Lucha Worth Watching: CMLL 6/23/17

1. Pequeno Violencia/Mercurio/Pequeno Nitro vs. Shockercito/Electrico/Stukita (CMLL 6/23/17)

ER: Sometimes you get the feeling that guys are holding back, and then you get a trios on a random Friday where it feels like everyone is firing on all cylinders and the vibe seems light. Violencia/Mercurio are a wonderful tandem, these maskless rudo minis are the best, always super muggy, always jerks, always fun. Shockercito is probably my favorite tecnico mini at this point and this is a nice showcase for his whip fast beautiful headscissors and slick flying, just a really cool guy to watch. Stukita has a couple atypical off moments but makes up for all of it when he hits his torpedo splash from the top to the rampway, and earlier hits a cool headscissors after walking way out on the ring barricade (which CMLL oddly films from the waist up, so it doesn't even read like he walked the plank onto the barricade). Violencia/Mercurio were great show offs, catching guys on springboards and acting condescending (loved Violencia catching Shockercito, setting him down, and superkicking him, and his big splatting senton to end the primera), but stooging great when their cockiness would backfire. We even get cool mat stuff in the primera (which was naturally mostly edited off TV), several cool springboards, just a fun match.

2. Vangellys vs. Pierroth (CMLL 6/23/17)

ER: This is not really the type of guy who gets used in a lightning match, but I think it makes sense as these two can craft a nice single fall ugly brawl that doesn't really need the drama (or length) of three falls. They predictably brawl around ringside and things get good when Vangellys takes a big spill over the barricade and gets hits head rung up in the doorway as a receipt from earlier. The brawling gets really good with Pierroth throwing out nice body shots and punches to the neck, inadvertently stomping him in the balls, even smashing Vangellys with a nasty lariat to the neck. Pierroth splats him with a great senton (theme of the night?) and Vangellys grabs the ref's hand during the pin and then grabs the ropes during his own roll up. This went the right amount of time and was a satisfying slugfest. I'm clearly the one guy excited for a hair match.

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CMLL Worth Watching 7/12/15, 8/9/15 & 8/14/15

Blue Panther, The Panther & Blue Panther Jr. vs. Virus, Sangre Azteca & Okumura (7/12/15)

So, after showing some potential early last year, Panther's boys have so far revealed themselves to be duds. Clutzy, awkward, prone to confusion in the middle of segments. Luchadors can peak late, so there's still time, but for now it's best to expect nothing out of them. No, you watch this match expressly hoping for the few moments that papa Panther matches up with Virus. And those few moments totally made this worthwhile for me. Some of their exchanges lasted mere seconds but when you're dealing with two masters like them, sometimes that's all you need to see flashes of brilliance. At one point Panther armdrags Virus, Virus grabs BP's leg while going over, rolls through with it, Panther pulls Virus in with the captured leg and kicks off with the other. A 4 second moment, but gorgeous in its execution. There are more moments with them, and they're all the best parts of the match. There is some expected badness from BP's boys, though Jr. hits a nice dive at the tercera's peak, Virus wraps himself around a ringpost while also splatting on the apron, BP's opening mat play with Azteca was nice. A simple trios, and full of irony as I labeled it "worth watching" while later realizing it's not been uploaded by Cubs. I watched it on LATV. Add this to the pile of me historically documenting lucha matches that no one else will ever watch. (EDIT: It's up now)

Cabellera contra Cabellera: Pequeno Violencia vs. Aereo (8/9/15)

I can almost always get into a lucha stip matches, but I must say when the tecnico has 7/8" hair in a hair match, it kind of takes away some drama. You can almost guarantee it's going to be Violencia's ponytail getting got, and if it doesn't then Aero's hair will be back to the same cut within 4 weeks tops. But it's still fun to see minis get an extended singles match. It's tough to top a spot in the primera, as Aereo goes for a dive and Violencia just introduces him right into the floor. Splat. It sadly doesn't mean a whole lot as both men get into the ring at about the same time. Violencia immediately gets a leg lock to win the fall, and later in the match Aereo shows no hesitation in doing an even bigger dive. Aereo is real tiny, but doesn't quite have the same snap that fellow tiny minis like Shockercito have. Still, you get some nice headscissors and armdrags, just slower than the other guys. In that same vein, Violencia is your lesser bulky mini rudo, nowhere near as good as Demus or Pierrothito, and not anywhere near as exciting as a less bulky rudo like Mercurio. BUT, I like when 4th rung guys like this get showcase matches, get the chance to stretch out a bit. It doesn't always work, but there are usually fun moments. And this had fun moments.

Demus 3:16, Pequeno Violencia & Mercurio vs. Stukita, Shockercito & Ultimo Dragoncito (8/14/15)

This was real fun, too quick to be revolutionary, but tons of craziness which makes it an easy recommendation. The double dive alone is worth watching several times, which I certainly did. Stukita flies through Mercurio and lands right on the barrier, and Dragoncito gets a wild head of steam and comes in too hot, sending him crashing and burning OVER the barrier and into a front row chair, sending beer and a woman's smart phone flying. One of the camera angle looks like a beer geyser goes off. I mean he really just flew right into that front row. You crazy crazy tiny Dragon. Demus is kind of a nutbar, really has an outsized personality which is not something you ever see from minis. He really jaws with the ref, knows how to work a crowd, and is easily the best base of all the mini rudos. Shockercito goes for an around the world headscissors and Demus is nutty so he flips Shocker 4 times around his body and then upside down and then perfectly bumps through the ropes to the floor in an impossibly fluid way. The crowd kept getting louder with every revolution and he somehow made a 100% implausible move seem like something that could actually be done. Stukita is super smooth and breaks out all sorts of armdrags and moonsaults that he makes look effortless. I know the minis often have their matches recorded, but they rarely seem to make TV for whatever reason. This is the first time they've popped up on actual TV in...sheesh, over a year maybe?

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