Regular readers will be aware about my blind spot for puro, and my attempts to remedy that. Take that blindspot and make it roughly 100x blinder, and that pretty much sums up my knowledge of lucha. With that in mind, I decided to delve into this CMLL show, which appears to be a collection of the best matches in the promotion in 2004. Let's see how this goes...
Mistico, Volador Jr & Felino vs Olimpico, Mephisto & Averno
This was apparently Mistico's debut in the Arena Mexico. He starts off with Olimpico, who seems to be underestimating him, allowing Mistico to control his more experienced foe. Averno and Volador tag in, and Volador impresses me right away, thanks to some silky smooth mat work. The rudos all come in the ring and dominate the technicos, leading to a nice spot where Mephisto and Averno lift Felino up outside the ring to allow Olimpico to dropkick him through the ropes. They then triple team Mistico with a three man powerbomb and pin him whilst holding him in armbars for the first fall. The second fall starts with the rudos still in control, taking it in turns to dominate Felino, then Volador, then Mistico again, before the faces finally show some cohesion and break up the triple teams. Mistico manages to hit a beautiful cartwheel splash to the outside, and Felino drops Averno on the top rope to allow Volador to nail a springboard legdrop to take the second fall. The technicos start the third fall retaining the advantage, and Mistico gets to show some lovely athleticism, with a nice rana followed by a pescado into a rana on the outside on Mephisto. Volador continues to shine in the ring with some lovely smooth matwork, and he and Felino take out Averno and Mephisto with dives to the floor, to leave Mistico and Olimpico alone in the ring. Olimpico has control, but Mistico gets a cradle off a leglock for the win. Plenty of fun and, whilst an impressive showcase for Mistico, it was Volador who really stood out.
L.A. Park, Shocker & Brazo De Plata vs Pierroth, Okumura & Rey Buccanero
With Super Porky (Plata) in there, we kick off with some comedy, as he leaves the ring early on to ruffle the hair of one of the rudo's associates before giving him a big kiss. Park soon follows him outside with an insane suicide dive. The technicos take the first fall really early, Shocker locking in a half crab to force Buccanero to tap out, whilst Park pins Pierroth with a corkscrew moonsault and Plata sits on Okumura. A replay highlights just how swank Shocker's crab application was. The rudos come back by triple teaming Shocker near the start of the second fall and it soon yields results, as they elevate Okumura onto Shocker for a splash pinfall. As the third fall starts, Buccanero and Park brawl outside the ring, whilst the rudos continue to dominate inside. Things start to get a little crazy, with Porky kicking off the fun by diving off the apron onto Pierroth. A technico midget in a monkey suit then leaps off the top rope, but is caught by Okumura and Buccanero, only for Park to follow on top of them with a twisting tope that barely hits. In the ring, Shocker takes advantage of the chaos to tie up Buccanero in a leglock for the winning tapout. Not as smooth as the prior six man, but it was enjoyable chaos.
L.A. Park vs Ultimo Guerrero
We get some nifty matwork from both guys to start, until Park gets the first fall quickly with a sort of spinning standing headscissors, which gets the tap. The second fall kicks off with Guerrero showing more aggression, but being one step behind Park, until he blocks a suplex attempt with a gourdbuster for the pin. Having blitzed through two falls very quickly, they decide to compete for the biggest pop, both showboating for the crowd for the biggest reaction, a battle Guerrero narrowly wins. Park hits a corkscrew senton which gets him two. He tries a top rope rana, but Guerrero catches him and hits a top rope powerbomb for two. Park hits a Code Red for two, but Guerrero nails his own for the win. Felt a bit brief, especially as I expected the third fall to go longer. However, it served as a valuable reminder of just how much fun Park is. He's blessed with so much physical charisma and is so much fun to watch on offence, with little kicks and cocky gestures. Just wish we'd seen more of it.
Rayo De Jalisco vs Canek vs Dr Wagner Jr vs Universo 2000
This is a four corner match where the loser loses their mask, with the rules being that any guy who gets a pinfall or submission is safe and leaves the match, until we're left with one loser. That man then has to unmask. All four men battle, with Universo and Wagner trying to rip off their opponents mask from the start. The rules ensure this is structured differently from the usual four way, as soon Canek and Wagner leave the ring to watch as Jalisco and Universo battle, with Jalisco soon nailing a pin-gaining powerbomb. Then Canek and Wagner let the defeated Universo roll to the floor and compete themselves. This section of the match is particularly good, with Wagner nailing a nasty looking dropkick to the face. Wagner shows his smarts by sending Canek to the ringside to get beaten up by Universo, before rolling him up inside the ring for three. This leaves Canek and Universo to fight, as Wagner awesomely poses on the ramp. I like the fact that both remaining guys exchange pin attempts instead of going straight to moves, showing that victory is more important here than hurting the other guy. Universo takes control, but takes too long showboating and gets armdragged from the top rope. Canek locks in a Rings of Saturn variation for what seems to be the tap, but three chaps I don't know come in for a distraction. This allows Universo to hit an illegal piledriver on Canek and lock in a half crab for what he thinks is the victory, only for the referee to disqualify him, having seen the piledriver. Really fun match, especially with the post-match antics, which sees Universo protesting for ages (I assume, not speaking Spanish), before unmasking and attacking the ref. Good stuff
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