CMLL Super Viernes Preview: Mexico y Americana
Well folks, here it is. The big one; the showstopper; the main event; THE ICON; THE HEARTBREAK OH MY GOD I’m turning into Shawn Michaels again. So sorry about that. As I was trying to say, we have almost arrived. Tomorrow night is one of CMLL’s biggest Friday shows of the year, featuring one of the most anticipated main events of the year as Sam Adonis goes against Blue Panther in a hair vs. hair match. As Wesley Snipes would say while shivering, SO EXCITING! That match alone would be enough to have most people excited for this show. Luckily CMLL has managed to put together an undercard that looks absolutely delightful. Every match before Adonis-Panther has hope (though one match has less so than others), two other matches have a shot to be excellent and our second match features the return of the micros, which should be an absolute treat. It’s a show to get excited for sports fans, which is why I’m here once again to break it all down for you. So let’s get to it; I’ve got a Masked, Mats and Mayhem podcast to listen to. Moses, stop typing angry messages about that Rovert dude on the wrestling forum’s and meme!
Drone, Fuego, Pegasso vs. Disturbio, Sagrado, Virus
What to Expect: The trend of CMLL trying to fix the opening match continues! I’d make the argument that this match may not be as good as you expected to be, but I did that with a Pegasso match last week and we wound up with the second best match of that Friday! I won’t make the same mistake here, especially since the rudo team is A plus and the technicos consist of a great pecking order. It won’t be the best, or most memorable, thing on this show by a long shot and I could see some people turning on this if the restrictions become too much. But other than that, expect a fairly solid opener. Hot damn, it feels good to say that again. Keep booking these good openers CMLL!
Winners: When in doubt, go with the rudos. Especially when Virus and Sagrado are involved. They take it in three falls after Virus lays out Fuego on the floor while Sagrado hits Pegasso with a One Winged Angel while Disturbio does…something to Drone. I’m not sure what it is, but it will be something.
Microman & El Gallito vs. Zacarias & Mije
What to Expect: The return of the micros! I knew CMLL was going to be breaking out another attraction for this show; I just never expected it to be Microman and the gang. Honestly though it’s a good decision. I’ve only caught two of these micro matches previously and I have heard they’ve gotten progressively less impressive as they’ve gone along, but the matches I saw were highly entertaining and everyone in them was trying hard. Considering how big of a show this will be, I have no doubt these four will trying their asses off to make this work and, at worst, this will be very, VERY entertaining. Honestly, I think the only problem may be that CMLL put them this low on the card and right before what will be one of the two best matches of the night. Then again, there’s a 50% chance I’ll look like an idiot for saying that as Microman runs wild on Zacarias tomorrow as Arena Mexico loses its collective marbles for the first of five occasions.
Winners: I believe the technicos always come out on top in these matches (with maybe one exception) and I see no reason for CMLL to go differently here. The technicos win in three falls, with Microman sealing the deal with a pin over poor Mije.
Rey Cometa, Soberano Jr., The Panther vs. El Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
What to Expect: Last week, CMLL put together one of the best trios matches of the year by having Soberano Jr., Titán and Drone give the New Age Dinamitas their all in a losing effort. So what did CMLL decide to do for an encore? Why they brought Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón and Soberano back for this week and gave Soberano two partners that are just as good, if not better, than the ones that had last week. I know; CMLL making a wise decision two consecutive weeks? What is this sorcery? WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!
But any who, this match should be absolutely off the chain. Many are saying Cuatrero, Sansón and Forastero are the best trio in Mexico and I can’t say that’s a bad take; the three are so creative, so innovative and so smooth with almost everything that it’s hard not to get sucked in whenever they’re in the ring. And luckily they’ll be in there once more with a great technicos team, including the one technico (Soberano) who seems to be the perfect foil for them. I expect those four, Cometa and Panther will tear the house down here, perhaps even going crazier than they did last week with Drone and Titán in the mix. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there is something more going on with Soberano and one of the Dinamitas here. It’s not just that Soberano was in the match last week and returned this week; he’s also been wrestling Sansón pretty regularly in big matches ever since April. The Anniversary Show is around the corner, another Apuesta match is needed for the big show and Niebla Roja and Gran Guerrero appears to be the only solid thing that could happen there (and even then that match could be in line for the Gran Prix). I’m not saying something’s in the works, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if this is leading to Soberano taking on any of the three New Age Dinamitas in an Apuesta match. Hell I wouldn’t complain if this is leading to Soberano putting together a team to take on the Dinamitas. I JUST WANT MORE SOBERANO-DINAMITAS DAMMIT!
Winners: Whichever way this Soberano-Dinamitas thing is (or isn’t) going, the new Mexican National Trios Champs shouldn’t be losing for the time being. So while it does hurt me a little to go against Soberano, I say the rudos take this one in three falls, with Forastero nailing that awesome springboard dropkick of his on Cometa.
Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Marco Corleone vs. Hechicero, Pierroth, Rush
What to Expect: My runaway pick for the worst match of the show, and honestly I don’t see it being that bad. Pierroth and Rush (who I’m not going to be sold on again till he shows a pulse) are the only dead weight dudes in this match, with everyone else ranging from decent (Diamante) to good (Marco), really good (Oro) and out of this world good (Hechicero). That won’t entirely matter because Rush and Pierroth will turn this into a brawl five seconds in, but the last few matches involving those two have evolved out of that and become somewhat captivating along the way. Considering who else is in this match, I expect the same here, unless CMLL inexplicably decides to have Rush/Pierroth feud with Diamante, thus sending us all running for the hills.
Winners: I’d say we’re getting a clean finish here, but this is Rush and Pierroth we’re talking about. So instead I’ll say they unmask Diamante Azul to DQ themselves in fall three, followed by me rolling my eyes and wondering what the fuck happened to Rush. Seriously Konnan; take this man away from CMLL and get him motivated again.
Carístico, Niebla Roja, Volador Jr. vs. Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
What to Expect: I was kind of hoping CMLL would put this Roja/Guerreros story on the backburner this week so not to take away focus from the main event. Then I saw that Rush and Pierroth would be slacking off in the preceding match and I realized we should just take all the good stuff we can. And thankfully this should be very, very good, even if it’s just something to set up further Roja-Gran Guerrero issues. Carístico and Volador will both be on their A game (it’s a big show after all), you can never go wrong with Big Euf and the UG in trios action is the UG in trios action. In other words, he’s excellent. I don’t know if this match will get the time to be considering the feuding that’s going on, but seeing as it’s a big show and the obvious DQ match is the preceding one, perhaps CMLL will step back, let these guys go nuts and we’ll get an awesome segue into the main event.
Winners: Roja won clean last week, so this week I’ll say the rudos return the favor and pull one out. Gran Guerrero pins Roja in fall three with the Death Valley Driver into the turnbuckle to seal this one for the rudos. And with that, we’re onto the big one!
Hair vs. Hair Match
Blue Panther vs. Sam Adonis
What to Expect: Ladies and gentlemen I have seen UG/Valiente vs. Volador/Cavernario, I have witnessed Carístico/Soberano vs. UG/Sansón, Volador/UG and Cavernario/Volador as they happened; hell I’ve even seen a grown man satisfy a camel (just kidding. Or am I?). But for my money, this match right here is the biggest match CMLL has done in 2017, both because it’s an Apuesta match (which automatically means bigger stakes than the other bouts) and because it features the most over rudo Arena Mexico has seen since Rush gave a damn (man, I’m really going into Rush on this one!). There’s also the fact that this feud is somewhat of a callback to Blue Panther’s legendary battles with Love Machine from the 1990’s, but we’ve covered that enough already this week. Whatever way you slice it, this match is a big deal, the build up for it has been a big hit; everything about this feud has been a huge success. How do I know? Because I’ve been on the edge of my seat all week waiting for this one. I cannot wait for this match, and one way or the other I’m willing to bet it will be one of the most emotional heated bouts of all 2017. In fact, here’s a live look at what Arena Mexico will probably be like.
But while there’s little doubt the crowd will be going nuts for this match, an outsider could be forgiven for wondering how good this match will be? I hear your concerns sports fans. Sam Adonis may one of the most charismatic guys in wrestling today and he’s the main reason this match is such a big deal, but he’s also never had a singles match of this magnitude before; how do we know he’ll be good?! And yeah, Blue Panther is a legend, but he’s also a month away from turning 57. Rest assured friends, these are things you need not worry about. Even in old age, Blue Panther remains as excellent a ring general as they come, a man who can expertly play to the crowd and someone who can still brawl and dive when called upon. I have the upmost confidence he can put together a classic match here and I have even more confidence that Sam will be able to hold up his end. Why? Because not only have I seen enough from Sam in Arena Mexico to suggest he has the chops, but I’ve seen what he’s done outside of Arena Mexico. And let me tell you; he hasn’t shown us NEARLY as much as he’s capable of. So while I won’t guarantee a great match because, let’s face it, there are no guarantees in wrestling, I expect this match will absolutely tear the house down with great storytelling, great callbacks to the Love Machine feud, high drama and off the charts emotion. Between this and all my columns this week, I don’t know what more to say to sell you on this match except this; if you love wrestling, then be in front of you computer screen between 11-11:30 p.m. EST tomorrow night. You won’t regret it.
Winner: And now for one of the toughest predictions I’ve ever made. A week ago, I would’ve said Blue Panther was winning for two reasons. One, it has been a long enough time (though not long enough in my view) that CMLL could finally blow off Sam’s Trump angle by having Panther beat him and two, I honestly thought that Sam (who has absolutely killed it since arriving to Arena Mexico last year) would be on the way out and onto bigger and better things with a certain promotion up North. But then Panther beat Sam cleanly in trios action last week and Sam now appears to be set to stay in CMLL for quite awhile. Combine that with the fact that this angle has more legs and I’m going to make a bold prediction; Sam Adonis, in the biggest match of his life, will beat Blue Panther and take his hair. I also have another prediction. After Sam wins, he’ll have a confrontation with whoever is Panther’s second for this match, starting the build up for what will end up being the Anniversary Show main event. You may scoff at this; surely it’ll be one of Panther’s sons in his corner, no? As it turns out, only The Panther is booked for this show, he’s booked much earlier than this match and Sam’s participation in the Gran Prix suggests CMLL will put someone from that match (Volador alert! VOLADOR ALERT!) in Blue Panther’s corner. I say they do that, I say Sam wins and I say that victory leads to a post match angle that builds towards Sam’s appearance in the Gran Prix and then a winner take all match at the Anniversary Show, where Sam could finally be toppled. You heard it here first folks. Now let’s all patiently wait for me to be wrong.
That’ll do it sports fans. In the words of Jack Buck, I’ll see you tomorrow night. Till then, THIS!
