CMLL 23/08/2015

Still not going to pretend I fully "get" lucha, but I enjoyed some of the CMLL I watched last year, and wanted to try to keep on top of my lucha knowledge.

Dragon Rojo Jr vs Rey Escorpion

I liked elements of this match, but it did feel a bit brief, not helped by some clipping. The first two falls are rushed through, Escorpion winning the first after some brief matwork, rolling through a roll-up to lock in Rings of Saturn for the submission. Rojo equalised with a victory roll, before the third fall sees both guys rushing through a bunch of stuff. Lovely flip dive by Escopion, great running stage-dive dropkick from Rojo and a really nice finish with Rojo blocking a rana and turning it instead into a slingshot powerbomb, but it all felt a bit hollow. Momentum seemed to shift too easily, and the end saw both guys on their feet in the ring, seemingly shaking off the previous damage. I liked the move execution, less enamoured with the match layout.

Goya Kong, Marcela & Princess Sujei vs Amapola, La Seductoria & Zeuxis

This was a pretty fun deal following on from Sujei and Marcela claiming the mask of Seductoria in a tag match the previous week. Really enjoyed Zeuxis in this, she blasted Kong with some vicious knees in the corner and hit a lovely moonsault to the floor onto Kong. Actually, all the rudos looked good, with Seductoria hitting a nasty looking seated senton to Kong and Amapola planting Sujei with Angels Wings. This earned a pinfall and Seductoria tied up Marcela for the submission to complete the first caida. The rudos maintained control and I dug them using the size of Kong as a weapon against her partners by using her to sandwich them in the corner. However, Kong was strong enough to plow through the rudos with a corner clothesline and nail Amapola with a guillotine drop for the equalising fall. The rudos still controlled the third fall until Amapola hit the post on a corner charge and Kong followed up with a big apron dive, which looked great. The remaining technicos pick up the win, Marcela hitting a top rope stomp and Sujei hitting a Michinoku Driver for the falls.

Negro Casas, Shocker & Ultimo Guerrero vs Rush, La Sombra & La Mascara

This is a follow-up to Rush low-blowing Casas en route to winning a hair vs hair match the previous week. Casas actually jumps Rush during the entrances, but this is a poor decision as he gets outnumbered quickly. His partner try to help, but are at a disadvantage, and this puts them on the back foot throughout. With Casas eliminated, Rush hits a top rope senton to pin Shocker and a corner dropkick on Guerrero to earn the primera caida. Both falls go to Rush too, making him look great. The second fall sees the captains Rush and Casas face off and end up brawling all over the floor. With this going on, Guerrero gets knees up on a Sombra moonsault and Shocker hits an odd-looking pump-handle slam on Mascara to even the ties. While that felt a bit underwhelming, the third fall is actually pretty fun. Rush and Casas kick off, and it really shows off how good Casas still looks, with his strikes and kicks looking on point. He’s really fluid. As they brawl outside, we get a good bit of ring time from Shocker who, even if he’s bigger and less mobile than 10 years previously, still has some nice moments. Loved him dropping a hefty elbow drop on a drop down. Sombra hits a massive dive to the floor, sending him flying into the railings. The end sees Casas get retribution as he rolls up Rush with La Majistral, only for the ref to get pulled out of the ring by Rush’s teammates. However, this distraction lets Casas hit a low blow on Rush for the winning fall and a bit of karmic revenge. Didn’t really get going until the last fall, but this was ok.

TNA World X Cup 2008

With the announcement that TNA are running special stand alone PPV's, including a World Cup tournament, what better time to revisit the 2008 X Cup, which saw wrestlers from Dragon Gate, CMLL and NJPW join TNA for a one month tournament. There is a points system, but essentially the winners of the final Ultimate X match win the whole thing. It's the first blog review of the year and there are two contenders for the year end top 10 already. It's going to be a great year...

Tyson Dux & Daivari vs the Motor City Machine Guns
The initial Dux/Alex Shelley segment is really smooth, and the larger Dux keeps up with Shelley throughout, though he does massively telegraph a top rope Sabin armdrag by standing there with his arm out. Team International are slightly bigger than the Guns, so try to overpower them, but the Guns use some quick tags and a slight speed advantage to control. The heat section on Shelley is really brief and I did briefly think that the match was going to be a glorified squash, but Daivari grabs Sabin on the outside as he tries to springboard in to gain some advantage. Again, the heat section doesn't last too long as Team International, whether accidentally or on purpose, sort of get in each others way, allowing Sabin to come back. Shelley blitzes Daivari, and gets two on a top rope splash. Daivari always struck me as a small guy who didn't do much high-flying, so I was pretty impressed with the top rope rana he hit. Dux is certainly smoother than Daivari in the ring, and I wonder why he never appeared in TNA after the X Cup. The end sees Dux caught in a tree of woe, and Shelley hits Sliced Bread on Daivari to hit the three. Team International are the only team not representing a promotion, so don't expect many wins.

Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino vs Rey Buccanero & Ultimo Guerrero
Team Mexico are a lot bigger than their Japanese opponents. Yoshino & Doi uses their speed to control Buccanero early, as well as some superior double-teaming. The size difference is so great that Guerrero doesn't need a partner to hit a double spinebuster on both of his opponents. Guerrero and Buccanero also use some swank double-teams which pop the crowd. The match is super fast paced, and I loved the spot where Yoshino hit a missile dropkick on Guerrero whilst also landing on Buccanero with a senton. Similarly, I loved Guerrero knocking Yoshino from the ring, and Buccanero sliding out of the ring straight into a splash on him. With Yoshino out, Guerrero drapes Doi over his knees, and Buccanero comes off the top with a corkscrew senton, which is enough for three. Good, high-paced TV match.

Alex Koslov vs Rey Buccanero
As far as I know, Koslov has some lucha experience, so he should work well with Buccanero here. A quick opening section leads to an insane Koslov plancha. Standing enzuigiri gets two and Koslov looks really slick here. Buccanero comes back with a Cradle Driver that lands Koslov directly on his head. Twisting senton gets three. Felt like a good match cut off 3 minutes in.

Milano Collection AT vs Curry Man
Again, Daniels has wrestled in Japan plenty of times, so this is a sensible pairing. Milano does that "roll the opponent 360 degrees round the ring whilst pinning him" spot I always like, leading to an awesome "dizzy" sell by Curry Man. Milano has great flexibility here, bridging out of a Curry Man pin, doing the splits to avoid a top rope dive and generally looking pretty impressive. Curry Man is super-over here, so he keeps the offence simple, knowing everything will get a reaction. It also allows AT an opportunity to shine. Milano hits a sneaky low blow followed by a twisting quebrada to win.

Masato Yoshino vs Doug Williams
You'd think this would be a bit of a styles clash, but this works pretty well. Both play to their strengths: Doug uses his size advantage to make his strikes look really nasty, whilst Yoshino outpaces him and takes control with his flying ability. The layout of the Impact Zone was really good at this time, as it gave a nice, big area for dives. Yoshino takes full advantage of this with a huge tope. I like the comments from Don West, saying Yoshino is so fast that it's harder for him to stop when Doug strikes him. They sort of flub a flying headscissors, but Yoshino wins my heart by putting in an extra burst of effort, as if he realised Williams was blocking it and knew he had to put in a little more to complete the move. Nice top rope buttlerfly suplex by Williams. Nice ending sequence sees Doug hit the Chaos Theory for the win.

Kaz vs Ultimo Guerrero
Of all the matches so far, this one feels the most awkward in the early goings, as you can see both guys aren't quite clicking yet. Love Guerrero hitting a handstand in the corner and holding it to give added momentum when he lets gravity send him into a prone Kaz. Feels like a spot Ziggler should steal. Guerrero dominates a fair bit here, nailing a nice top rope reverse suplex for two. The storyline here is that, as Team TNA captain, Kaz is feeling a lot of pressure to win, which plays into him fluffing (deliberately) a springboard to give Guerrero more advantage as Kaz sells a knee injury. Tenay mentions the looks of concern on the faces of all Team TNA, which is odd as Curry Man is fully masked. Guerrero blocks a top rope rana with a nice powerbomb. Kaz avoids a moonsault and nails the Wave of the Future to win the match. Decent enough, though I thought the knee injury would play a bigger part in the ending.

Masato Yoshino, Puma & Milano Collection AT vs Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Buccanero & Averno vs Doug Williams, Tyson Dux & Alex Koslov vs the Motor City Machineguns & Curry Man
This is an elimination match, and I can only imagine it's going to be nuts.To start, Curry Man challenges Yoshino to a race having seen his speed, but just trips him up instead. Dux and Williams come in to double team Sabin, and they look super slick as a team, with just nice, quick double teams. Even odder when you consider they aren't a tag team. Team Mexico come in, triple team Williams and Dux, and swiftly eliminate Dux with a Buccanero Cradle Driver. Puma and AT come in to attack Buccanero, but Averno is swiftly tagged in and takes care of both guys, eliminating Puma with a spinning facebuster. Thing is, this is a total spotfest, but it's so quick, fluid and crisp that it's really fun to watch.

Both Machine Guns end up in the ring with Milano, who evades both of them and rolls them both up in a double single leg crab. Awesome. After the escape, Milano shoves the ref, then grabs Sabin's leg between his own legs to pretend he's taken a low-blow, but the ref outside the ring prevents the DQ. Sabin gets the Cradle Shock to pin AT for 3. Milano has undoubtedly been the star of the match so far. Yoshino is the last member of Team Japan left and the Guns smell blood, blitzing Yoshino to try and eliminate him. Averno comes in and continues to hammer Yoshino. However, Yoshino comes out of nowhere with a high-speed roll up to eliminate Averno. Team TNA and Team International ignore the knackered Yoshino and start going for each other, with frantic results, so Guerrero and Buccanero dive off the top to take out Curry Man and Williams. A top rope powerbomb eliminates Curry Man mere seconds after West highlights that all of Team TNA are left in the match. Williams is swiftly pinned too after a twisting senton from Buccanero.

After the Machine Guns wipe out on a missed pescado attempt, Guerrero and Koslov wind up in the ring together, with Koslov hitting a low blow on Guerrero, followed by an Anaconda Vice variation for the tapout. Sabin swiftly focusses on Buccanero , nailing a top rope hurancanrana and a kick to the face to fully eliminate Team Mexico. The Guns double team the two remaining opponents, Koslov and Yoshino, but somehow Yoshino keeps surviving. He's like the Conquistadors from the second Survivior Series. Koslov manages to survive long enough to pin Sabin for three with his feet on the ropes to leave a final three of Yoshino, Koslov and Shelley. After Koslov nails Shelley with an insane plancha, Yoshino ties up Koslov in a ridiculously complex submission hold for the tapout. Yoshino, the ultimate survivor, tries his best to eliminate Shelley, but gets caught with the Sliced Bread...which only gets 2! A swank Shelley Tiger Suplex only gets two. Eventually, a Kryptonite Krunch gets the three. Absolutely unreal spotfest, and they made Yoshino look awesome in defeat.

This leaves the scores as:

Team TNA - 6
Team Japan - 4
Team International & Team Mexico - 3

Which means that whoever wins Ultimate X for 4 points, wins. Convenient.

Volador Jr vs Kaz vs Naruki Doi vs Daivari
I was really impressed with Volador when I saw him in the CMLL DVD I reviewed a month or so back, so looking forward to seeing him here. I like the way Kaz shows his experience edge by going for the X right from the start and goes for it any chance he gets. Volador slips slightly trying to climb the ropes, but I like his awareness as he realises Doi is about to pull him off the wire, so drops into a hurancanrana to maintain his advantage rather than take a blow. I did Daivari's gameplan of working over Kaz's injured arm to hinder his climbing ability. The 3 opponents all then zero in on Kaz's arm, which makes sense due to his experience edge. This leads to Kaz clearing them all away, but slipping off the cables, as he can't support himself with one arm. Volador takes a huge bump after Doi elevates him over the top rope, before Doi nails Kaz with a cannonball in the corner. Doi climbs, then takes a nutty bump from the supports to the floor. A really fun spot follows as Volador takes advantage of Doi fighting Kaz to go for the X, only for Kax to elevate Doi headfirst into the hanging crotch of Volador for a lowblow that sends the luchador to the mat. I like the way that on Kaz's next attempt to climb, he uses his legs to support himself on the cables, knowing his arm is still too injured. Daivari only just stops him. Volador takes Doi out of the match with a beautiful top rope moonsault to the floor. Daivari gets right up to the X, only for Kaz to leap from the top of the structure to hit a legdrop in an absolutely insane spot. However, this leaves the path totally free for Volador, who climbs to the X totally unhindered for the win. Team Mexico win the X Cup. Terrific match, a great mixture of logical storytelling, high drama and insane spots. Even in defeat, Kaz got to look great with the most memorable spot of the match

CMLL 01/01/05

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