Lucha Worth Watching: Cassandro! CMLL Undercard!

Cassandro/Flyer vs. Magnus/Medico Asesino Jr. FILLM 11/18/18

ER: Man how cool is Cassandro?? Here he is working the coolest lucha arena in the world, the one that looks like it's a Street Fighter II background, and he comes out wearing a spectacular green coat with a long train, which somehow looks elegant while being dragged across the dirty concrete. He's not a guy who shows up a ton on tape, as that is part of the excitement around Cassandro. But he's the exact same guy you remember, here pulling off tight armdrags, a painfully precise missile dropkick, and his signature tope con giro. Asesino came off like a fun rudo stooge, Magnus hits a nice dive into the aisle and Flyer gets to hit two (which makes sense as his name ain't Matwork) including a big asai moonsault. Cassandro commanded the crowd like a conductor at a couple points, really a guy who knows exactly what to do no matter the setting, and while this match didn't set out to be a classic you definitely would have left satisfied had you gone there seeking a fun Cassandro main. Lucha shows are becoming more and more common in the States, and it feels like Cassandro should be able to bring buzz to these shows. There's no reason one of the three lucha feds running Denver isn't running Cassandro/Zumbido matches, but come on people let's make this happen!

Akuma/Espanto Jr./Espiritu Negro vs. Star Jr./Pegasso/Stigma CMLL 4/16/19

ER: This was a real fun undercard match that had a real fine rudo trios team performance and a bunch of great big tecnico moments for Star Jr., in the kind of match that really looked like they were already looking at Star Jr. as a future Soberano Jr. (when Soberano moves up even higher on the card). The crowd reactions for Star Jr. hear were real loud and real organic, felt like a guy who the locals were really treating as a star (he can just drop the Jr. once he's an actual star). The rudo team is a bunch of guys who haven't gotten much ink on Segunda Caida even though they've all been in the biggest lucha fed for like 5 years. Here they really make the case as an interesting team, standing out in ways that I think the Dinamitas started standing out a couple years ago on undercards. They had a bunch of mean double teams (loved a missile dropkick into tandem vertical suplex that poor Stigma took), Akuma hits a sky high flapjack, all three guys bite opponents at one point, and they handled their end of big base bumps. They were a team that made me want to see more of them as a team. Star Jr. had a big exciting match; crowd was flipping out for his headscissors, his big springboard rana to the entrance ramp looked as big as it should have, the crowd went nuts for every time he outsmarted the rudos, just a really fun performance that got a deserving response. Pegasso is a pro in these kinds of "2nd flashiest tecnico in a trios" roles, and Stigma was in there for some big bumps; the whole match has a nice breezy vibe that I think made all 6 look strong.


COMPLETE AND ACCURATE CASSANDRO

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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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MLJ: Cavernario Spotlight 7: Sagrado, Stigma, Tritón vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Cancerbero, Raziel

Aired 2013-12-15
taped 2013-12-02 @ Arena Puebla
Sagrado, Stigma, Tritón vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Cancerbero, Raziel

I swear that if I watch enough of these matches I'll start to be able to figure out the difference between Titan and Triton. One difference here is that Triton came out with a clown mask over his normal one as if he lost a bet? I bet that feud between Titan, Triton, and Shocker and Atlantis, Delta, and Guerrero Maya Jr from 2011 was fun. I don't think I could handle too many of those matches right now, though.

Anyway, this was another mid-card Monday Puebla match, but the trend I've been seeing here is that these tend to get a couple extra minutes and it leads to more complete matches than a lot of the more polished stuff with bigger names. It's a trade-off. These tend to be a little more imaginative both in offense and in transitions, but there tend to be more little flubs and moments of disconnect as well.

This was one of my first looks at Cancerbero and Raziel too and I came out liking them for their spot on the card. It took me a second to figure out which was which, but thankfully not only is Raziel smaller, he was also shirtless and had a big R on his mask. See, I'm getting good at lucha watching. Sagrado was new to me too. He was a little larger and matched up with Cancerbero pretty well, with both of them hitting some impressive spots for their relative size.

The primera had all the time it needed to be enjoyable. Triton and Cavernario started with some intense and competitive matwork. Sagrado and Cancerbero followed up and didn't stick up the joint and then Raziel and Stigma had a faster exchange. It all ended with a bunch of dive teases that were cut off by the rudos as they went around the cycle allowing Stigma to recover enough to hit Hijo del Santo's full rotation 'rana sunset flip (does that have a name?) for the caida.

The segunda started even and led into a pretty good rudo beatdown. Cavernario probably does the standing chop-off too much; it's in almost all of his matches, but the fact he's one of the only guys in CMLL that does it every match makes it mean more if every wrestler was doing it every match. I liked the transition. Cavernario tried to rip Triton's shirt off as part of the chopfest and it got stuck. No idea if this was intentional or not, but it left him prone to a swarming and shifted the momentum. Sagrado had a lot of character, actually. In the segunda he made sure to fight back and lose during the beat down which not everyone does and in the tercera he actually unsuccessfully hulked up a few times. He had a sort of local hero vibe to him. I wouldn't call it good, in and of itself, but it could work as part of a unit. I see he's teamed a bunch with Valiente which was my first thought but I could totally get behind a Valiente, Sagrado, Mistico trio. Anyway, the caida ended with Cavernario hitting the splash to the outside which let the others submit Sagrado, and that's great, because anytime Cavernario hits that splash it SHOULD end a fall.

More beatdown into the tercera but it was good. There was the hulking up and an always fun handshake fakeout to set up an ambush. Raziel and Cancerbero worked well together. Raziel hit a ridiculous pumphandle move too. Finally Stigma did an assisted handspring off the ropes to start the comeback which had a lot of sort of sloppy sequence but was servicable and gets a B+ for effort. After another cut off or two, Sagrado finally got to hit his dive too. Raziel and Stigma ended it with a roll-up fest finishing with another one of those Santo sunset flips before Camorra (I have no idea who Camorra is) ran to the edge of the ramp to distract Stigma letting Raziel pin him. This had its warts but I really do enjoy watching matches like this now and again to break up whatever else I'm watching. There's a lot of effort here and they use the formula very well to their advantage.

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MLJ: Cavernario Spotlight 6: Black Metal, Metálico, Stigma vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Hijo del Signo, Hooligan

Aired 2013-06-29
taped 2013-06-25 @ Arena Mexico
Black Metal, Metálico, Stigma vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Hijo del Signo, Hooligan

This was sort of fun for a few reasons. First and foremost, it was Cavernario's debut at Arena Mexico. It was about a year and a half ago and he was just in the headlining trios match for the Tuesday show last week. I think that's a pretty good ascent. I've not seen a modern CMLL match without commentary, but that's what we have here. It was a little jarring, to be honest. Thankfully, I'd seen most of these guys in the previous matches so I was able to pick them out for the most part. I'll say this, the crowd seemed interesting in seeing Cavernario at least. He had a chant at one point when he was on the apron and when he played to the crowd, they responded.

This was also Metalico's debut and it could have gone better for him. There was a downright brutal exchange with Signo late in the match where I don't even know what they were going for. I'll call it an unfortunate and unnecessary flip followed by a really sad missed drop kick and then Metalico not really skidding out of the ring well to set himself up for a clumsy Signo tope. From what I've seen of Signo so far, he's best when he's playing a poor man's Fuerza, just sort of a dickish goony rudo. He really wasn't doing that here. Stigma did well mostly matched up against Cavernario and Hooligan was fine as a physical presence. I think, maybe, he didn't give enough in the match, including just hammering down after Black Metal's big moment (a tope from the inside onto the ramp) but I can kind of understand why he wouldn't.

The match itself was fairly subdued. It has to be hard to put together an Arena Mexico card, especially one with a bunch of trios, especially when you're doing it week in and week out. I rarely watch whole shows, though I do tend to follow things week to week when I can. You can only go to the same well so many times on a card without burning out the crowd. Therefore, the end to the primera was very abrupt: after the back and forth of the initial pairings, Signo came in, slammed Metalico, and splashed him for three.

Likewise, the 'comeback' was barely there at all. The beatdown was the best part of the match. Both Hooligan and Cavernario were well suited to just beat the crap out of their opponents and it was the brunt of the segunda. They cycled in one after the next with clubbering and triple kicks and one brutal groin corner dropkick by Hooligan. It only lasted a few minutes but they were good minutes and by the end of it, I was ready for a hot comeback. I didn't get one. Metalico reversed a triple team into a quick 'rana on Signo for three. It was one of those moments where the other rudos were supposed to be celebrating since they thought the move went their way, so they missed the pin, but Hooligan was staring right at it embarrassingly. The crowd was somewhere between bemused and confused about it.

Even though he ultimately went out in the tercera to a Stigma double underhook powerbomb, it did feel like Cavernario's debut party. He had a solid, if a bit rehearsed, showing on the mat with Stigma in the primera. He was front and center in the beatdown, really getting a chance to show off his sudden strikes that can make a rudo beatdown compelling. Then he got to hit a few of his big moves, the alley-oop dropkick in the segunda and a jump-back second rope splash and the clothesline backbreaker in the tercera.

It was only as good a match as the card placement and what we'll chalk up to nervousness in Metalico would let it be, but it was a good showing for Cavernario in a match where he really had to deliver. By this point it was pretty safe to say that he was well on his way.

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MLJ: Barbaro Cavernario Spotlight 2: Leo, Metatrón, Stigma vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Bárbaro Cavernario, Skándalo

Aired 2012-09-22
taped 2012-09-18 @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
Leo, Metatrón, Stigma vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Bárbaro Cavernario, Skándalo

The first Cavernario trios that we have online was only a few weeks after the last match. Stigma I've seen before but I'm not very familar with Metatron or Leo. They're mid-to-bottom of the card tecnicos that get more play regionally than in Arena Mexico, from as best as I can tell. Cavernario took Leo's mask back in July of 2012. Arkangel de la Muerte we've seen before and  Skandalo (who has a pretty crazy look) is his stablemate of Los Guerreros Taureg which was a spin off of Pandilla Guerrera which was the Guerreros del Infierno sub-group, so it all ties together, somehow. Stigma and Skandalo are brothers, which is always fun.

This was a perfectly fine mid-card match (of a card which had a title match between Olimpico and Diamante and Prince Devitt in the main event trios), though it didn't have the sort of snap I like in comebacks and there were some definite moments of awkardness that you kind of expect more out of the younger and lower-card wrestlers. It was partially made up for by everyone working hard and a couple of really big spots. Skandalo and Leo began with a decent effort at mat work, but one that never really got past collaborative to competitive and could have been smoother. Arkangel showed tons of character against Stigma, who eventually got the better of him, right until he sent both Arkangel and Skandalo out with a headscissors/armdrag combo and went for a dive. They caught him and punished him on the floor, which was a great cut off spot to end the tecnico shine sequence and one that I wish we saw more often. 

From there the beat down was in full effect and Cavernario worked well with his partners for it. They had some fun tandem offense including pulling the legs of Leo apart so that Arkangel could drop a second rope elbow, and did a good job of using distraction and diversions to keep on top of the fresh tecnicos whenever they entered. the finish was a nutty alley oop out past a power bomb position and over the shoulders on poor Leo, who when he was in mid air, fell prey to a top rope Cavernario dropkick. Great looking spot. 

The beat down continued into the segunda, including Cavernario charging over people on the outside and more diversions and cut offs on the fresher tecnicos upon entry. Eventually Cavernario would miss a corner splash and the tecnicos would storm back, both in and out of the ring. It felt more disjointed than wild but again, the effort was there. This ended with Cavernario taking a rana through the ropes, and then eating a massive and beautiful step up inside-out tope con hilo by Stigma, and Metatron and Leo hitting their finishers within the ring. 

The tecera was mostly a reset with the pairings getting to work each other again. Some of the what stood out was Stigma's nice little rope-draped sell of a shot, Cavernario's really cool clothesline-into-a-backbreaker where he just got his knee forward as his opponent falls, Stigma's contrived but entertaining flippy offense against Skandalo and Cavernario, and the tiger driver that he finished Cavernario off with. Stigma looked pretty impressive out of the tecnicos, enough so that I want to go back and watch his title match against Virus from this year. They ended it with a weird video cut: the tecnicos had things under control but a distraction allowed the eliminated Cavernario to slip back in to foul, though we never really got to see it clearly.

Certainly another good showing from Cavernario, especially acting as a base for Stigma, working well with his partners, and bringing a great intensity to the beat down. I think, if anything, he works better in a trios setting because he doesn't have to carry the matwork (which isn't a matter of talent but character) as much and can fit into a broader ebb and flow. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his development into 2013.

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report 6/1/14

These matches were all from the 5/18 Arena Mexico show. I wish they would go back to showing Coliseo shows, but for whatever reason it looks like they've run a couple Sunday Arena Mexico shows. Still these LATV shows are nice as the Sunday afternoon matches always get way more time to breathe than the Friday night ones. We get more matwork and guys don't seem to rush to get all their stuff in nearly as much.

Virus, Tiger & Polvora vs. Black Panther, Triton & Stigma

Just what I was saying about more mat stuff, and the primera here features long Tiger/Triton segments and most excitedly a Virus/Black Panther mat off. Triton's stuff is kind flashy and substance free on the mat, but Tiger is really good and had some leg picks and always finds cool ways to tie up guys at the ankles and wrists. Virus vs. Panther was awesome as both can go and the work looks super cool. I'm glad Panther has gotten so much mat time in his first real year, and even more glad that Virus has gotten tons more mat time as the year has gone on. He was in some more spotty trios at the start of the year but he's had a lot more mat focus the last month plus. Stigma is a guy who I don't think I've ever seen pop up on TV before. Pretty sure he's a Puebla guy but not sure how long he's been on the main roster. He hits a killer slingshot rana to the floor so he has my attention. Stigma in general seems to be in the role of hitting unsuspecting rudos with ranas on the floor, as later he surprises Virus with one off the apron. Stigma hits a pretty wild Valiente springboard moonsault to the floor, but really as long as Virus is in the fed nobody else should be doing that. His is too fast and too pretty. Panther's stuff with Tiger and Virus is the (predictable) highlight of this. Virus is an awesome guy to watch against rookies as he seems like he takes pride in working circles around them, but it never looks like he's showing them up or trying to make them look like trash. It looks like they hang with him, but aren't quite there yet. This didn't quite hit next level, but you knew with some of the guys involved it would be worth it, and it was.

Euforia, Niebla Roja & Gran Guerrero vs. Rey Cometa, Marco Corleone & Titan

Interesting that Marco's left hand is treated as more of a normal punch now. I'm not sure when that change happened. It used to be a spot that rudos would run from or get KO'd by, now here he hits three straight on Gran Guerrero just to back him into a corner. I love Gran Guerrero's baseball slide dropkick that sends dudes crashing and burning off the apron, and Cometa gets into position for it better than anybody else I've seen. He actually looked like he was struggling to get away from the apron while being held in place, unlike most guys who clearly lie still bracing themselves for impact. And Cometa goes flying into the ring barrier and it looks great. Titan seems to always overshoot guys on his flip dives. I'm not sure if this is the catcher or small sample bias or what, but it seems like every flip dive sees him glance off the rudos' shoulder and splat face first into the barricade. It could be Roja is a bad catcher. But Cometa's always seem to hit flush. The Cometa/Euforia stuff in this was a blast. Euforia hits a sweet floppy armdrag and Euforia responds by knocking his fillings loose with a clothesline. Poor placement though as right afterwards Cometa hits a silly handspring headscissors. Niebla Roja wins me over by merely stepping out of the way of Titan's handstand headscissors. He just walks around it and still gets caught by a rana, but this is growth people. And gee whiz Cometa almost dies horrifically taking a flapjack slam off the top rope. He initially came down a little head heavy but luckily landed more on his chest/stomach. It looked nasty as is, but could have been fatal.

Rush, La Sombra & La Mascara vs. Mascara Dorada, Valiente & Volador Jr.

Damn I cannot recall the last time I saw such a one-sided beatdown in lucha. This match was allll Rush's team for the first 10 minutes, until the tecnicos got about 30 seconds before Rush did a combo ball punch/schoolboy to win the whole thing. Seriously there was just no hope for the good guys in this one. It was 10 minutes of Rush and Sombra standing on dudes throats while Mascara tossed off superkicks to unsuspecting victims. Rush and Sombra were dickhead extraordinaires in this, jut beating down all the tecnicos from the word go and never letting up. At one point Sombra throws like 8 straight awesome knees in the corner and it's strange watching a match with no comeback in sight for the good guys. At one point you felt the comeback bubbling, and Rush just cuts everything off and you can just kinda feel all hope slowly draining out of things, like in Bad Lietenant when things start horribly for Harvey Keitel and the whole film just gets worse for him.

Lucha libre as Abel Ferrara urban crime cinema everybody! According to the judges I just got a triple word score for "Worst Possible Simile"! Thanks for reading, everybody!

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