CMLL Super Puebla: A Review
It’s over folks. The CMLL Super Puebla show has come to an end. And well…I wouldn’t exactly call it super, but I also wouldn’t call it bad either. As expected, the two main matches of the show didn’t quite live up to the hype while the rest of the card turned in some exciting action and even more exciting results, including two matches that lead to two bigger ones next week. I know; CMLL is trying to build things up?! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?! Let’s get down to business and find out shall we? Moses, you’ve got to fight for your right to meme!
King Jaguar, Meyer, Star Jr. defeated Artillero, Fuerza Chicana, Hijo del Signo two falls to one
This was the rare CMLL opener that somehow winds up in the middle; it wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad, it was simply a match. Well it was a little more than that thanks to King Jaguar and Star Jr. Jaguar, who probably thought he was never coming back, looked refreshed and energetic throughout and was the main reason he first fall was a complete snoozer. Meanwhile Star Jr. was, well, Star Jr. The biggest problem this match had was that he wasn’t in it enough, especially during the first fall when he started the match and then disappeared. When he was in he was as electric as he was last Tuesday, once again connecting with that gorgeous corkscrew plancha and adding an extra bit of pace the match sorely needed. He also got the pinfall here; a well deserved one too after his performances. It’s just a shame that aside from him and Jaguar everyone else was either in neutral (all three rudos) or simply couldn’t equal the level of quality his teammates reached (Meyer). I thankfully have a solution; more high profile matches for Star Jr.! The guy has star written all over him Paco (no pun intended). Get him higher up the damn card!
Astral, Asturiano, Eléctrico tied Demus 3:16, Espíritu Maligno, Pierrothito two falls to two
You’re reading that right; this match ended in a draw. A GORRAM DRAW! I can’t even recall the last time CMLL actually had a draw in Puebla (cubsfan mentioned a 2002 show as the last time), let alone any CMLL show at all. It was certainly different and refreshingly it was done well, with all the competitors and even Tirantes (who we’ll get to later) nailing it. That’s the sort of ending that makes you want to check out a rematch next week, which we’ll get. Another good reason to check it out is that it should be like this match quality wise; really good. Overall I was pleasantly surprised to see this match work as well as it did. All three technicos were up to snuff, with Asturiano in particular showing off some nice high flying, including one sequence where he nearly killed himself with a senton from the turnbuckle to the floor. And while Maligno and Pierrothito mainly stayed out of the way, Demus 3:16 stepped up and gave a good performance despite being in ring longer than usual. He not only looked devastating with his power move-set but he provided some Niebla/Fuego esq entertainment with a dance routine in the middle of the second fall. He was no Alex Wright, but then again who is? As long as he and the technicos deliver next week like they did tonight, he can be the poor man’s Alex as much as he wants.
Fuego, Stigma, Stuka Jr. defeated Fujin, Okumura, Raijin two falls to one
I think this match played a lot better in Puebla than it did for us watching at home, as both myself and Liger Fever were confused as to why money was being thrown in the ring. Not to say the match was bad; as I’ll tell you in a minute it was actually quite good. But good enough to throw cash in the ring for? Let’s cool the jets there folks. A situation to throw money into the ring is when Dragon Lee and Kamaitachi have just torn down the house or Atlantis has taken another mask, not for a really nice six man tag. That’s like giving an Oscar to Spotlight; it’s a nice film, but the trophy should really be going with Mad Max: Fury Road. Just ask Immortan Joe about it.
Again though, aside from a few sloppy spots and the fact that the match never hit the highest gear, this was a highly entertaining match and a very creative one too. We had numerous triple fall attempts from both teams (including one that worked in the first fall! That never happens!), a teased technico sweep in fall two before Okumura got a pin on Stuka to even things up, a whole lot of dives and a whole lot of Fuego taking the gloves off and turning into a technico version of Mr. Niebla and Dragon Rojo Jr. That man was wildly entertaining tonight, flying around the ring, chatting it up with the ring girl in between rounds and doing what has to be the worst, yet funniest dance I’ve ever seen. I thought he really picked up the slack, especially since Stigma, Fujin and Raijin seemed to be a more off than usual. Combine that with the usual Okumura consistency and a pretty fast paced performance from Stuka and this was easily the second best match of the evening. Well at least right now. There’s a certain match up next that may play a bit better in the future.
Mask vs. Mask Match
Black Tiger defeated Ares two falls to one
This match…hot damn what to make of this match. I honestly thought it started off great, with Ares quickly getting the first fall after a blitz attack and a suicide dive five seconds into the match. That’s the kind of excitement you want in a mask match to help create tension. Unfortunately after that things kind of melted away thanks to two problems. First was the match structure. As this went along, the fast paced start gave way to a serious of never ending, pace killing near falls, which would’ve been fine if anyone had bought them as being potential match enders. No one did, which slashed the momentum in half. The other problem was Tirantes. I have no idea what was up with him, but every time Tiger went for a pin that man was slower than Shocker. At first I thought it was because he was going to screw Tiger, which actually would’ve been a nice angle to build Tiger sympathy and also seemed to be the case as his counts were faster for Ares. Of course that wasn’t the case, as Tiger never complained about Tirantes’ slow counts and Tirantes eventually picked up the count during the latter stages. Why he couldn’t have done that in the first two falls is a mystery only Elliot Stabler could solve. And even then he’d probably just give up and start screaming at Tirantes to get the answers out of him.
Now judging from all of that, you’d think that this match was an unqualified disaster. In fact it was far from it, largely thanks to the two performers. Both men did everything they could to make this match work in between all the craziness. There was an excellent sequence of dives from both men during the third fall that looked to bring the match back in the right direction (before the near falls cropped up again) and once they were allowed to get into the big move section of the match things seemed to settle in nicely. The crowd certainly thought so too; unlike the Black Tiger-King Jaguar match from a few weeks ago they remained invested throughout the match and even threw money in the ring once it was over. Those two reasons right there may be enough to make one go back and re-evaluate this match later on and at worse you cannot deny that both men stepped up their game tonight and did their best to provide at least a near classic mask vs. mask match. Sadly the booking of the match (some of which the performers should take blame for) and a poor Tirantes performance conspired to hinder that. I especially feel bad for Ares. To have a big moment like losing your mask tarnished by outside forces has got to suck.
Cavernario, Felino, Mr. Niebla defeated Atlantis, Máscara Dorada, Mistico two falls to one
As expected Negro Casas was once again replaced by Mr. Niebla, and as expected it didn’t matter because this match was sublime. I’m not sure it reached its full potential, but it didn’t need to thanks to a) the rest of the card being more average to okay and b) the fact that they were clearly setting up something for next week (more on that in a second). There was absolutely nothing wrong with the match otherwise though, unless you’re someone who wishes Felino was given more to do. Atlantis and Mr. Niebla worked quite well together, at times even pushing the pace faster due to Atlantis being that good. Dorada mostly floated around as opposed to being given someone to work with (Felino was that absent from this match), but he flew around as much as possible and was his usual electric self. But the big sell of this match was Mistico and Cavernario going at it all throughout, one of the two wisest choices CMLL made all night. Throughout the first fall there they were going at it like the other had stolen their cat. They were the same throughout the second fall and once again in the third, which ended with Cavernario scoring a pin after a powerbomb and some feet on the ropes. The best news about that finish; it sets up a huge singles match between the two NEXT WEEK, with the potential for a mask vs. hair match between the two somewhere down the line. I think I speak for everyone when I say SIGN ME UP! The two men were electrifying with each other tonight; imagine what they’ll do with more time and less people to work with. Finally a Puebla main event that we can all get invested in!
NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship Match
Último Guerrero (c) defeated Shocker two falls to one
Here’s the good news; this match was better than I expected to be and the final fall of the match was actually quite compelling at times. The bad news; it was at best still average, at times looked like it was happening in slow motion and quickly lost the crowd, who seemed to realize they had made a terrible mistake going along with Shocker in demanding this match over the past few weeks. I have to give the veteran this much though; he tried his ass off and was doing moves that I frankly didn’t think he could in the final fall, hitting the best suicide dive of the night and even going up for a crossbody at one point. Still, you could tell Shocker could only give so much, which makes UG the true hero of this bout. He did absolutely everything he could to make this match as good as it could possibly be, starting off on the mat (the safest place for Shocker to be), slowly building up to the big spots, selling like crazy and delivering big moves of his own. It won’t go down as one of his best matches but I’d be hard pressed to find many performances that were better than UG’s was tonight. He worked his ass off and in the end was able to carry Shocker to some level of respectability. For that alone the match is worth watching, as well as the wonderful feeling you’ll get when you see UG get that roll up win at the end. He bloody deserved that victory, and hopefully CMLL rewards him mightily for forcing him into this situation and him making the best of it. Well done UG, well done.
That’s it gang. I’m off till tomorrow, where I’ll have a new 201 Non WWE Matches to See Before You Die entry and a review of the Tuesday CMLL show. Till then, a surprise meme!
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