barrier and sending himself into the front row. Crowd really responds to Hechicero which is exciting. He has an effortless way about him, and always surprises me by doing things I don't expect out of sequences, like breaking out a springboard dropkick in the middle of a rope running spot. This whole match was tons of fun.

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2015 Lucha Overview - Arena Coliseo 1/17/15

My main man Black Terry Jr. dropped an belated Christmas present to his customer base by sending us three matches from an Saturday CMLL Arena Coliseo show. Coliseo are shows where they are letting their young guys work longer stuff, kind of an untaped CMLL NXT, and it was neat to get a look at guys working in a different environment.

Astral v. Pequeno Nitro

One fall minis match given about 13 minutes which would have been right at home as a showcase Nitro or fun Lucha Underground match. Starts out a bit slow, neither guy is a stellar mat worker and the first 3 minutes or so felt a little time killerish. When they start breaking out big spots though it picked up. Astral hit a nice tope, a couple of minutes later Nitro lands a really pretty plancha to the floor. Then Nitro nukes himself on a Psicosis/Estrada style ringpost bump and Nitro hits a Taka double jump plancha which was always one of my favorite dives. Finish was also a crazy roll up into a submission. Not a MOTY level match, but a really nifty spotfest I am happy got documented.

Virus v. Star Jr.

Really enjoyed watching Virus work with Black Terry Jr. filming. The camera work really let you see the nastiness of Virus's stuff, kidney shots, super stiff clotheslines. The early matwork was pretty fun, Virus was leading him, but Star Jr. threw in some fun stuff too, including an elaborate roll up, and a Navarro style pin reversal via ankle hook. Would have liked to see a little more flash from Star Jr., but this was a very fun 10 minute match, and a great chance to watch Virus do his thing.

Misterioso Jr./Negro Casas/Sagrado v. Delta/Guerrero Maya Jr./La Mascara

I like watching Negro Casas and this is another opportunity to check out a master work a house show style match. Still the non Casas parts of this were pretty forgettable, and this really felt like a bog standard house show match. On the positive side of average, but not by much

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report 6/15/14

So after consistently showing matches from two weeks prior for the last several months, suddenly they jump way back in time as these matches were from the 1/5/14 Arena Mexico show. I don't know if this was a trend or just some "hey we never showed that minis cibernetico from 6 months ago. Let's put it up!"

Goya Kong, Dark Angel & Estrellita vs. Tiffany, Amapola & Princesa Sugheit

According to Cubsfan's match finder this is only the 2nd time these 6 women have all been involved in the same match, and the last time was three years ago. That's kinda neat. The match itself was kind of okay. Things got a little unfocused so my attention wandered. At some point it felt kind of like just fillin' time. I do like a good Goya Kong showcase though, and I haven't seen her on TV in some time. She drops a mean leg here and crushes Tiffany in the corner with an avalanche. Haven't seen Tiffany in a long time and she's another favorite of mine. She's all stooging and bitch face and she's awesome. She leans into everything and makes Estrellita look like someone with talent. Really for the six people they assembled here and the time it was given, this should have been way better. Marcela replacing Estrellita would have been the only obvious upgrade. Dalys has been good lately but not sure she's better than the three rudas here. But yeah, real disappointment here. And, the thing is that you'll have to take my word for it! This may be the only match all year that Cubsfan hasn't uploaded. So that's right, these printed words are among the only historical records of this match's existence. In 30 years when somebody is doing The 2010s Project some weirdo will go, "hey did these women ever all match up" and then they will find their answer here, and maybe not trust my opinion that the match kinda blew, but likely believe that Dark Angel looked foxy.

Pequeno Reyes Del Aire!

Demus 3:16, Pierrothito, Pequeno Nitro, Pequeno Olimpico & Mercurio vs. Shockercito, Electrico, Stukita, Ultimo Dragoncito & Astral

This gets 30 (!) minutes, and for the first part I was amped, ready to tell Phil to check it out for our MOTY list. But it loses steam and can't really recover. There is definitely such a thing as a match being too long, and there aren't just enough tecnico minis (does Bam Bam still work?) that I like now to justify them getting this much time. The people you expect to look great, look really great. Demus 3:16 and Pierrothito rarely disappoint and they certainly didn't here. They're clearly the best bases and all the tecnicos are better for it. Mercurio got a little showcase time and showed some big bumping skills that I've never really seen from him before. Astral and Electrico are apparently working like mini La Mascaras which is not really at all what I want to see from my mini tecnicos. I did really dig Stukita and Shockercito and was very pleasantly surprised by Ultimo Dragoncito. Stukita is super tiny, but more in a athletic 13 year old kinda way (as opposed to a Mascarita Sagrada way). But he's got crazy energy and while his stuff doesn't always look ultra impactful (I mean, he does appear to be like 70 lb. so while I'm sure taking a moonsault from a 12 year old would hurt, it's not exactly Scorpio flattening you here) he does put a lot behind it and makes it look as good as possible with his tiny frame. He hits a triple moonsault and eats knees on the third and I admired how he had no problem flying face first into those knees.

Ultimo Dragoncito has the spot of the match with his crazy flip dive that sees him fly back first and upside down into the ringside barricade. All the dive stuff was great with Pierrothito flattening someone with his Silver King dive and three tecnicos hitting epic stereo corner dives. This was worked a lot more like a normal trios match (yes yes, even through there were 10 people) as there were a lot of double teams and general teamwork spots as opposed to the usual exclusive one on one stuff you normally get from ciberneticos. Not sure how I felt about it as I didn't end up loving the overall match anyway as there just wasn't enough meat to fill 30, but it was an interesting change of pace at least. Lame eliminations are kind of a cibernetico staple at this point so you expect a few of them, and they often come from moves that would never normally pin a guy, and there's always that moment where you get the feeling that the plan was "okay, we worked our allotted time, now to start burning through the eliminations". You get your lame finish where one guy pins another with a suplex but it turns out HIS shoulders were actually down and everybody groans and there's nobody who could possibly like this finish. Not sure why we needed to protect Pequeno Olimpico on a finish. "Ya gotta let Peq. Olimpico leave with his heat! Fans are gonna remember the 5th elimination of a Cibernetico!" Match ends on the flattest note possible as someone either legit or storyline gets hurt and the doctors wave it off, so Electrico wins by not getting injured. Yay?

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report 4/20/14

These matches were from the 4/6 Anniversario show at Arena Coliseo. I got higher than normal hopes for this one as I know guys historically have pulled out all the stops on big Anniversary shows, so I'm hoping for some better than average stuff here. I'm watching the show with my buddy Charlie who is always fun to watch wrestling with, as he loves it enough so that when I visit him he requests I pick out cool wrestling for us to watch…but at the same time he would never and has never watched any wrestling on his own (past the age of 12). It's always great watching wrestling with Rachel or somebody like Charlie, as they are watching this stuff with completely different eyes and always make some fresh-faced observations from a perspective that I wouldn't consider. It makes me appreciate things in a whole different way.

Averno, Ephesto  & Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Mistico II, Valiente & La Sombra

This was really fun, not so much flat out great as past Anniversario spotfests have been, but really fun nonetheless. The tecnicos all got to do tons of spectacular stuff, with Valiente especially shining by hitting a crazy fast tope and a somehow even faster Valiente Special. It is probably the craziest spot in wrestling, two crazy fast springboards into a no-look moonsault. He did it so fast here my brain could hardly process it, meaning I can't imagine actually willing my body to do it. Sombra and Mistico each do a couple big flip dives, Averno catches a bunch of Mistico ranas, Sombra breaks out some cool tilt-a-whirl floppy armdrags. So, a bunch of fun stuff, but not quite bumping up to that next level.

Mr. Niebla vs. Atlantis

First two falls were way too short, but the tercera was worked a little bit more like a longer lightning match. It was funny as Atlantis took so much of the match that it turned Niebla tecnico, as after seeing Atlantis control so much the fans spontaneously starts a Niebla chant! Niebla is great at catching onto that and using it to hulk up. Atlantis can kinda hold back in trios and blend into the background, so it was nice seeing him forced to break out enough offense for a singles match. Few guys do roll-ups and old school lucha ranas as graceful as Atlantis, so it's always a treat to see. Niebla takes a big bump to the floor and mans up to catch a big Atlantis tope. Niebla also works some fun comedy in at appropriate times, such as doing the most blatant ropes hold on a rolling reverse cradle (picture Andre stuck in the ropes with both arms draped over, and that was Niebla holding the ropes while pinning Atlantis with his legs). Not much drama in this as Atlantis wins the first with a roll up, Niebla wins the segunda after a splash after Atlantis misses a dropkick, and then even with all the fans newly behind Niebla in the tercera, he doesn't really even get any sort of pitfalls. It just eventually ends up with Atlantis winning, as everybody assumed he would.

Minis Cage Match up next, loser unmasks!! I don't think I've really seen a very good multi-man lucha cage match, as escape rules matches don't usually do too much for me. Mini matches are usually made spectacular by their crazy spots and awesome rudo bases, but a cage takes away all spots to the floor, and escape rules make doing top rope spots psychologically stupid, as the guy should just climb over the top.

Pierrothito vs. Pequeno Olimpico vs. Fantasy vs. Stukita vs. Ultimo Dragoncito vs. Electrico vs. Astral vs. Acero vs. Pequeno Halcon vs. Pequeno Nitro

Yeah this match was pretty much what I was afraid of. Ten people crammed into a cage, more worried about climbing over the cage than doing cool stuff. I'm sure some have to exist out there, but is there such a thing as a good multi-man lucha cage match? I'm thinking 6 combatants or higher. I have no doubts there could be a good singles cage match, or even a tag team. But at 6+ people I'm asking you, tell me the good lucha cage matches. I'll watch those motherfuckers right here. So we had a long series of assorted guys jumping up to turnbuckles, only to be pulled off of those same turnbuckles. Moreover, we had a series of assorted guys jumping up to turnbuckles, only to evade capture, climb to the top of the cage, flex muscles in celebration at the top of the cage, and then escape. Escape rules do not leave much room for highspots, unless the psychology is all out of whack (he wanted to hit a gigantic move off the top sooooo badly that it overrode his desire to escape!!), and there are not many here. Stukita tries to fit some stuff in, and in cramped quarters is somewhat successful. I applaud his effort. Pierrothito is a standout at working with the match constraints, as he is one of the only ones who manages to show some sort of personality while working escapes and battle royal-type bullshit. It comes down to Pequeno Halcon and Astral. They work some pretty decent submission exchanges, in that both guys were able to get across the consequences of tapping out. Astral wins, Halcon unmasks. He looks like many Mexican men you have known in your life. He was my pick to lose from the beginning, as he had a) the most boring mask, and b) the least interesting look and gimmick. I don't think losing the Pequeno Halcon identity will make any difference over his long term career. I may not know the whole story, but I'm failing to see the Halcon identity being a huge boon to his career. Are there many Halcon fans out there still? People going "I used to watch Super Halcon. This man is dressed much like him, but smaller. He looks somewhat like a smaller Halcon."

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CMLL on Galavision Workrate Report 2/16/13

These matches originally happened on the 2/8/13 Arena Mexico show.

1. Demus 3:16/Pequeno Violencia//Pequeno Olimpico vs. Bam Bam/Fantasy/Astral

Hey! A TV appearance from Fantasy! Demus vs. Bam Bam is one of the modern great lucha match-ups, so I always get excited when they're opposite each other. Demus' charisma is a cut above the rest of the minis division and it's a shame he didn't get to become a real boy the other year. Match is good junk food. No substance but goes down pleasantly. Fantasy is always good for some fun (his springboard moonsault while his opponent is hung up in the ropes is pretty nutty), Astral at least finally works with a shirt on to spare me from his topographical back, Bam Bam crashes and burns pretty spectacularly (though not as good as Demus), and the ending made me jump forward in my chair. Demus has Bam Bam up in a muscle buster, parades him around the ring, and Bam Bam wriggles free and drops straight down, catching Demus legs at the last minute and rolling him up. Sounds normal, but the way it looked flipped me out. Bam Bam just sheer vertical dropped, head straight down, and tucked at the very last minute possible. I thought he was just going to get spiked and die. Dude is crazy.


2. Namajague/Misterioso Jr./Okumura vs. Rey Cometa/Stuka Jr./Hijo Del Fantasma

Short but really fun match to build up to the eventual hair/mask match. Namajague is his awesome self here, blowing mist and ripping Stuka's mask, throwing nasty back elbows and taking a massive monkey flip bump on the rampway. Fantasma hits his really cool running ramp-to-ring clothesline and a massive flip dive. Cometa gets spectacularly bullied by Misterioso and does his great flip bump off a stiff clothesline. Misterioso beats him up good and it all builds to some beautiful ranas and the tornillo you want to see. Okumura looked great here, too working his low-rent SUWA/Dinamitas style. I dig all these guys.



3. Ultimo Guerrero/Terrible/Tiger vs. Atlantis/Rush/Shocker

This was alright but also was used to build up the UG/Atlantis mask match, which is a MASSIVE mask match right there. The UG resurgence these past couple years has been really awesome. He's a guy who was one of my absolute favorites in 2000-2001, and my the middle of the decade he kinda personified all my least favorite parts of lucha. So it's nice to see him so energized and awesome again. Speaking of guys who were amongst my favorites 12 years ago, Shocker looks soooo sloooow these days. He looks to be getting in better shape than last year, but he still tries to do all his old spots, just so much slower. Terrible is fun here slapping around Rush and I know I'm way down to see UG and Atlantis tear it up. UG levels him at one point in the match with a brutal baseball slide dropkick (basically did a Fuerza bump dropkick) that sent Atlantis flying. Best "through the ropes" dropkick since the Owen Hart/1-2-3 Kid KOTR match. I'm game for two dudes in their 40s bleeding and dying for their masks.

Also was I napping or did CMLL rock una caida matches this week?

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CMLL on Galavision Workrate Report, 6/2/12

1. Ephesto vs. Stuka Jr.:

Well this was kinda disappointing. These are two guys I like a whole lot, and they get a couple extra minutes more than most lightning matches get...and they just don't do much with the time. The best I can say is that Stuka is a stocky motherfucker and Ephesto has an epic mask.



2. Mercurio/Pequeno Nitro/Pequeno Olimpico vs. Aereo/Astral/Electrico:

Who among us doesn't lie awake at night wondering "Who is my favorite CMLL mini...after Demus 3:16...and Pierrothito...and Bam Bam...and Mascarita Dorada..." Well, this match sought to answer that question. And apparently the answer is Mercurio. Pretty obviously Mercurio, actually. Dude looked awesome here and bumped for all the flippiness of the tecnicos. Astral has politely started wearing a shirt to cover up his hideous chest acne. The world thanks you.



3. Kraneo/Psicosis/Rey Escorpion vs. Delta/Guerrero Maya Jr./Black Warrior:

Awwwwwww yeah! Fat Alebrije is FAT! And he's Kraneo now! Again! And fat Kraneo is so damn awesome, always the best part of his six mans. He's still really fast and he is just poured right into that suit but makes moves look super great by being super fat. For a mid card rudo team I really like these three randomly assembled guys. And it wouldn't be a week of CMLL on Galavision without Black Warrior in the main event. And I am still beyond perplexed by that. Why now? I assume this guy has been wrestling since the late 80s, and it seems like he's getting the push of his career right now despite being Black Warrior. He has a nice tope. He looks like the weirdest slimiest version of Edward James Olmos in "Blade Runner" . He has horrible singles matches. He is Black Warrior. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE HE IS HIGHLIGHTED EVERY SHOW!!! I just don't get it. Somebody, please explain it to me already. Could there be a more random 40+ year old on the roster to push? Is Rammstein over 40? If not, I don't think I can think of a more random, odd person to be getting such a large push on TV.

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CMLL on Galavision Workrate Report, 5/5/12

1. Astral/Electrico vs. Demus 3:16/Pierrothito:

Two of my favorite minis teaming against two of my least favorite minis (stockier almost equals better in my book, so no mystery who my favorites are). Astral and Electrico are pretty meh, always adjusting and awkwardly getting into position, but capable of pulling of a neat move here or there. Demus/Pierrothito are ass kicking big bumpers and here their bumping is fine indeed. The first two falls don't rouse much in my guts. Demus makes a couple ranas look great, Pierrothito does a neat springboard back elbow drop, also does a nice Fuerza bump. Nice stuff all, but stuff you'd expect. 3rd fall is more of the same, but made TOTALLY worth it by one spot. It starts with Astral doing a rana on Demus from the apron to the floor. I am disappointed because Demus kinda wimps out of it and doesn't so much splat as he does spin out. But then Astral bounces off the opposite ropes and does a running somersault senton to the floor, while Demus is lying there. The kicker is that Demus is lying perpendicularly to the ring, so Astral comes crashing down lengthwise across Demus!! HOLY SHIT!! Not only did Astral have a white fucking hot death wish by just winging his body over the ropes to the floor, but Demus didn't even flinch while lying prone!! Both guys are straight nutso. I don't even give a shit how the match ended. It could have been 12 minutes of headlocks with that spot at the end and I would have gone nuts.



2. Virus/Rey Escorpion/Vangelis vs. Valiente/La Mascara/Black Warrior:

Short match, but I find it hard to believe that any man would dislike the 2nd caida here. Everybody was killing it there. Virus was just a master in here, like those sequences in Bruce Lee movies where he is just directing traffic mid-fight, getting into and out of position for guys and just letting the fight happen all around him while also being involved in everything. Great little 5 minute Virus primer for beginners. Vangelis is another awesome stocky guy I dig, and he works cool powerhouse spots while always leaning into a superkick or standing manly while Valiente crashes into him from 10'. Valiente takes spectacular bumps for a chubster, and the Valiente Special he busts out here was seamless and spectacular (again, props to Vangelis for standing tall while taking it). La Mascara also put on a great show and he is really becoming a young tecnico I really look forward to. He also owns the 2nd caida, and his body is all painted up like Captain America. I mean, it looks more like somebody's Captain America costume on Fire Island, but whatever. He looks really great here sprinting all over the place, flying into offense, flying his offense into people, and just being fun. Wish it would've gone longer, but what was here was real good.



3. Rey Buccanero/Terrible/Tiger vs. Marco Corleono/Maximo/Rush:

I did not realize Corleone was back. I assume this was his return match for the big Anniversary show, and I have to think he performed up to expectations. I've always liked the guy more than most, digging his big planchas and big left hands. Crowd was way into him, too. I loved Buccanero trying to anticipate Marco's punches, ducking early, and then getting popped. Bunch of neat spots in this one, with Terrible being a bumping standout. Rush even had some nice moments (love him blocking a Tiger punch and blasting him with a headbutt). When Rush has a nice moment, that's a pretty neat little feather in the cap for a match.

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report, 10/22/11

1. Trueno/Bengala vs. Camorra/Zayko:

So CMLL loves me so much that they decide to throw up a rematch from the crappy match that happened two weeks ago....except the match was TOTALLY AWESOME THIS TIME! What the fuck happened here!? I've been seeing Bengala and Zayko all year, and these dudes have sucked in everything. Camorra popped up more recently and he was even worse! And yet here we have Zayko looking like a top notch rudo, taking a MASSIVE Jerry bump that saw him spill into the front row, stiffing up the tecnicos (when did he suddenly gain an awesome elbow drop?) and working a convincing mat sequence with Bengala. What the hell is going on here? Camorra doesn't look like a total goof either! In other weeks he's looked like a bad version of Bronco, and now he just kinda...works like Bronco, which is a massive step up. Bengala is still kind of a chump, but you can pair up a fairly bland tecnico with a couple good rudos and suddenly you don't mind their sequences at all. Trueno is a guy with a bunch of potential, and again, good rudo just makes a decent tecnico even better. Man this was a pleasant surprise, especially Zayko. Sooooo many minutes wasted watching Zayko matches this year, and now he's tricking me into actively looking forward to more Zayko matches. I'm such a sucker. You need to watch this to see if I'm crazy. I was eating a donut while watching, so I could have just been basking in the warm glow of cake donut, chocolate frosting and sprinkles.



2. Electrico/Bam Bam/Astral vs. Demus 3:16/Pequeno Warrior/Pierrothito:

Well, this was fucking awesome. Who would have guessed it would be awesome when you have the two best rudo minis (Demus/Pierrothito), the best tecnico mini (Bam Bam), and one of the more underrated minis (Electrico). This was just as awesome as it looks on paper and you want every hot little second of it. For some reason Demus has only been showing up on all the CMLL shows that air in Mexico this year, and almost never showing up on US TV. He and Pierrothito bump faster than you can imagine, flying into and out of the ring and working intricate multi-level spots with numerous guys, always telling cool little stories, making the tecnicos shine and still looking like total badasses. Electrico gets time to shine here, working two GREAT sequences with Demus/Pierrothito, and basically everybody looks good here. Dive train in the 3rd fall is nuts with Astral vaulting off the ring post with a NUTS corkscrew dive, Warrior and Bam Bam flattening the first two rows of chairs (great visual with chairs and fans spilling out everywhere). There are too many great spots and sequences here (Bam Bam getting rana'd off Pierrothito's shoulders was crazy), and you seriously want every single bit of this. So awesome. One of the best minis matches of the year.



3. Ladies Cibernetico! Dallys/Lady Apache/Goya Kong/Silueta vs. Princesa Blanca/Princesa Sugei/Kiara/La Seductora:

This was really awesome, until it got to all the one and done eliminations. First half gave every woman a little chance to shine, including a nice long mat sequence between Apache and Seductora. Crowd is pretty quiet until Goya Kong comes in and then the crowd instantly wakes up, cheering and blowing air horns and going nuts. This gal is over. Between Goya Kong and Melissa McCarthy, 2011 is becoming the year of the BBW. My girlfriend Rachel warms my heart by recognizing Princesa Sugei, saying, "Hey, that's the one woman that works stiffer than all the other women!" Yes. She completely is. I have never seen Kiara and Silueta doesn't show up too much, so it was neat seeing them in longer segments. Blanca is really good and doesn't seem to get talked up that much by people who enjoy ladies wrestling. So yeah, first 10 minutes are really fun, but then once people start running in, getting eliminated by one move, someone else runs in and eliminates someone with one move, etc. it starts getting pretty meh. Still well worth checking out. This is a killer week of LATV so far.



4. Metro/Sagrado/Stuka Jr. vs. Virus/Euforia/Vangelis:

Looks good on paper, in practice it doesn't go very long. Tecnicos win in straight falls, pretty by the numbers in the limited time they got. Virus works twice as fast as everybody else, Vangelis has some cool vulture spots (where he just kinda swoops in and kicks a dude while he's distracted), and nothing bad happens...it's just super short.



5. La Sombra/Hector Garza/La Mascara vs. Rey Buccanero/Terrible/Texano Jr.:

Yeah! Now this is an ace main event! Garza is just killer here and the crowd is amped to boo team TRT. Buccanero clearly lost a hair match that I have not watched yet. Garza/Sombra with a sweet asai moonsault (landing on the feet) into an instant standing moonsault to end the first fall. Crowd shot of a cute woman in the crowd screaming her head off as Garza removes his shirt. Sombra starts to remove his and Terrible/Texano instantly kick the shit out of him. There wasn't a dull moment here and these guys all match up really nicely. 20 minutes breezes by and judging by a horrendous recent Observer poll, more people really need to get on the 2011 Hector Garza tip.

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