Lucha Worth Watching: CMLL 8/11/17

Mercurio/Pierrothito vs. Shockercito/Stukita (CMLL 8/11/17)

ER: Hot Arena Mexico opener with these guys not slowing down for a second. Stukita stumbles on one quebrada and that's it, the rest of this was don't look back. Mercurio is a real fun ham, he knows how to mock a tecnico and get his comeuppance. He'll run great misdirection spots like sending Shockercito into the ropes and forcing him to duck under a Pierrothito leapfrog, and he'll be right there waiting on the other side with a stiff kick to the chops. But he knows how to do those same set ups to effectively make himself look like a boob, cockily playing to the crowd and then accidentally kicking Pierrothito in the chops. Mercurio is kind of ridiculous, wearing as much dayglo as Neon Joe: Werewolf Hunter and mocking the short (I mean, he's short, but they're shorter, and as our doofus leader has shown us you always gotta pick on people for the things you're most insecure about) tecnicos mercilessly. Shockercito is a real nutter and hits arguably the minis spot of the year, getting monkey flipped off the apron by Pierrothito into a rana to Mercurio on the floor. The rudos run traffic and shine when needed (again, Mercurio is hammy as hell and even threw in a tope of his own), really drawing the fans into it, and the tecnicos know how to bring the flash. Shockercito is arguably the best of the current tecnico minis and this was a nice showcase for all.

Rush vs. Diamante Azul (CMLL 8/11/17)

ER: We get a hot opener, and we get a hot semi-main singles match. Rush comes with the working (tassel) boots on and Diamante feels like a lucha star now. You can tell he's getting good by watching him on the rampway in the segunda. After taking a stiff suplex on the ramp Rush disappears (for probably too long) getting a piece of plasterboard. Diamante nobly gets up from this suplex, timing it so he isn't just lying down waiting for Rush, but not so quick that he's then standing around like a doofus. He's just slowly but strongly standing up, looking around Arena Mexico like he doesn't know where Rush the monster ran off to. Rush blasts him with a couple belly to bellys, dropkicks him hard in the chest, and Diamante stands up to all of it. He ends up hitting rush with a tope headbutt and Rush flings himself hard and stupid backwards into the first row. Some old man throws his entire soda on him. Rush throws in some fun bullshit like grabbing ref Edgar's arm on a close count, but Azul pins Rush clean in the tercera. That feels like a big step. This could be the mask vs. hair match-up, and it could be good. They need to be really careful with who gets to take Rush's hair. It feels like Rush needs to take someone's mask before someone takes his hair. I don't think he's taken a mask before and it feels like he really needs a good one to at to his legend.

Read more!

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.

Read more!

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?

Read more!

MLJ: Sin Salida 2010 Part 1

Sin Salida 2010 Part 1

I'm going to tackle the first two matches on the card today. The plan is to make it to the main event, double back to the trios which helped set up Maximo vs Taichi and then finish with 2010 with the hair match. I'll probably double back through the anniversary show (sticking with Garza) at some point.

I've seen very few whole shows in my lucha watching. I've also seen almost nothing when it comes to mini matches, ever, as in "ever," my whole life. I'm sure I've seen a bit of what WWF fed me back in the late 90s but for lucha, nada. I'm sort of curious to see these first two matches in the context of a card, because I don't have a great idea for how one's put together in Mexico, especially a big CMLL show.

For big shows in the states, there are a couple of things I'd expect from the first couple of matches on a card.

1.) The first match is there to get the crowd going, engaged. This is a principle dating back at least thirty years and probably far longer. Wrestlemania I started with Tito Santana vs Buddy Rose for a reason, an admitted reason. Most WWE PPVs over the last two years started with a spot-filled tag team title match for the same reason. Again, I'm not super familiar with minis matches but my instinct is that they're high-velocity affairs and it makes sense to lead off the card with them.

2.) These aren't the matches that are supposed to steal the show. They should be energetic and for a certain breed of fans I'm sure that's what's most engaging. I have a feeling, however, that they're not supposed to contain some of the more key themes that'll be in the later matches. There'll be less build and payoff, less heat to the beatdowns, less complexity to comebacks.They'll get a little less time and maybe won't even have the big dives that'll come later in the night.

Now, these are just assumptions. I honestly don't know, and there's never been any assurance of CMLL being logical about this.

Taped 2010-06-06
Bam Bam & Shockercito vs Demus 3:16 & Pierrothito


So, minis. Bam Bam is just an inch shorter than me, so there you go. I would probably be a mini. I feel a connection already. He was the Mini-Estrella champ. Shockercito is 500% guapo which is pretty funny. Pierrothito is the NWA Light Heavyweight Champ which is a belt they had cycled down to the minis a year before. Demus used to be mini Damian. He's got a pretty good look.

This was what I expected. It had about ten minutes and it was almost all quick action with most of the normal elements of a match compressed (shrunk down even). Now and again you'll see a match structured in two falls with a shine, beatdown (ending the first), extension of the beatdown and then the comeback foiled in some horrific way. This was what happend here.

The early exchanges were really just "an early exchange." One or two interactions and then out of the ring and back to the other pairing. What they did was smooth and athletic though. The rudos took the primera with a wheelbarrow into a facebreaker. onto Bam Bam and then this really cool reverse powerslam/rolling neckbreaker submission combo by Demus onto Shockercito.

The segunda started with the continuation of the beatdown (including a giant swing/dropkick combo) followed by the comeback that consisted of comedy miscommunication by the rudos mainly. This all set up the finish which was Shockercito and Pierrothito ending up on the apron with Pierrothito flat on his back. Shockercito charged forth but got monkeyflipped. He was supposed to end up in a powerbomb position by Demus on the floor but it didn't quite work out and looked nasty. Back in the ring Demus and Bam Bam had a roll up fest with the rudo getting the better of it for the win.

This was quick but fun. I really need to dip my foot deeper into the mini waters.

Taped 2010-06-06
Metro, Rush, Stuka Jr. vs Histeria, Maniaco, Monsther


This was my first look at Monsther. He fit right into Los Invasores, far more so than some other guys in the stable. Chucky is so in your face and over the top as a mascot too. He was all over the match and you can hardly blame them for it. Stuka was the captain for the tecnicos and pretty much the only guy over in a good way. There were signs with the Porra Tecnico and everything. Rush had a surprising amount of boos for so early in his career. I hadn't realized they had turned on him so quickly.

I thought Rush looked good here. It's the earliest I've seen him and my plan is to spend more time with him in 2011 after I finish this show. He was definitely Rush, down to beating the crap out of Chucky in a way that put sympathy on the mascot and elicited boos from the crowd. Monsther was pretty funny as Stuka tried to rope run with him and just got goozled for his trouble. The tecnicos took the primera after Stuka did his reverse course leap out of the ring, leaving Rush and Metro to take out the remaining rudos (including Metro doing this really great backcompression submission over his knee.)

Rudos took over in the segunda, in part because the tecnicos were spending too long going after Chucky. It wasn't anything special. Histeria got Stuka from the outside in on a rope running sequence. The finish was a little goofy as I swear he got pinned twice and Monsther splashed his legs instead of something that made more sense, but it was ultimately harmless. Anyway, and this could be an indication of the spot on the card, the comeback in the tercera was almost immediate with Stuka moving out of the way of a charging Chucky, some humorous rudo miscommunication, and Stuka's dive bomb.

This was short and sweet, with a bit of flubbing here and there. Metro looked good. Monsther fit in well and Chucky was certainly energetic and happy to take a lot of abuse. It was pretty much what it was supposed to be. I thought it was most interesting how quickly Stuka started his comeback in the tercera and that they managed to clear the ring without dives (since they were saving those for later in the night, I guess).

Read more!

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?

Read more!

CMLL Puebla Workrate Report, 10/8/12

One of the benefits of living in an area with a huge hispanic population is awesome Mexican food within walking distance (more places in a half mile area than I can count on one hand!!). A close second is sometimes local stations start showing random lucha with no sort of announcement. A few years ago some channel started showing random, horribly edited IWRG and AULL that I think we determined was only being seen by me. And now some channel just started showing CMLL Puebla shows 2 weeks after they happen. From what I can tell they edit out the opening match with the Puebal locals, which is a bummer, but show all the other matches in full with all the matwork and everything intact. Awesome.

1. Pierrothito/Mercurio/Pequeno Olimpico vs. Shockercito/Fantasy/Acero:

I've never seen Acero before, so KTNC channel 19 is impressing me with their minis crate-digging. Match itself was pretty nondescript with nobody looking bad but nobody busting ass. Pierrothito is one of the best workers in the world (who more people should really be talking about, as this has been going on for years now), Shockercito is a fine not-Bam Bam, Olimpico is easy to overlook because he's a non-flashy mini, and this was all just fine.

2. Virus/Cancerbero/Raziel vs. Stuka Jr./Metatron/Triton:

This was a pretty non-spectacular match, until Virus. This so-so thing happened, but then Virus. I like Cancerbero and Raziel just fine. They're like fractions of Arkangel de la Muerte. Maybe someday they'll be as good as him, but for right now they have elements of him and for right now, that's enough. The tecnicos are kinda diminishing returns. I really like Stuka, and Metatron and Triton seem OK. I've not seen much Triton. Match is all business as usual, fun and games, until one point in the 2nd when Virus tags in. And then shit gets real, as Virus is a whirling dervish of fists and elbows, like a mulleted Tazmanian devil. He just throws flipper floppers left and right directs traffic like few luchadors can. People are flying all over and he's in the middle of it all throwing elbows and shouldertackles to knees and stretching dudes' leg ligaments. You usually don't see a guy run roughshod over a whole half a lucha match but damn did Virus just get sick of messing around during this.

3. Guerrero Maya Jr./Hijo Del Fantasma/Delta vs. Negro Casas/Puma King/Tiger:

I have never heard of Tiger before. Maybe another Felino son? Any way you cut it, despite any language barriers, Tiger is just about the weakest name possible. I mean, it's no Televisa Deportes, but it is pretty weak. Fantasma has gone full on amazing Phantom Limb from Venture Bros. and his work with Casas is super strong. I realize that isn't a very impressive thing to say about a worker since Casas could carry me to something watchable, I mean that to say that Fantasma is looking like he's starting to belong. Just like the prior match, this was allllll the Casas show. There's a point during the match where he just decides to turn it on and then doesn't turn it off until it's all over. He's throwing his mini 2nd Zacarias around all recklessly and kicking guys in the face and jumping balls first off the apron and just playing to the crowd like wild. You heard it hear first, check this Negro Casas guy out!

My DVR cut off the main event but heck I'll live. If somebody can or cannot confirm that I'm the person that is getting this show, that would be swell. I don't see any of these matches up on Cubsfan's youtube page, and if I'm the only guy seeing this stuff then I need to get some sort of DVD Recorder set-up so at least somebody is saving this stuff.

Read more!