MLJ: July 2015 Matches Week: Negro Casas/Esfinge/Guerrero Maya, Jr. vs Virus/Disturbio/Boby Zavala

Taped 2015/7/24 @ Arena Mexico
Negro Casas/Esfinge/Guerrero Maya, Jr. vs Virus/Disturbio/Boby Zavala

I wanted to take a little break from my fair, impartial, and critically beloved look at Volador in 2015 to check out a few other things from July. This was the Busca trios match. I looked at the one from last year not that long ago. Generally, due to Negro Casas and Virus' involvement, if you're going to watch one match from these things, this is the one to go with.

I think everyone agrees that the field this year was terribly lackluster. If you're someone who wants kinetic action and big dives, then things were particularly weak. They tended to work a more subdued sort of match with more (often meandering) matwork. Canelo Casas and Blue Panther, Jr. stunk up their share of matches. The guys who can fly big like Flyer tended to move gingerly and without confidence. The judging bordered from embarrassing (Hijo del Gladiador's reactions explains so much about CMLL's booking) to hilariously embarrassing (Blue Panther, Sr. refusing to judge Blue Panther, Jr.) to just hilarious (Porky giving everyone 10s). Add in the shadiness of Esfinge advancing and the specter of last year's highly enjoyable field and it's really just depressing. You'll notice that Segunda Caida didn't cover it to any great degree.

But hey, this match has Casas and Virus and I'll watch any match with Casas and Virus, so here we go. If you remember, last year's trio match was smart with its pairings, starting with the maestros (and Hechicero) separated so that there were three solid exchanges to begin things. It also had the weirdness of Cachorro on the rudo side. Here, the split is very clean. Casas, super over with the Arena Mexico crowd, would play babyface (if not tecnico) and Virus, Disturbio, and Zavala would naturally play rudo.

This year they started with Disturbio vs Esfinge, which was tolerable. I know Esfinge has gotten criticized for the nepotism but he's seasoned enough to do the little things here. Disturbio probably has the best facial reactions in CMLL right now. I'm trying to think who would be better an coming up blank. He's just such a goon. Anyway, the matwork here was perfectly okay. They led into what I'd consider the main rivalry of the match, and it was a surprising one, the sort that really didn't exist in last year's more heralded match, Casas vs Zavala. They were paired up numerous times throughout the match. If anyone was the breakout star of the Busca this year, it was Boby, and Casas bent over backwards to highlight him here. They were presented as very even in strike exchanges and in Casas just respecting him as an opponent worth his time. Virus was paired with Maya and tat was fine, if brief, leading to a pace picking up for the primera's finish. It looked like it was going to be the tecnicos ascendant with Esfinge hitting a dive and Casas locking in the Casita on Zavala, but Esfinge wiped out and Zavala blocked the Casita to hit a power bomb. I watched this back a few times, and I'm pretty certain that Zavala shook the ropes to make Esfinge wipe out. If so, that was really clever and it's not something you see all the time. The camera just didn't catch it well. It was a good primera which set the tone for the match.

I think the really exciting stuff here was Casas' face in peril during the segunda. That said, I wasn't quite as high on it as some people, if only because I wish it went a little longer. The nature of lucha trios matches is that you don't get extended face in peril segments. You get a side-in-peril, yes, but they tend to keep things moving and the importance of a "tag" instead of a momentum shift is minimized. It's a little like focused limbwork. It's rare enough that when you do see it, it really stands out. Here they cut off the ring for a few minutes (maybe even less than that) and kept Casas from tagging. Virus was especially great here. It sort of led to nothing when Disturbio came in and just launched Casas into his own corner, but I'm more than willing to give the match the benefit of the doubt and say that it was inexperience that caused it. Disturbio's such a goon. The comeback led to an awesome Virus vs Casas exchange and then Maya getting the pin on Virus after his skullbreaker over the knee. I liked how they let Zavala pin Casas in the primera and Maya pin Virus in the segunda. It's almost like they knew what they were doing.

The tercera was all action with Casas looking like the best guy in the world between how crisp he was hitting things, the emotion he was inspiring form the fans through his selling, and his timing in repeatedly grabbing the ropes on pins. More than that, though, he made Zavala feel like a big deal. He didn't have to, and there are so many other wrestlers at his level, even put into a mentor role, that wouldn't. We've seen that already from Casas this year vs Dragon Lee and others but Zavala feels a little lower on the card (and also a rudo) and it just really stood out. I was expecting them to go back to Virus vs Casas to finish things up but it was Zavala vs Casas and it made perfect sense within the confines of the match and didn't feel forced at all. Yes, Casas won the match for his side with the Casita on him but Zavala came out looking even better than he did coming in. It wasn't nearly as special a match as last year's maestro trios but it's still probably the highlight of the tournament this year and just more proof of how amazing Negro Casas is.

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MLJ: Dragon Lee vs Virus/Casas 1: Cachorro, Hechicero, Virus vs Barbaro Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Negro Casas

2014-05-23 @ Arena México
Cachorro, Hechicero, Virus vs Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Negro Casas

I enjoyed looking at some Titan matches and I thought it made sense to fill in my knowledge gap on Dragon Lee, who is probably the wrestler with the most buzz out of CMLL this year so far. I've seen very little and certainly not enough to make an argument so I thought I'd do this the way I usually do: I'd pick a couple of matches to build to and then watch everything I could related to it, even if they weren't matches directly in a build. The two logical choices are Lee's recent victory over Virus for the CMLL World Lightweight Championship and his defeat to Negro Casas in the 2015 Leyenda de Plata. Looking at any time in the last year when he encountered one or the other leads to quite a few matches but maybe he's worth the attention. I could have gone with the Kamaitachi feud instead but that's a lot less interesting to me than him up against two maestros that I really enjoy.

This trios was one of the most talked about matches of 2014. It ranked #17 here on SC, and #16 on Voices of Wrestling. OJ was cooler on it but he was the only one. It was the highlight match of last year's Busca and in that regard is a fairly topical one to start with. I'm pretty sure that most people reading this have seen it so I'm not going to go too deep. I will say that it had a very clear structure, with the initial pairings in the primera leading to a picking up of the pace and a finish, some real (and surprising) heat in the segunda and a comeback to even the falls, and then both sides going all out in the tercera.

I'll talk about what I liked a lot first. This was the mentors + final four showcase trios. Cachorro was moved from Casas' side to Virus' side, as Casas had 3 to Virus' 1 at this point. This was striking since Virus' side was the one that was going to play rudo in the match. I don't think they wanted to move Cavernario over, even though that would have made more sense as Cavernario and Casas were (already I think? developing?) stablemates and it made some sense to move Cachorro given the Panther family's rivalry with Casas. That meant that, when things turned to heat and triple team beatdowns in the segunda, Cavernario ended up playing babyface. Cachorro ended up playing rudo. I thought both of them were fun in their roles, with Cachorro being initially hesitant but eventually dickish (with just one thing I really didn't like). Cavernario was a revelation, though. I've seen him in matches against other rudos, but not any where he really had to play the good guy. As good as he is as a rudo, he has the potential to be the best "hot tag" in wrestling with the way he throws himself into his offensive flurries. I especially loved him tossing Zacarias up and down after they won the segunda. That they worked a much more traditional match than they could have meant that it had heat and meaning and resonance so that when the bombs started coming in the tercera, there was some emotional weight behind it all. Wrestling doesn't need that to be great but it sure as hell helps.

I thought the primera's opening exchanges were smartly worked. They paired the quite green Dragon Lee (more on that later) with Virus and Cachorro with Casas. Hechicero was a ringer in this, of course, and he ended up with Cavernario. The maestros led their opponents through the wringer. Their opponents performed admirably considering. There were some good early dives and Hechicero took a Hamrick bump (more on that later too). The beatdown could have gone an extra minute or two in the segunda but ultimately it was fine and when the comeback came, it was good enough that you just didn't care. The tercera was just pure excitement with some crazy bumps and dives and sequence that happened so quickly and in such quick succession that it was a huge treat. It's very understandable why people went nuts over this match.

Now, on to what I didn't like. The biggest complaint I've seen (and it's never that big) was that Dragon Lee botched some things. I think his last exchange in the finish was not so great and his code red-reversed into a powerbomb that ended the primera wasn't either. That's fine though, perfectly fine. The guy was only training for what, a year at this point? He was so young and so green. I don't think he was some sort of "best in the world" candidate like some people were claiming after the Busca, but he made a few minor missteps in a hugely complicated match. Who cares? Even a match like this is about more than just execution, much of which was good throughout the match. More important to me by far was that he held his own with Virus in the primera, albeit at a slightly slower pace than someone else might have gone in his place. What impressed me, more than the matwork, was showing a ton of intensity in a stare off at the end of their exchange. You can't teach that.

There were a couple of bits of repetition I didn't like much. Cachorro did a very admirable job as a rudo. I really enjoy Blue Panther as a rude in his earlier work so I wouldn't mind if Cachorro/The Panther ended up veering that way at some point too. He was spirited in the beatdown and played along with his partners. That said, there were two moments in the tercera where he stopped everything and tried to get the crowd riled in that Rush vs Negro Casas way (first vs Dragon Lee and second vs Cavernario). I thought the first was good but the second was diminishing returns and overkill. It happened many minutes later and the first had ended with the crazy arm drag bump over the top. They weren't really going to top that so maybe he shouldn't have tried for the riling again. The match also had two Hamrick bumps through the ropes, which felt like one too many. I get that it was the tercera that everyone loved, but I could have really lived with a couple less minutes of that and a couple more in the beatdown in the segunda just to build up the tension for the comeback. I think that would would have worked better for me.

So this was really fun, had a lot of good stuff, and personally, I thought it was a huge accomplishment, given the age and inexperience of some of the guys in the ring. I'm not sure I'm as high on it as a lot of the people who watched it though and I feel much quicker to qualify it as "great for what it was."

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2015 En Busca De Idolo Qualifying Cibernetico

Not as excited about this years lineups as I was last year, but I figure I will cover it again, and see if anyone breaks out. Like last year, I am going to rate everything either Must See, Spare Moment and Don't Bother

Blue Panther Jr./Boby Zavala/Canelo Casas/Delta/Disturbio/Esfinge/Flyer/Guerrero Maya Jr. v. Akuma/Cancerbero/Gallo/Joker/Pegasso/Raziel/Sagrado/Stigma-Spare Moment

This was less lunatic then last years qualifier, it had less awkward blown stuff (really the only awful thing was Maya Jr. blowing a dive, which is weird because he is the most experienced guy here), but also less holy shit moments. I liked Joker's brawling, and Cancerbero is always good, they were the two stand outs for the non-qualifiers. Flyer looks like he will take the Star. Jr./Dragon Lee role of young guy embracing hot death, will be interesting to see if he has anymore to show. Casas, Maya and Panther Jr. have the genetics and Maya has been pretty good for a long time, although he did look off here. Hard to get much of a sense of anything in a match like this, but I am going to remain optimistic.

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En Busca de Un Idolo - Cibernetico

6/27

Cachorro/Cavernario/Dragon Lee/Soberano Jr./Negro Casas v. Virus/Hechicero/Star Jr./Guerrero Negro Jr./Super Halcon Jr. - Spare Moment

Pretty flat disappointing match for all the promise it had on paper. Often the best part of Ciberneticos is your first set of exchanges, but we had bad match ups here, your mat section was Cachorro trying to do something interesting with Negro Jr., Virus was stuck with Soberano Jr., Casas was saddled with Halcon, we did get Lee v. Hechicero but that was the fastest of the match ups and was basically just a set up for a dive. For a tourney with some jaw dropping spots, this didn't really have any memorable dives or bumps. Virus looked good and the final run with him agains Lee and Casas was really fun, but overall kind of bummer. Hopefully when Cavernario gets his title shot that will be good.

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En Busca de la Idolo -FINAL

6/20

Hechicero v. Cavernario - MUST SEE

Very good final, between the top two wrestlers in the tourney. Match was going good with Hechicero throwing Cavernario around early. Cavernario took briefly over until he caught his kneepad on the ring pad and ended up crashing and burning on a dive. Hechicero clearly called an audible and really worked over Cavernario turning this clearly into an underdog fighting to survive match. Cavernario got a couple of big hope spots, including the craziest superfly to the floor yet, but was mostly on defense, absorbing a beating and clawing his way back by biting at the knee, and headbutts. The finish was great, Cavernario survives some big spots, including a Liger bomb and a powerbomb into the turnbuckles, and as Hechciero gets him up in a submission he squirms down and hooks in his knees to the back camel clutch which has been his kill move all tourney. Really great match, with both guys on the fly working in a blown spot into a compelling match. Hell of a finish to a hell of a tourney

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En Busca de un Idolo -Week 11

Hechicero v. Cachorro - Must See

Really great stuff, the best second round match for sure. Hechicero is just a rudo maestro in this match. I loved the opening spot as he sees the bullet tope coming, and quickly rolls back into the ring to grab an ankle lock. The desperation to avoid the tope, makes it even better when Cachorro hits it. Hechicero also breaks out some nasty mask ripping and short punches and a really brutal looking rolling cradle. Finish was awesome as Cachorro seems like he has the advantage, until Hechicero catches him in a martinete position and spins it into a Fujiwara of his own. Really dominant performance which puts him strong into the final.

Cavernario v. Dragon Lee - Must See

Another great match. This also has the theme of the guys knowing each other by this point in the tourney and finding counters. Lee avoids Cavernario's attempt of his double knee Camel Clutch, the first time he tries it, and Cavernario bites his way out of Lee's cradle suplex, before grabbing the submission the second time. We had lots of cool moments building up to that great finish. Cavernario is a wild beast in this, and Lee is a crazy loon and the both demonstrate it. Lee breaks out his crazy half tope, half dropkick again, and it had even more air then the first time he did it. I love how Cavernario will just freak out and blanket his guy with punches, he feels like a wild caveman. Very enjoyable match and the tourney has been a star making showcase for all four of these guys

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En Busca de un Idolo - Week 10

6/6

Cavernario v. Cachorro- Must See

I liked this a bunch but it is another rematch which isn't as good as the first round match. I really enjoyed the intensity, as Cavernario runs insanely at Cachorro before getting chucked out of the ring a smashed with a tope. I also liked how Cachorro kept going for a martinete and how the ref kept physical restraining him. The big spot, the running Liger bomb on the floor was a legit big spot, although Cavernario probably should have been dead. I also liked how kept attacking Cachorro after the bell. Still the first match was one of the best of the tourney, and this was shorter and less insane.

Dragon Lee v. Hechicero - Must See

This is the best of the second round matches so far, but I still think it falls short of their great first round match. This does a great job of showing another facet of Hechicero, in the last Lee match he was a great rudo catcher, here he was more a Satanico style nasty asskicker and it is great how he can do both. He jumps Lee at the start suplexes him stomach first into the barricade. He is great here with little shots to the side of the head and even a violent eye poke to set up the finish his spinning dragon sleeper into a dragon camel clutch. Lee breaks out a couple of big dives, but he isn't as dynamic as he has been in other matches, this was the Hechicero show and he looked amazing.

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En Busca de un Idolo - Week 9

5/30

Dragon Lee v. Cachorro - Must See

Very fun although very short wild sprint. Lee gets right in Cachorro's face as he walks down the aisle and they get right to it. Lee hits this awesome double jump rana into the ring and absolutely creams him with a tope. We get a couple of minutes of intense bomb throwing, which gets a bit abruptly cut off as Lee catches a rana attempt and put in Lee's signature overhead cradle suplex. It felt like a really great short first fall, which would lead to an awesome finish, but unfortunately this was only a taste. Still very cool.

Cavernario v. Hechicero -Must See

Their first match in the tourney was full of huge moments and very memorable. This match didn't have those huge high points and thus was arguably a little disappointing. Still these are two great wrestlers and this is a very solidly worked match. Cavernario does break out a climb the ropes spaceman plancha which was pretty dope looking, and they had a bunch of nifty exchanges, these are two guys with great execution on little things, so we got a bunch of nice chops, kicks and throws. I loved the joy Cavernario felt when he got the submission, really made it feel like a big moment.

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En Busca de un Idolo - Week 8

5/20

Star Jr. v. Guerrero Negro Jr. -Spare Moment

Very fun one man performance by Star Jr., who really wanted to make an impression in his last tourney match. He takes one of the bigger bumps of the tournament as he tope's full speed into the barrier as Negro Jr. sidestepped him. He also broke out his top rope twisting pescada, which also ended nastily as Negro Jr. didn't catch him well (although that wasn't planned). The final semi awkward looking code red was my only real problem with him, what kept this from must see status was Negro Jr. going through the motions. Back to Coliseo openers for you young man.

Dragon Lee v. Hechicero- Must See

Right up there among the best stuff in this tourney and among the most fun matches of the year. Match starts up with a great example of a dynamic flyer and catcher as Lee did some very elaborate high difficulty armdrags and ranas, all of which Hechicero caught perfectly. We also got some crazy dives, including a running over the top rope dropkick by Lee which was prime Great Sasuke level of suicidal. I also loved how the match built, as the match got chippier and chippier until by the end they are throwing each other into the crowd and having to be separated. Another great match from the big four in this tourney

5/23

Cavernario/Dragon Lee/Negro Casas v. Virus/Hechicero/Cachorro -Must See

Total blast, another great match from the year of the six man tag. These are the top four finisher in the Busca de Un Idolo tourney matched up with the two maestro coaches. It is pretty fun to watch Casas and Virus mix it up in the go-go style. It is pretty crazy to watch a 46 year old guy like Virus to fly over the top rope into a senton, or a 54 year old guy like Casas fling himself off the ring apron into a Thez Press. Lee proves again that he isn't afraid to do some crazy shit. He took an armdrag over the top rope full speed to the ground, and then he gets smushed by Cachorro bullet tope. Your other three Busca guys all looked great too, I especially liked the energy Cavernario brings every time he comes into the ring, and how Hechicero has been heeling it up lately. Finish was a bit underwhelming considering the craziness that came before, which is the only thing that keeps this from the tippy top tier.


Buddy of the blog and national treasure Cubsfan has put together a youtube playlist of all of the match I ranked must see, if you want all killers no fillers

Must See Playlist

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En Busca de un Idolo -Week 7

5/13

Cavernario v. Guerrero Negro Jr.- Must See

This was more of brawl then most of these matches and a fun change of pace. Negro Jr. doesn't look particularly good in his brawling, punches are subpar, kicks don't land great, but he does bump OK, and Cavernario absolutely flies around the ring. The finish is what pushes this into Must See territory. Cavernario hits a crazy suplex to the floor and follows it up with his awesome superfly to the floor. Great performance by him, and adds him to the short list of guys who had a good match with Negro.

Dragon Lee v. Super Halcon Jr. - Don't Bother

Match was a mess, first real trainwreck of the tourney. Most things both guys tried were awkward looking or semi blown, and the cool things in the match weren't enough to outweigh that. The last minute was especially bad looking, with Lee trying to hook in his bridged suplex and dropping Halcon before fully landing it. This is the kind of thing you are bound to have with young kids, so I don't mind a strikeout or two, but that is what this was.

5/16

Cachorro v. Super Halcon Jr. -Spare Moment

The boys come out throwing huge bombs, within the first three minutes, we have a Cachorro bullet tope, a Cachorro running powerbomb on the floor, and a Halcon running death valley bomb into the ring boards. I appreciate the balls outetness of the whole thing, but that much front loaded is bound to lead to a slightly underwhelming finish run. Halcon Jr. also breaks out a Virus/Super Astro somesault senton to the prone Cachorro, and a throw into the turnbuckles, before getting caught in a flash Fujiwara. I do love how Cachorro has made that a kill shot move, always adds a bit of unpredictability.

Cavernario v. Soberano Jr. - Spare Moment

Fun match with Cavernario going full rudo and ripping up Soberano's mask and throwing him around. Soberano had some awkward moments, not hitting his stuff as cleanly as he had in other matches. I did love the finish with Soberano taking a nasty bump on missed top before getting splatted by the superfly to the floor. Another great Cavernario carry job, he seems to be really good at putting together compelling finishes.

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En Busca de la Idolo - Week 6

5/6

Super Halcon Jr. v. Hechicero- Must See

Another great Hechicero rudo performance, Halcon still breaks out his tired stuff, but Hechicero broke out enough different twists to make in interesting. I really liked all of his early matwork, and a pair of fun Harley Raceish bumps. He gets dropkicked in the back on the apron and faceplants, and does a backwards sell of a tope sliding over the ring barrier into the crowd. Finish was dope too, as Hechicero does a spinning cobra clutch into a slam and camel clutch. Halcon is still dirt dull, but I am enjoying the Hechicero against scrubs matches as a much as a Hechicero against good dudes.

Star Jr. v. Cavernario - Spare Moment

This was on the cusp of must see, although there was a bit of awkwardness on a couple of moves and I would have liked to see Cavernario do a bit more. This was a Star Jr. showcase, as Cavernario was mostly bumping for him. Cavernario is a good rudo base, and he takes a crazy bump off of a headscissors to the floor. I also love his crazy person headbutts. Star Jr. has some fancy stuff, and with a little polishing I can see him being a guy really worth watching in a couple of years.

5/9

Star Jr. v. Soberano Jr.- Spare Moment

Really fun in a Beyond Wrestling kind of way. Just a couple of kids throwing out every crazy spot they know in 7 minutes. In between spot execution left a little to be desired, but it is hard to hate watching crazy shit. Star Jr. breaks out his headscissors into the floor and his top rope springboard tornillo, and the Soberano Jr. actually one ups him with this crazy move where he drapes Star Jr. over the ring barrier and full speed topes into his back (which has to lead to neck surgery if he makes that a regular spot). Would like to see this guys mix these spots into a trios with luchadores who kind provide some structure, but there are way worse ways to spend a bit of time.

Cachorro v. Hechicero - Spare Moment

They tried something a little different in this match, as it was much more about counters and submissions then dives and throws (although we did get a great Cachorro tope). They didn't execute everything they tried perfectly, and sometimes this looked a little dosey doey, although I appreciated them trying to mix it up. I loved the finish as Cachorro countered a tilt a whirl into a nasty armbar that looked like it dislocated Hechicero's arm. Looking forward to the rematch.

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En Busca de un Idolo - Week 5

4/29

Cachorro v. Guerrero Negro Jr. -Spare Moment

The weakest Cachorro match so for, Guerrero Negro is just so bland. Here he tries some stuff, a plancha and a Canadian Destroyer, but nothing jumped out and his little stuff didn't look good. Cachorro had a cool springboard rana to the floor which I hadn't see him do before, and he is good enough that he is always worth seeing but Negro did his best to make me not care.

Dragon Lee v. Cavernario - Must See

The more Dragon Lee I watch, the more I think he belongs in the same discussion with the other finalists. He has some very nice opening matwork here before they start throwing bombs, and boy do the bombs comes. We almost had violence overkill here, Cavernario powerbombs Lee on the floor, and into the turnbuckle, Lee murders Cavernario with a tope, and hits him with a sunset flip bomb to the floor, just a ton of nasty shit for 8 minutes. Finish was great as Cavernario breaks out of a powerbomb attempt with a nasty headbutt and brutal knee, before hitting a flapjack and submission. Almost felt like the last 7 minutes of a epic Puro match.

5/2

Dragon Lee v. Cachorro - Must See

The Dragon Lee train rolls on. Another great match and great performance. Right away they get in each others faces and this almost immediately feels like the beginning of a great rivalry. Lee backs him into the ropes and lands a hard chop, and Cachorro responds with a big double leg tackle. Dragon Lee continues to get killed on the floor, as he takes a running Liger bomb on the concrete. There was a great near fall here, as Cachorro whips out his flash Fujiwara, but too close to the ropes. The crazy Manami Toyota suplex Lee uses to win this match takes a bit too long to set up, but it was still pretty cool looking. I want to see these two guys match up consistently, this was their great sprint, I want to see their great title match and their great apuestas match too.

Soberano Jr. v. Guerrero Negro Jr.- Spare Moment

I got to give these two some credit, there were execution issues and lots of stuff didn't hit clean, but they left it all out there. Some crazy shit here, Negro catches a rana attempt and just chucks Soberano into the barricade, Soberano tries a six twist plancha to the floor, after Negro just flies out of the ring onto his head. Like I said, they were off on a lot of their timing and moves, but at least it wasn't dull.

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En Busca de un Idolo - Week 4

4/22

Super Halcon Jr. v. Star Jr.-Spare Moment

Fun poor mans version of the Star Jr. v. Dragon Lee spotfest. Halcon isn't going to hold up his end as much, but Star Jr. was even nuttier. Flying around with ranas and headscissors, including a top rope asai moonsault. He also lands a great left hook. Halcon pretty much runs through the same spots in each match, and they are fine, but I am getting tired of them already.

Hechicero v. Soberano Jr.-Must See

Man was this a blast. This was a real Hechicero as rudo maestro performance. Soberano Jr. has some spots and some athleticism, but is probably the greenest guy in a tournament of green guys. They start the match by running through some very nifty and pretty complex mat and standing exchanges. Hechicero is leading him through it clearly, but Soberano is contributing some moments of his own. Soberano gets flipped on to the apron and as Hechicero runs in he goes to flip up kick him, it is a spot that you have seen in a million lucha matches, but the Wizard isn't having it, he grabs the leg and uses it to tie the kid up in the ropes and kick his ass, it was very Finlayish. There were lots of moments like that in this match where the expected thing wasn't what you got.  Soberano hits one dive a beautiful corkscrew plancha, but goes for a rana to the floor, gets caught, powerbombed into the ringpost and chucked into the front row.  Then we get Soberano trying to survive an onslaught, until he is able to roll up Hechicero into a leg lock. Lots of cool moments, a great individual performance, lots of things to like in this match.

4/25

Hechicero v. Star Jr.-Must See

Another very fun Hechicero vs. flyer match, he is a really great base, takes ranas, headscissors and dives really well, and isn't afraid to get nasty. Star Jr. tries his entry in the craziest bump contest as Hechicero powerboms him on the top turnbuckle, bouncing him all the way to the floor. He also corked out a top rope springboard twisting moonsault. Hechicero caught a rana and folded him with a nasty powerbomb. This only goes about five minutes, but it is a nifty five minutes.

Super Halcon Jr. v. Soberano Jr.-Don't Bother

Had a couple of moments, Soberano went really high on a monkey flip and had a nice tope con hilo. Still not much else was good, there was one badly blown spot, and Halcon did his same stuff which I am tired of. He has this really awkward looking tope con hilo where he has this pause before the leap like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon trying to get courage to leap across a building. It never looks good and he keeps doing it.

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En Busca de un Idolo - Week 3

4/15

Cachorro v. Soberano Jr.- Spare Moment

Soberano Jr. is the best of the tourney also rans. He has a really good vertical leap which adds something to his leapfrogs and dives, I imagine he would have made a good Jr. College 2 guard. Cachorro is the other contender for wrestler of this tourney. He doesn't do anything mind blowing here, but he is great at adding little beats, and seasoning to his moves. Only thing that kept this from being higher is the brevity, this only goes about four minutes which is even short for this tourney.

Star Jr. v. Dragon Lee- Must See

These are the two craziest flyers in this tourney. Often flyer v. flyer dream matches don't live up to expectations (I remember being super disappointed by Red v. Jody Fleisch back in the ROH days), however this is pretty much what you want from two crazy lunatics given 8 minutes to kill themselves. Star Jr. wins the bump contest as he dives at Lee who straddling the top rope, Lee moves and Star Jr. does a flip dive splat on the floor, and as he stumbles up he gets cracked by Lee. I actually thought Lee had a couple of nifty mat moves at the beginning including breaking out of a Indian deathlock with a nice forearm. He also put on a cool submission after a top rope armdrag. I would lose my shit if this was on Nitro in 1998 which is my standard for these matches.

4/18

Cachorro v. Cavernario- Must See

Another absolute corker of a match. There are two of the three best guys in this tourney and this is the best match I have seen. We open up with a bunch solidly wrestled exchanges and then the hot death starts. Cavernario opens up with a great through the ringpost tope. A bit later he takes a fun Dick Murdoch back first bump after his legs get caught in the ropes, before getting smashed by Cachorro's bullet tope. Then we get almost as great a one two punch pair of spots as in the Hechicero match, as Cachorro tries another tope, gets bealed head first into the barrier and then eats the Superfly to the floor, which looks like it smushes him like a grilled cheese getting sat on by a fat kid. Another big in ring splash looks like it will finish him, but as Cavernario picks him up for more, Cachorro throws on a flash Fujiwara for the tap. About as good a 9 minute sprint as you are going to see. I have been down on young CMLL for a while, but with guys like Rush, Terrible and Rey Escorpion plus these guys in this tourney, my optimism is rising.

Dragon Lee v. Guerrero Negro Jr.-Must See

Speaking of bright futures, Dragon Lee is 18 years old and debuted in 2014, and is already pretty damn great. I really dug this match, it felt a little chippier then other matches in this tourney, both guys were throwing nasty shots at each other in between spots. Lee hit a great looking Ohtani boot in the corner for example. Lee also absolutely smashed Negro with a tope. There was one awkward moment where Negro went for a double stomp to the floor (after Lee takes a sick clothesline bump on the ring apron) and I can't tell if he hits it or misses it. Lee breaks out a nice Spider german and bridged german to win the match and the more I watch of him, the more he belongs in the top four

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En Busca de un Idolo-Week 2

4/8

Super Halcon Jr. v. Guerrero Negro Jr.-Don't Bother

No real execution problems, but really vanilla uninteresting wrestling. Felt a little like an undercard black trunk New Japan juniors match in the early 2000's. Super Halcon Jr. hit a tope con hilo but it didn't have the speed or height on the really great looking dives we are seeing in this tourney. Finish was a solidly executed moonsault which also lacked pizzaz. Forgettable stuff, I really prefer the home run or strike out approach of guys like Star Jr. and Dragon Lee.

Hechicero v. Cavernario-Must See

Both of these guys were kind of local cult heroes, Cavernario was a guy you would search out being crazy in Guadalajara, while Hechicero was the local mat wizard of Monterey. Pretty cool to see them both get a shot at the big time, and both perform so well. The opening matwork was a step above what we had seen before, that is Hechicero's calling card, but the caveman was really solid too. Then we get one of the crazier back to back spots in the history of professional wrestling. Hechicero had last years bump of the year with his chair leg tope, he tries for the 2014 title as he attempts to dive on Cavernario from the ring apron, catches the barrier with his feet and smashes the back of his neck on the floor. Cavernario one ups him, with his crazy top rope to the floor Superfly splash. They battle back in the ring for a bit, and we get some nasty Cavernario headbutts and a great counter into a spinning submission by Hechicero. These guys really set the bar on day 3, not hard to see how they ended up doing so well in the judging.

4/11

Hechicero v. Guerrero Negro Jr.-Spare Moment

I enjoyed the early parts of this a bunch. It was really fun to watch Hechicero eat up Guerrero Negro Jr. with really cool standing counters and leverage arm twists. Negro is about the most generic maskless luchador ever, even his name seems like it comes out of a random lucha name generator. He is fine when asked to do simple things, but when he tries to get fancier the match falls apart. He tries a slingshot double stomp to the floor, but only grazes Hecheicero, then tries an octopus and ends up falling into the ropes. By the time Negro wins with a power bomb, it felt like a mercy killing. Worth checking out for the first part, but it got messy.

Super Halcon Jr. v. Cavernario- Spare Moment

Similar to the previous match, as we had one of the best guys in this tourney trying to pull something out of one of the dullest. This didn't have the high points of the previous match, we got some cool Cavernerio brawling, but nothing as cool as Hechicero's judo,  but it didn't fall apart either, just kind of chugged along. I really like Cavernario's shoulder scars, it looks like he was swiped by a sabertooth tiger. Unmemorable, but inoffensive.

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En Busca de un Idolo - Week 1

The CMLL En Busca de un Idolo tourney is the most fun non-WWE thing in wrestling in 2014. Pretty much fun WCWSN lucha style 8 minute matches. I like tourneys (although not lucha tourneys usually), and most of these matches are nice and short, so I figure I will review it all, hoping to catch up by the finals. My Complete and Accurate grades don't really work here (I don't think there are going to be any EPICS for example) so I am going to review them with a Must See, If You Have a Spare Moment, Don't Bother.

3/25

Qualifying Cibernetico (Black Panther, Cachorro, Canelo Casas, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, El Rebelde, Espiritu Negro, Flyer, Guerrero Negro Jr., Hechircero, Herodes Jr., Metalico, Oro Jr., Soberno Jr., Star Jr., Super Halcon Jr.) - Spare Moment

These matches are like Ice Cream Sundae's for the most part. Sweet, will give you a head rush, but not a ton of substance and you definitely don't want too much. This goes 30 minutes +, and while the first couple of bites are great, you are going to have a stomach ache when you are done. It is hard to really focus on one guy, or one crazy dive when the match has 20+ dives. Watching them all, I decided I am pretty much a fan of a simple tope, and there are some great ones here, especially by Panther's kids. Star Jr. gets the most height on his dive and Hechicero takes the biggest bump. It seems like the picked the right 8 guys to advance (although I would have liked to see more Black Panther), but this is a hard platform to judge people on. Plenty of crazy individual moments, and if you just want to see crazy kids do every spot they know this is fine in an ROH scramble kind of way

4/4

Cachorro v. Star Jr. - Must See

Cachorro is the son of Blue Panther and one of the most exciting young wrestlers in the world. Star Jr. is a 20 year old technico with all of the nut up testosterone of a kid that age. Star Jr. looked a little tentative in the exchanges, although he hit them all fine. What you want from Star Jr. is one crazy bump and one crazy dive and you get both as he flies through the ropes head first to the floor and hits a springboard flippy twist. Cachorro throws out his tope although it isn't as crushing as it has been, he also ends with a rana counter leglock which would make his daddy proud. Fun stuff.

Dragon Lee v. Soberano Jr. - Spare Moment 

Parts of this were a bit of a mess, Soberano kind of blows his first big dive, an inside to out asai moonsault which he doesn't clear cleanly and looks like he clips Dragon Lee. There are also off a bit on some of their in ring exchanges. Still this had some cool stuff, Lee is a really graceful flyer and that signature hip toss to the floor bump is one of the crazier signature spots I have seen. Not much to this, but it had enough moments for a mild rec.

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