I’ll preface this by saying I think this show was one of the best tuesday shows in a while. All three trios matches were good and the title match main event might be one of the best title defenses of the year. With Angel de Oro and Rey Bucanero performing above the expected standard. If you can watch the whole show, but for sure check out the last trios match and main event title match.

Negro Casas, Mr. Niebla, and El Felino vs Stuka Jr, Valiente and Mistico

Who’s who?

Negro Casas has no mask and is wearing black wrestling briefs, Felino too has no mask and wears a cat tail and blue pants, while their 3rd Mr. Niebla is wearing orange/black pants and mask. 

Stuka Jr. is decked out in blue with a matching mask that has a white scalp, he is teamed with Mistico in all white and Valiente who is wearing pink.  

How’s the match?

Fantastic, the epitome of trios action in CMLL. 6 Luchadores who are good at Lucha Libre all throwing down in a CMLL ring. It’s one of the best trios matches in recent memory with the teams meshed fantastically. All it was missing was Dragon Lee to continue his feud with Negro Casas. Perhaps we will get a Casas vs  Muñoz González Family feud down the line?

Angel de Oro (c) vs Rey Bucanero, CMLL Middleweight Championship match highlights

Who’s who?

Angel de Oro is in gold as his name would imply while Rey has no mask instead having face paint and wearing black. 

How’s the match?

Great! A fantastic title match that made both men look better once the finish happened. Rey Bucanero’s double tap of Senton dives on Angel was great and Angel de Oro upstaged Caristico’s similar tecnico singles performance from the previous night. This is Angel de Oro’s first defense since winning the belt off Dragon Rojo Jr. about 5 months ago. Hopefully they are all this action packed!

This week featured Block A of the Universal Tournament, which is all I covered from this week's show. This show had more singles matches than CMLL has in a normal week of broadcasted shows. 

The undercard had some decent talent on it as well, Blue Panther, The Panther, and the continuation of the Vangellys/Pierroth feud which will have a hair vs hair match in a few weeks.  

Seeding Battle Royal Featuring : Negro Casas, Dragon Lee, Valiente, Angel de Oro, Volador Jr., Luciferno, Shocker and Hechicero.

Who’s Who?

Negro Casas is in black trunks and boots and is maskless, Volador Jr is in red trunks and also maskless, Shocker also has no mask and is wearing wrestling headgear and a black singlet, Valiente is in a green mask/tights, Luciferno has a devil's mask and his name on his shirt, Angel de Oro has black mask/pants with golden wings on both, Dragon Lee  is in a half black/white mask/trunks and boots, while last we have Hechicero in a brown/black attire and mask with 2 straps over his chest/back and an stylised H on his belt.

How was the match?

Sometimes how these seeding battle royals work can be a little confusing. I assume Gran Alternativa worked similarly, but this one is pretty easy to understand. The first two tossed out go toe to toe, then the next two, then the next two with the last two being the last match of the first round. 

This is fine, but honestly it’s just a brief affair with 2 of these men having 3 more matches in the night. There really isn’t a reason to make this long. 

Valiente(CMLL Trios Champion) vs Shocker(CMLL Tag Champion)

Who’s Who?

Valiente is in green trunks and a mask while Shocker is in a black singlet and wrestling headgear.

How was the match?

Good, though probably one of the more forgettable singles matches from the night. Valiente and Shocker trade some light lock-up/armdrag based offense before it ends abruptly with some rudo tactics from Shocker who put his foot on the ropes for the 3 count. This isn’t too surprising as Valiente won the last Universal Tournament in December, so his early elimination is expected unless they were going to make him go to the finals or witn 2 years in a row.

Hechicero( NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Champion) vs Volador Jr.(NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion/CMLL Trios Champion)

Who’s who?

We have Volador Jr in the red trunks/knee pads and no mask vs Hechicero in a brown/black attire and mask with 2 straps over his chest/back and an stylised H on his belt.

How’s the match?

Probably the standout match from thes first round fights. Despite botching on Atlantis a week or two ago Hechicero is always pretty smooth and worked great with Volador. The two knowing what to do and when to do it, hopefully we will see these two clash again 1 on 1. This felt like a war neither man wanted to lose, rather than a match that has been decided. Volador Jr. ends the match with an off the top rope Rana.

Negro Casas(CMLL Tag Team Champion) vs Angel de Oro(CMLL World Middleweight Champion)

Who’s who? 

Angel de Oro is in the black mask and pants that both have gold wings on them, while Negro is wearing black trunks and has no mask. 

How’s the match?

Good, the two quickly start going to war with an urgency that’s a trademark of Negro Casas whenever he fights. The 57 year old rudo hits a seated senton to the outside on Angel that’s a really fun spot that I think he uses a few times throughout the night. Angel de Oro didn’t get in a ton of offense, but he did get to do his trapped in the ropes superkick signature combo. It ends with the La Magistral pin by Negro Casas to eliminate Angel from the tournament.

Dragon Lee(CMLL Lightweight Champion) vs Luciferno(Mexican National Trios Champion)

Who’s who? 

Dragon Lee is in a black and white attire/mask, while Luciferno has a devil's mask and has a shirt on that has his name on the front.  

How’s the match?

Good, but it feels like a foregone conclusion. No offense to Luciferno who is a champion, but he is like the 3rd tier tag/trios champion and not even the leader of the group he is associated with. Still, he puts up a good fight vs Lee who main evented and won at the last CMLL anniversary show. One of the big moves from this match was the senton off the apron from Luciferno and onto Dragon Lee. The match concluded with Dragon Lee’s finish a double boot stomp onto a hanging in tree of woe positioned opponent. 

Shocker(CMLL Tag Team Champion) vs Volador Jr.(NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion/CMLL Trios Champion)

Who’s who?

Shocker is in a black singlet and is wearing wrestling headgear, while Volador is a bit younger wearing red trunks and knee pads and has long black hair. 

How’s the match?

One of the few weak matches from the night, the other probably being the other Shocker match. I’m sure he has his fans, but I’m not really one of them. It’s a little disappointing he got a second round match, when it seems both Hechicero or Luciferno would have done a better job at not being gassed so much in round two. Shocker is taken out by a Superkick and Backstabber combo.

Negro Casas(CMLL Tag Team Champion) vs Dragon Lee(CMLL Lightweight Champion)

Who’s who?

Negro Casas is the maskless older guy in black trunks with long hair while Dragon Lee is the younger masked man in white/black.

How’s the match?

Great! I’ve yet to watch a match from either of these talents that’s disappointed, so when you get both vs one another you know a good to great match is coming your way. I think this match could easily fit on a best of for either man. They should be proud of this match as they both shine through the intense back and forth bout. Negro Casas ended up with the win thanks again to the La Magistral pin, a maneuver him and various other old school talents have perfected. It’s famously a finish Dr. Wagner Jr. has used as well for years.

Negro Casas(CMLL Tag Team Champion) vs Volador Jr.(NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion/CMLL Trios Champion) in the semi-finals match to face winner of Block B

Who’s who?

Negro Casas is maskless in black vs Volador Jr. also maskless, but in red. 

How’s the match?

FANTASTIC! If you’ve read my blog lately or saw my thoughts on Gran Alternativa, you’ll know that I think tournaments over 1 night are a bad idea. The reason being that by the 3rd/4th match that is the final neither man normally can compete at the same level they did earlier in the night. Volador Jr and Negro Casas throw that notion in the mud with this excellent match both men had. 

Another great addition is the La Magistral pin not working on Volador Jr. The ace in Negro Casas’ sleeve. Negro Casas also took bumps many in the IWC say is a dump spot. The 57 year old man was sunset flipped off the apron and onto the floor... A 57 year old man! It’s incredible what Negro Casas can still do at his age. I’m not entirely convinced that he doesn’t have a fountain of youth stashed away somewhere in Arena Mexico.Volador Jr. wins with a Volador Spiral and will take on the winner of next week’s Block B.

Highlights from Block A of the Universal Tournament :