CMLL Sin Piedad 2018 Review
It’s a new year, yes it is! And you know what that means; it’s time for me to get my lazy ass off the couch and actually start writing consistently again, no matter how terrible the CMLL Monday and Tuesday shows turn out to be. I figured there was no better time to start than tonight, as CMLL was putting on their annual Sin Piedad show headlined by Negro Casas vs. Sam Adonis. Surely a show with that match has to be great, right? I was starting to wonder throughout the first five matches, before Casas and Adonis reminded us why CMLL, as weird as they are, can be so great when they get things right. And with that, let’s just get right to it. Trust me; you’ll be thanking me after you’ve read about the sludge that was matches 1-5. Moses, break time is over!
Eléctrico & Último Dragóncito defeated Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico two falls to one
With the exception of Mercurio thinking he was in a Dragon Ball Z episode every now and then, this match can be summed up by my favorite scene from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. You know the one.
My Grodd did this suck. Leave it to CMLL to kick off the New Year with a minis match featuring two guys who have given up, Eléctrico on his off day and whatever the fuck Último Dragóncito is supposed to be at this point. It’s so worthless that there’s really nothing to tell about it; the four guys wrestled for ten minutes or so, did absolutely nothing of note and then left. And with that we’re moving on to something with a pulse. Or so we thought!
Oro Jr., Star Jr., Starman defeated Cancerbero, Hijo del Signo, Raziel two falls to one
I’ll give this match this much; it was better than the opener, if only because Oro Jr. got to do a few things and Raziel broke out a pretty cool submission. Beyond that this was a slog, weighed down CMLL deciding that a match featuring Oro Jr., Star Jr., Cancerbero and Raziel (four good luchadors) needed a large dose of Starman and Hijo del Signo. You know; the two worst luchadors in this match. Only in Paco Alonso’s wild ride sports fans! The only good thing to come from anything they did was a Starman suicide dive, which was followed by mask tears, low blows, unmaskings and a whole lot of shitty lucha libre that no one should’ve been subjected to. Seriously, was the two minutes of suck these two had in a cage match not enough suffering for us all? A putrid affair so irritating that I’m pretty sure the human form of this match would be Bevers from Broad City
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Blue Panther Jr., Pegasso, The Panther defeated Nitro, Sagrado, Virus two falls to one
Once again, there was improvement over the past match. And once again, saying that is like saying I Know What You Did Last Summer was better than I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Does it really make that big a difference when both suck so badly? Much like the first match there just appeared to be minimal effort from everyone here, aside from Junior and (gasp) Nitro. You know you’re in for a rough match when Nitro is the rudo working the hardest. Considering how good Panther, Sagrado and Virus are usually, it was very disappointing to sit back and watch them go through the motions, leading to a boring fifteen minutes or so interrupted only by Junior letting go of Virus too soon on his Nudo Lagunero attempt, Junior somehow hitting a perfect backbreaker on Nitro (I would’ve bet my Batman bobblehead that sequence would’ve sent both men to the hospital) and a nice dive sequence at the end. That was enough to make this mediocre. Considering what it could’ve been if everyone was trying however, that’s nothing to sing praises for.
Mr. Niebla, Shocker, Vangellys defeated Drone, Esfinge, Titán two falls to one
Who in a million years would’ve guessed this would be the match that woke this show up? If we’re being honest, it only barely did that too; there’s only so much Shocker and Vangellys on offense I can watch before declaring its turned the match into Devil May Cry 2. Even if it was just okay though, okay was more acceptable given what we had before, as the crowd got into the action and both Titán and Mr. Niebla looked really good. Am I the only one who’s noticed that Niebla has looked great in his last few outings? He was the MVP of the Leyenda de Azul cibernetico two weeks ago, was impressive this past Friday with his through the turnbuckle suicide dive and did a fine job here carrying the action both from an entertainment standpoint and a wrestling standpoint. It’s like he’s a whole new Niebla! I don’t know what’s gotten into him but I hope it keeps up because he’s been fun to watch. If only his partners had been as fun to watch here. Alas they weren’t, and this match ended up being okay instead of good.
Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente defeated El Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón two falls to one
Just when it looked like CMLL had finally turned a corner and given us a good match on this show, the match suddenly just ended. I’m not even kidding; Valiente had just hit a dive and the Dinamitas were coming off a great triple team sequence that re-energized the match, only for it to be all for naught when Ángel de Oro and Niebla Garza…I mean Roja tapped out Sansón and Forastero for the sudden win. It’s the equivalent of James Cameron deciding to end Titanic right before the ship hits the iceberg. Of course this match is to Titanic what Soulja Boi is to hip hop music but hey, that’s the best comparison I could come up with. I blame it on the long layoff. Oh, and the lack of pizza Pringles in my life. WHY DID I HAVE TO EAT THE WHOLE CAN?!
See, this is what we’ve come to; I’m talking about eating pizza Pringles when I should be reviewing lucha! That’s the problem when you have a semi-main event that ends when the going is getting good. Even worse is that it took awhile to get good; Ángel de Oro and Niebla Roja have proven to be decent opponents for the Dinamitas, but they aren’t the most exciting luchadors on the roster and being paired with Valiente (another good but not really exciting luchador) didn’t give them the jolt they needed. Those three got all the offense to start the match, which meant it was a serviceable yet dull eight minutes of technico offense before the Dinamitas took control and added some spark…which again lasted long enough for the match to abruptly end and me to reference the abrupt ending fifteen million times. Memo to CMLL; if you’re going to hold shows on major holidays, actually find luchadors that are willing to go all out on said shows. All six of these men did try, but the fact that the match ended early shows they weren’t willing to go the extra mile, putting them right there with everyone else on this card. And if that doesn’t make it clear how I felt about the match, let me leave you with three more words; this was a disappointment. Fuck, I meant four words! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME SHOW?!
Hair vs. Hair Match
Negro Casas defeated Sam Adonis two falls to one
You may have noticed from reading the rest of the review; this show, matches one through five, wasn’t very good. It was so dull that, on a normal night, I would’ve stopped writing and gone off to do something else. All I can say is thank Grodd this wasn’t a normal night, for I otherwise would’ve missed the best match of 2018 (to this point)! If you had any doubts about how great Negro Casas still is or how talented Sam Adonis is as an overall performer than they should’ve been erased tonight. The story of the match was that Casas, defender of Mexico, was just a little too old and a little too slow for the evil Adonis, who dominated most of the match after a quick offensive flurry from Casas in fall one. And by dominate I mean he hit Casas with everything but the kitchenware from the Arena Mexico restaurant, including a 450 splash that was right out of the pages of some of the greatest science fiction films ever. Oh yes, you read that right; Sam Adonis, all 6’4, 250 lbs of him, hit a perfect 450 splash on Negro Casas. It’s a move Sam has in his arsenal from his days working in Europe, but seeing as he hadn’t broken it out during his CMLL stay, I (and whoever else knew he could do the move, which appears to be very few people) figured he had retired it. Turns out he was saving it for the right moment, and boy oh boy did he pick the right one. If this doesn’t end up being remembered as the dive of 2018 then I can only imagine it’s because Angelico will at some point do a 450 splash off the Lucha Underground Temple roof. Otherwise nothing is coming close.
Here’s the thing though; the 450 will be remembered (and rightfully so) as the moment of this match, but to say that’s what made this whole affair great would be a giant mistake. What truly made the match something to behold is the thing both Sam and Casas aim for every time they go out there; telling a great story. And they did, thanks in a large part to the effective buildup going into the match and the red hot Arena Mexico throughout this match. Dead most of the night, the crowd was invested in everything Sam and Casas did, from the 450 to every Mafia Kick to Casas’ brief offensive flurries in between Sam’s offensive onslaught. It’s a tribute to how well Sam has portrayed his character and how unbelievable the legendary Casas is at the little things that they sucked us all in and then stunned us all with Casas pulling out the victory with La Casita. I’d argue that was even more unexpected than the 450; did anyone really think Sam was going to lose? Whether it was the right call or not can be debated; I personally would’ve pushed for a younger guy to take Sam’s hair, a) there’s no guarantee CMLL would’ve picked the right guy (or gone about it the right way) and b) Casas is a legend who can make any luchador he faces a star in a hair match down the road himself, with this win only adding to the aura. Regardless, that’s something to discuss later on. For now, all you need to know is that this match was absolutely brilliant, a ton of fun and worth slogging through five dull matches to see. Long live Sam Adonis vs. Negro Casas, the best match of 2018! Wrestle Kingdom 12, you are on the clock!
That’ll do it sports fans. I’m off to play some hockey on my Playstation 4, but I’ll be back tomorrow to review the Tuesday show. Tritón vs. Panther yo! Till then, THIS!
