#cuatrero

Seeing how a working relationship may soon start with AAA x WWE, and AAA employs many of his family members, and members of the AAA roster have also been pro Cuatrero and not only that Dragon Lee (Rush's brother) works in WWE.

Stephanie didn't sign to AEW because of Rush at all, now im not defending what Rush or any other of these dumb motherfucks said because obviously fuck Cuatrero, but it's a non-factor in all of this.

Fantastica Mania 22/01/2018

(You can find full sized gifs at @NJPWgifs on twitter or ask me for them.)

Part 4: Cuatrero, Sansón, Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Bárbaro Cavernario, Gedo.

( Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 )

Dalys, Amapola & Reyna Isis vs. Jarochita, Avispa Dorada & Kaho Kobayashi

Who’s who?

Dalys in 2 piece muscular, Amapola in black with a pink sash and Isis in blue. 

Jarochita in dark green masked, Avispa in black/yellow and Kaho in shorts maskless, unlike her two partners.

How’s the match?

Very good, CMLL continues to keep building towards a Kaho/Amapola singles match. This is feels like the best trios effort we have gotten from the luchadoras in recent memory. It’s not the great singles match we got between Metalica/Marcela on Monday, but a good showing from all 6 women. It’s nice to see a luchadora trios in CMLL that isn’t including Seductora or Comandante, who for whatever reason have been in them recently.

Mephisto vs. Soberano Jr. lightning match

Who’s who?

Mephisto in demon mask & Soberano Jr. in black.

How’s the match?

Great, Soberano Jr. is one of my favorite tecnicos on the roster and he did a great job here vs. Mephisto. This match also saw the incredibly rare blood in CMLL, when Soberano Jr. busted open in his mouth. Spitting up some blood, Soberano Jr. continued and finished the match before celebrating post match with some young fans. A real star in the making that over the last few years has become a name worth knowing. 

The Crash(Mecha Wolf & Adam Brookes) vs. CMLL(Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja)

Who’s who?

Mecha in black pants, long hair and Adam blonde in red.

Roja in red & Oro in gold. 

How’s the match?

Great, this tag match is better than the one that we got at Homage to 2 Legends. Granted, H2L being so underwhelming was in great part due to the injury late in the match. This was a great showing for the 1st time The Crash was repped in Arena Mexico. If the working relationship between CMLL and The Crash leads to more matches like this in the middle of Super Friday, I hope this continues for a long while. Really good fun here and made all four men look like stars. A great thing for both Adam and Wolf who made their CMLL debut here. 

Mascara Ano 200 & NGD(Sanson & Cuatrero) vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros(Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero & Euforia)

Who’s who?

Ano 2000 maskless, Sanson in white pants & Cuatrero in black.

Ultimo maskless, Gran Guerrero in shorts masked and Euforia in pants masked.

How’s the match?

Very Good, I think NGD came out looking a little better on Tuesday. The prevailing idea is that Ultimo/2000 will have a hair match from this. Who knows if that will really go down, but it makes sense. In his 60′s 2000 only has so many hair matches left so it makes sense if one is kicking off the build here. This was a fun match, but not as fun as NGD on Tuesday. 

Ingobernables(Rush, Terrible & Bestia del Ring) vs. Volador Jr., Caristico & Valiente

Who’s who?

Rush with long hair, Terrible bald as is Bestia, who like Rush is in Western boots.

Volador Jr. in red/white, Caristico in all white masked & Valiente in dark blue.

How’s the match?

Good, but of all these matches I reviewed(can’t speak for the opener) it’s the most by the numbers and for the most part underwhelming. With Rush focused on RoH this year it’s left ingobernables feeling a bit deflated. He comes back for matches like this, but it’s not really going to bolster ingobernables back up. It might make sense to add a fourth member, but who knows if that will happen?

Highlights :

If you are unaware what the Universal Championship Tournament is, it’s an annual tournament since 2009(except 2018 for whatever reason) where all the champions of CMLL fight in 2 blocks of 1 fall single elimination matches. 

8 people in each of the 2 blocks. 

7 matches in each of the 2 blocks which lead to 1 finalist for each block.

Those 2 finals meeting in a 2/3 falls finals.

Block A(pictured below) will be on the 1st.

Block B(remaining 8 men announced/shown in the 2nd picture) on the 8th.

Final 2/3 falls match to Crown the 2019 Universal Champion on the 15th. 

Here is the poster for Block 1 which will include the 8 talents listed on the far left and right. CMLL normally do a seeding battle royal to randomize the seed for the tournament. First 2 thrown out are round 1, then 3rd/4th thrown out, then 5th/6th with the 2 survivors being the final 1st round of that block. 

I’m going to go over each talent and give a brief explanation of their belt/history/chance, going left to right in the picture above. Dragon Lee is last as he isn’t photographed here, but is expected to be in the tournament/is already announced to be in Block A

Everyone will have an (A) or (B) next to their name with the A being 1st, B being on the 8th and the Finals between those two block finalists facing each other on the 15th in a 2/3 falls finals.

Diamante Azul(B)

Current belt :  CMLL World Tag Team Championship(along with Valiente who is pictured closer to the middle), they captured the titles at a Sunday Arena Mexico(November 29th 2018) show from ingobernables Rush & Terrible. Azul/Valiente only have 1 defense which was recent, at the 01/29/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara show, just 3 days before the 1st block of this tournament.

74 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Diamante Azul has been fairly strong recently. In 2017 he headlined and won at Homage to 2 Legends. Unmasking Rush/Dragon Lee/Mistico’s father Bestia del Ring who at the time was going by Pierroth... not the famous Pierroth Jr. from the 1980′s/1990′s who is most associated with that name. The match wasn’t great, but a mask is a mask and headlining H2L is a big deal as that’s their 2nd big event behind CMLL Anniversary. 

Homage to 2 Legends always in March and CMLL Anniversary always in September(Will reference these a lot)

In Fall of 2017 Diamante Azul would also be the man to win Gran Prix for Team Mexico. In 2018′s he was a big roadblock for eventual winner Michael Elgin who Azul in 2017, last pinned to win the match.

Most recently he is in a tag team with Valiente and they have the top tag team belt in the company. The Coliseo Tag Championship which are the B belts, weren’t included in this tournament of champions(Triton/Esfinge).

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Mid, has never won this tournament so he has a decent chance of making it to the finals. Still, out of all the choices for finalists he is one of the least exciting ones for me. 

Valiente is in Block A(February 1st) while Azul is in Block B(February 8th), so we could get a tag team finals, I’d hope not because Azul/Valiente haven’t really earned a who’s the better man? Team finals which we got in 2016′s Universal Finals with Valiente/Volador Jr. 

Soberano Jr.(B)

Current belt :  Mexican National Welterweight Championship, captured on the May 12th, 2017, Super Friday from Rey Cometa. Has successfully defended it 5 times since then vs. Barbaro Cavernario, Sanson, Magia Blanca, And Titan in all 3 main places CMLL operate : Mexico City, Puebla & Guadalajara. One of those defences being in  Korakuen Hall during 2018′s Fantastica Mania.

629 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Winning the  Mexican National Welterweight Championship was part of the strong 2017 push both Soberano Jr. & Sanson had. Both being in the finals of La Copa Jr. & Gran Alternative, both of which Soberano Jr. won helping elevate him into a serious threat. Soberano Jr. doesn’t have any rivals set in stone, but did have an off again/on again rivalry with both Sanson and Barbaro Cavernario.

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : High in both regards, because Soberano Jr. is on a upswing momentum wise. He is arguably the best champion at the moment. His title defenses have been a highlight of CMLL since I started this blog. I’d bet money on Soberano Jr., but he isn’t the only strong champion in CMLL as of late. 

Niebla Roja(B) 

Current belt :  CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship, captured on a non televised Saturday show in the Coliseo Mexico City arena. It was a 10 man elimination match to crown the vacant championship to someone after previous champion La Mascara was fired for vandalising Ultimo Guerreros car. 

600 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Niebla Roja lost his mask to Gran Guerrero in the main event of CMLL 84th Anniversary of 2017. Which happened after he refused to take orders to beat down his brother Angel de Oro, effectively turning tecnico/face in the process and leaving his rudo/heel stable Los Guerreros Laguneros(which Ultimo is the leader of and Gran is a part of)

Since losing his mask, Niebla Roja has won Furia Roja & Rey Bucanero hairs in hair vs. hair matches. His brother(Angel de Oro) lost his mask in Spring of 2018 at Homage to 2 Legends, since then the two have been seen more often teaming together, but before hand hadn’t been strangers either. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Low/mid, Niebla Roja seems popular and can be strong. He just isn’t as hyped as many of the young rudos/heels. Still he has never won it, so giving him this accolade wouldn’t put him far above anyone else. Most likely pairing for him would seemingly be Gran Guerrero who is in Block A(1st) to him in Block B(8th)

Volador Jr.(B) 

Current belt : NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship, captured on August 3rd, 2018, Super Friday which was also Negro Casas’ 40th Anniversary Show. Defeating Matt Taven who has won it from Volador Jr. a few months earlier on March 30th, 2018. So really Matt Taven was a stopgap for Volador Jr. holding this belt too long in 1 reign having amassed 1,337 days in his 2nd reign with this title, his first being 199 days(His current/3rd reign will surpass this by tournaments end). So far Volador Jr. has only defended his belt once(this reign) vs. Barbaro Cavernario on October 8th, 2018′s Arena Puebla Show.

181 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Guys like Volador Jr. are why I put a recent caveat on this category. Being in CMLL since 2001, Volador Jr. has done nearly everything a luchador can do in CMLL. Recently he’s won the last Universal Championship Tournament back in 2017, 2017′s Leyenda de Plata, 2017′s Incredible Pairs teaming with rudo/heel Barbaro Cavernario, 2018/2016′s Torneo Gran Alternativa, 2016′s(the year it was revived) Gran Prix, 2015/2016′s Homage to 2 Legends Main Events and with Mistico/Valiente had the longest CMLL Trios Title Reign in that belt’s history 1,234 days.

These are just his most recent accolades and gives you a scope of how big he has been in CMLL recently. Of course before all this he lost his mask to La Sombra in the feud of 2013 which culminated in the CMLL 80th Anniversary Main Event. While more recently in 2017 his feud with Caristico was one of the biggest stories of that year. 

Volador Jr.’s most recent story is about losing his belt to Taven, winning it back and oddly enough teaming with Taven at CMLL 85th Anniversary. Where both lost their hair vs. hair tag team match to Rush/Barbaro.The most humiliating defeat for Volador Jr... since losing his belt to Taven for the summer.

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Good/Very good, while it’s true Volador Jr. has won this tournament once and him winning would boost him to 2 to be the only other man on Ultimo Guerrero’s level. Volador Jr. is basically the ace of CMLL. So him doing that can’t be ruled out. Most obvious final for Volador would be Caristico, since Volador/Ultimo are in Block B and can’t both go to the finals. Barbaro Cavernario who shave Volador Jr. a few months back would be a good Final for Volador Jr. as well.

Caristico(A)

Current belt :  NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship, captured on August 21st, 2018 on a Guadalajara Show. Defeating career rival Ultimo Guerrero ending his 1,086 day reign.

163 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades : As mentioned just above one of 2017′s big rivalries for CMLL was Caristico vs. Volador Jr. : The two met in Leyenda de Plata’s finals, Caristico challenged for Volador Jr.’s NWA WH Welterweight belt and One match even being the last main event of 2017 for CMLL.

Caristico’s only real accolade since coming back other than his current belt is winning 2017′s Gran Alternative with Soberano Jr. those two last meeting Ultimo Guerrero/Sanson in the finals.

/stories :

A story going on with Caristico since his return to CMLL in 2015 is... having no friends or allies. Caristico of course was one of the hottest guys in lucha and really more broadly wrestling history with his 1st run in CMLL(2004-2011) before he’d go on to be Sin Cara in WWE for a few years then as Myzteziz in AAA before coming back to CMLL, after those two pretty poor runs. 

Well Volador Jr. hates him because he left, Mistico(II) hates him because he sorta lives in Caristico’s shadow, with Mistico(II)’s hate comes the hate of his brother Dragon Lee. So that’s like 3 of the big tecnico roster members who he could normally count on as allies, that don’t like him at all. 

This came to a head on April 2nd, 2018 when despite being tecnico he teamed with Gran/Ultimo Guerrero to challenge for the CMLL Trios Champions Mistico/Volador Jr./Valiente were holding.

So Caristico is a good guy/tecnico/face atm, but him having no allies might eventually see him seek asylum or at some point start a tecnico faction so someone will have his back. 2017/2018 seemed like years CMLL was finally letting Caristico get out of his leaving for WWE doghouse. This win would be proof positive that Caristico is finally in CMLL’s good graces again.

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Very Good, Caristico has never won this event as it debut in 2009(he left in 2011). So he wasn’t around for half of them. This seems like an accolade Caristico will accomplish in his career, but at 36 and not showing much signs of age... it’s not like it’s now or never. Most likely final for him seems to be Volador Jr.

Stuka Jr.(A) 

Current belt : NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship, captured August 14th, 2018. He defeated Hechicero ending his 650 day reign. This is the 1st singles title in CMLL for Stuka Jr., who has more often been part of trios/tag championship teams.

170 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Stuka Jr. is the oldest man covered so far here(not by much) at 39. Despite that he is less decorated. A company workhorse so to speak, his biggest accolade is being the longest reigning Coliseo Tag Title Champion along side Fuego holding it 1,708 days, but this is a B Tag Title behind CMLL World Tag Champions. 

Still losing those belts to Okumura/Namajague(aka NJPW’s Desperado) in 2013 lead Stuka Jr. to his highest profile victory when he and partner Rey Cometa won a lucha de apuestas over Okumura/Namajague in the main event of 2013′s Homage to 2 Legends. Making Okumura shave and Namajague unmask.

Stuka Jr. won his current title from Hechicero who has even come back to challenge for it again to a losing effort. Don’t see that playing a role here, because Hechicero isn’t in this tournament and CMLL don’t really do run ins.

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Low, Stuka Jr. is a great talent and champion, but not likely to win this or go to the finals. He just isn’t a star that CMLL push too hard. He could win as a workhorse accolade. Finally winning the big one, but this doesn’t feel like his year, given he has little buzz or momentum coming into this. I think he could have a good match given anyone in the finals.  

Valiente(A)

Current belt :  CMLL World Tag Team Championship(along with Diamante Azul who is on the far left), they captured the titles at a Sunday Arena Mexico(November 29th 2018) show from ingobernables Rush & Terrible. Azul/Valiente only have 1 defense vs Rush/Bestia del Ring which was recent, at the 01/29/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara show, just 3 days before the 1st block of this tournament.

74 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Just like Stuka Jr. a large chunk of Valiente’s career is on gold holding teams. Valiente is now the oldest person covered here at 44. 

As mentioned in Volador’s section above Valentine/Volador/Mistico have the longest CMLL World Trios Reign. Before Volador though Mistico and Valiente had a another long reign with Mascara Dorada. Making Mistico/Valiente tied at 4th for most days with the CMLL trios title. They both only have 2 reigns though with the 3 names above them having 3/4/5 reigns. 

Valiente has only held 1 singles title, Mexican National Welterweight Championship he had a nearly 700 day reign with that belt. The longest since he has held the title in 2009-2011, but Soberano Jr. is quickly catching up to him. 

Biggest accolade of recent memory is winning 2016′s Universal Tournament. Finals which were held on a Day of the Dead show. Trios Champion Valiente vs. Trios + Welterweight Champion Volador Jr. 2/3 of the Trios Champions and obvious favorite Volador Jr. lost to Valiente. 

Volador Jr./Valiente won a tournament whose finals were at Homage to 2 Legends(March 16th, 2018) beating Terrible/Rey Bucanero to win the CMLL Tag Team Championships only to have Terrible come back with Rush to dethrone them, then of course Valiente/Azul got them back. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Low, Valiente won recently and like Stuka Jr. is more of a utility player than the top champion of CMLL. If he were going to the finals Azul/Volador Jr. seem the most obvious, but they did Volador/Valiente in 2016, so would arguably be one of the weakest finals they could book even if the story makes sense on paper.

Mephisto(B)

Current belt : CMLL World Welterweight Championship, captured the title May 4th, 2016 from Mascara Dorada(aka WWE’s Gran Metalik), who had held the title for 103 days.

1,003 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : In 2016 Mephisto won with Incredible Pairs with Mistico over Caristico/Cibernetico in the finals. Which gave us these cool ass Mistico/Mephisto masks.

Past that tournament win, Mephisto has carried various singles belts, tag belts, and trios titles. Mephisto is leader of Los Hijos del Infierno with Luciferno/Ephesto. They lost the Mexican National Trios Championship on July 25, 2017 in Guadalajara to NGD(Sanson, Cuatrero & Forastero), who are all in the tournament thanks to that title. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Mid, Mephisto has never won. That’s good for him because it wouldn’t catapult him above many. Instead it would just solify him as someone in the 1 time winners level. With Hijos del Infierno being one of the weaker looking rudo factions right now, a Mephisto boost would help solidify them as a force and Mephisto eventually dropping his belt an even bigger deal than it already is. Best finals for Mephisto? Caristico, I suppose though as a faction leader Mephisto would be a good boss level threat for anyone in Block A.

Barbaro Cavernario(A)

Current belt :  Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, captured the title on November 6th, 2018 from Atlantis ending his 1,170 day reign. Atlantis is a legend and this may be his last singles title. Barbaro winning it is a big changing of the guard, even if it happened at a none Arena Mexico show with less people catching it.

86 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : This is his 2nd title reign, his first and only other title held was the Mexican National Welterweight Championship for 404 days. He dropped that title to Rey Cometa who Barbaro Cavernario shaved in both 2014(Anniversary)/2016(Gran Prix). Speaking of shavings he also recently won the CMLL 85th Anniversary Main Event with Rush shaving both Volador Jr./Matt Taven, the biggest win of Barbaro’s career.

Barbaro Cavernario has had more luck in tournaments than most, winning In En Busca de un Ídolo(Search of an Idol) in 2014,  Reyes del Aire in 2016,  Leyenda de Plata in 2018, Gran Alternativa in 2014(with Mr. Niebla) and Incredible Pairs in 2017(with Volador Jr.).

I consider Leyenda de Plata/Gran Alternative/Increible Pairs and the Universal Championship Tournament to be CMLL’s Big 4 Tournaments. So if Barbaro Cavernario could pull it off, it would put him in CMLL’s elite class. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : High, Barbaro Cavernario is coming into this tournament with a heap of momentum. He has also never won it and being a 1 time winner of Plata isn’t going to make him too big. Still, Plata/85th Anniversary wins were about 2 months apart and only about 3-4 months removed. So there is good reason to think Barbaro doesn’t need this win to stay hot. Him being a finalist would be a great pairing for any and all Block B finalists to take on and beat as a final boss.

Ultimo Guerrero(B)

Current belt : CMLL World Heavyweight Champions, captured on October 16, 2018. Diamante Azul/Ultimo Guerrero survived an 8 man elimination torneo to be the finalists the week prior. In the 2/3 falls finals Ultimo beat Azul to be crowned new champion after Marco Corleone vacated the belt to leave wrestling for now.  

107 days with belt(as of this writing)

& CMLL World Trios Champions(with Gran Guerrero & Euforia), captured on September 28, 2018 from The Cl4n (Ciber the Main Man, The Chris and Sharlie Rockstar), who held the belts for a weak 14 days winning it from Los Guerreros Laguneros at CMLL 85th Anniversary.

125 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Ultimo, like Volador Jr. above has done pretty much everything. Before this Heavyweight Title he was the Light Heavyweight champion. As leader of Los Guerrero Laguneros, Ultimo Guerrero has been in many many storylines fighting various tecnicos. 

Leyenda de Azul in 2016, Gran Alternativa in 1999/2008/2011,Gran Prix in 2006/2007, and has held the CMLL Tag Titles 6 times and CMLL Trios Titles 5 times tied for most reigns with Negro Casas(tag) and Hector Garza(trios). 

It’s likely his number of reigns will pass them, as Negro Casas is near retirement and over 20 years older and Hector Garza has passed away.

Templario has been added to Los Guerreros Laguneros and there has been some rumors of Euforia perhaps leaving the ranks of that group. While Euphoria has a trios title, he isn’t included in this tournament. Unlike Gran/Ultimo who are related, not sure if that would/could play into this tournament at all.

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Mid, but never count out Ultimo Guerrero. Just like Volador Jr., if included Ultimo can win. He is the big bad and shows no signs of slowing down.  

Gran Guerrero(A)

Current belt : CMLL World Trios Champions(with Ultimo Guerrero & Euforia), captured on September 28, 2018 from The Cl4n (Ciber the Main Man, The Chris and Sharlie Rockstar) who held the belts for a weak 14 days winning it from Los Guerreros Laguneros at CMLL 85th Anniversary.

125 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Gran along with all of Los Guerrero Laguneros feuded over the last summer/fall with The Cl4n. It was a series of Okay matches carried by Los Guerrero Laguneros. Before that in fall of 2017 he unmasked Niebla Roja in the main event of CMLL 84th Anniversary. Which is still his biggest win to date. Unmasking Niebla Roja, the defector from Los Guerreros Laguneros who was still using an Ultimo Guerrero inspired mask design.

Pictured below : Ultimo/Niebla Roja facing off on the CMLL interview stage after signing their mask vs. mask match contract.

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Dark Horse, having spent most of 2018 as a team player in Los Guerreros Laguneros this win would establish Gran Guerrero as a threat again. Either to unmask someone, win a singles title or just be more of a big deal in general. Niebla Roja and his older brother(maybe real life father) Ultimo Guerrero are both in Block B and potential finalists that would be a good storyline fit for Gran Guerrero. Families normally don’t fight in CMLL, so Gran/Ultimo Guerrero would be very very unlikely.  

El Terrible(A)

Current belt : Mexican National Heavyweight Championship, captured on October 29, 2017, in a tournament to crown the vacant championship by last defeating Diamante Azul, just like Ultimo with the CMLL Heavyweight a year or so later. This belt was vacant from 2013, until this time, retired for a short time when it’s holding champion Hector Garza passed away.

459 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Terrible quietly has one of the best resumes in CMLL. Leyenda de Azul in 2008, Gran Alternativa in 2012(with Euforia), Increible pairs in 2015/2018 the latter of which lead to him joining ingobernables with Rush and his father Bestia del Ring. 

This is his 2nd Heavyweight Title in CMLL, the 1st he won by last beating Rush in a 2012 tournament to crown the vacant champion. That would spark the feud that lead to 2012′s CMLL 79th Anniversary Main Event where Rush would beat Terrible to shave him. One of both men’s biggest moments. 

It was Terrible’s 1st Lucha de Apuestas loss, a record which has further been blemished by a loss in Homage to 2 Legends 2015 Main Event with Rey Bucanero vs. Volador Jr./Maximo Sexy making his total record 6-2.

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Dark Horse again, he isn’t as likely as Gran because he has already won this once in 2012. To win again would push him above everyone, but Ultimo Guerrero. Still that’s a story you could work with if you paired him with Volador Jr. who has also won once. Volador Jr. shaved him, but Terribles tag mate/leader Rush shaved Volador Jr. recently. Volador was also cheated out of Incredible Pairs 2018 by Rush/Terrible. So that pairing has the most history(for Terrible) and would see both men looking to win their 2nd Universal Tournament.

Forastero(A)

Current belt :  Mexican National Trios Championship(with Sanson & Cuatrero), captured on July 25, 2017 from Los Hijos del Infierno in Guadalajara, Jalisco

555 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Forastero is basically the 3rd man of his faction NGD, being cousin to the brothers Sanson/Cuatrero who are both sons of legend Cien Caras. 2019 could be Forastero’s breakout year, but thus far he is unproven in singles like his cousins. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Very Low, Forastero just isn’t proven as a singles guy. Even getting to the finals seems unlikely and I don’t even know who’d be a good pair for him. I suppose his cousins? Though CMLL is known for not making family fight that often. 

Cuatrero(B)

Current belt : Mexican National Trios Championship(with Sanson & Cuatrero), captured on July 25, 2017 from Los Hijos del Infierno in Guadalajara, Jalisco  

555 days with belt(as of this writing)

&  CMLL World Middleweight Championship, captured January 19, 2018 from Angel de Oro ending his 300 day reign in Japan at Fantastica Mania.

377 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : 2018 for Cuatrero was all about beating down Angel de Oro and proving himself as a singles competitor like his Brother Sanson had the year prior in 2017. He defended again vs. Angel de Oro twice and Titan at a Day of the Dead show, some of the best matches in CMLL for 2018. Cuatrero did so good in 2018 that Sanson went from obvious leader of NGD to basically on par with his brother. Lots of people who didn’t see Sanson in 2017 even thinking of Cuatrero as the leader. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Very High, Cuatrero had a magnificent 2018. Better than everyone else in the tournament except Barbaro Cavernario who is also a bit more established. Cuatrero vs. Caristico/Dragon Lee/Barbaro Cavernario from Block A would all be very exciting pairings.

Sanson(B)

Current belt : Mexican National Trios Championship(with Sanson & Cuatrero), captured on July 25, 2017 from Los Hijos del Infierno in Guadalajara, Jalisco  

555 days with belt(as of this writing)

Rey del Inframundo(King of the Underworld) Championship, captured November 3, 2017 in an 4 on 4 elimination match to crown the inaugural Rey del Inframundo Champion. This is a trophy belt and probably not why Sanson is in this tournament. He successfully defended this belt vs. Templario at the November 2, 2018 Day of the Dead show. It’ll likely get defended annually like this on yearly Day of the Dead shows.

454 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : As mentioned above Soberano Jr. & Sanson had a big push which saw both being in the finals of La Copa Jr. & Gran Alternative, both of which Soberano Jr. won helping elevate him into a serious threat. Sanson got his win back by getting the King of the Underworld Title in a match that Soberano Jr. also took part in. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Likely, He and Cuatrero are pretty even I’d be surprised if one of them didn’t make it to their block final on the 8th. Unlike Forastero who on the 1st of February may not make it past the 1st round depending on who he’s unluckily enough to face off against in his stacked block, though both blocks are tough, individually both Sanson/Cuatrero are tougher than Forastero.

Best pairings for Sanson are the same as Cuatrero. Niebla Roja would be good for both as well. Sanson has had title matches for Roja’s single titles and Angel de Oro is Niebla Roja’s brother who Cuatrero destroyed various times in 2018. 

Dragon Lee(A)

Current belt :  CMLL World Lightweight Championship, captured on March 4th, 2016 in Arena Mexico from Kamaitachi(Hiromu Takahashi) ending his 40 day transitional reign which started at 2016′s Fantastica Mania. 

1,063 days with belt(as of this writing)

Recent accolades/stories : Dragon Lee won 2018′s King of the Indies Tournament, 2019′s Fantastica Mania family tournament, and has 2 masks under his name taking Kamaitachi’s mask at Homage to 2 Legends in 2015 and La Mascara’s mask at CMLL 83rd Anniversary in 2016. La Mascara is no longer in the company, but was a part of Rush’s Ingobernables stable at the time of his mask loss to Dragon Lee. 

Dragon Lee was away a good chunk of 2018 to do a reality TV Show in Mexico and BOSJ over in NJPW. His most recent story is Pentagon/Fenix beating him up post match... seemingly setting a feud up. Dragon Lee and his brothers Rush/Mistico will likely fight Pentagon/Fenix down the line. 

Likelihood of getting to the finals/winning : Likely, I could certainly see Dragon Lee going to the finals even if it’s to lose to Sanson/Cuatrero. Dragon Lee/Rush will seemingly be working more dates in RoH come 2019. With that being the case I could see CMLL holding this win from him. Still seeing Dragon Lee in the finals just seems right. If he can get past Caristico/Barbaro who are the other two high chance people in Block A upcoming on February 1st.

Kraneo, Esfinge & Stigma vs. Hechicero, Templario & Malayo

Who’s who?

Kraneo in yellow/black, Esfinge in white/blue & Stigma in black/red.

Hechicero in suspenders, Templario in silver and Malayo in a black shirt.

How’s the match?

Good, Hechicero and Kraneo butt heads here. That’s the main thing of note here, it’s hard to really build intrigue with no gold here. You’d think that Esfinge/Templario would have done much here, you’d be forgiven for forgetting they were the final two of the torneo last Friday Night. This wasn’t bad by any means, Malayo feels like he is battling about his weight. Still, he isn’t in the semi-main or main like Nitro has been lately. I don’t mind him being slightly higher in the midcard, even if he isn’t all that compelling. 

NGD(Sanson, Cuatrero & Forastero) vs. Flyer, Stuka Jr. & Valiente

Who’s who?

Sanson with a tank top, Cuatrero with horseshoes on his gear/mask and Forastero having gold trim. 

Flyer in blue, Stuka in blue/black/white & Valiente the only man not in pants.

How’s the match?

Good, NGD do good here, but this just isn’t terribly noteable. Sanson will likely shine Friday night, but this is just a very by the numbers match from all involved. Best moments was for certain the end, which really feels like a sequence that will surely happen in some big Valiente/Cuatrero match down the line. Seems like a little bit of a waste to use that reversal here, but obviously very few will remember it was used here at all. 

Rush, Mistico & Bestia del Ring vs. Caristico, Ultimo Guerrero & Diamante Azul

Who’s who?

Rush and father dressed alike and Mistico in white/gold mask.

Caristico in white, Ultimo maskless and Azul in blue. 

How’s the match?

Very good, Rush/Mistico have never been friend with Caristico and it’s nice to see the brothers get off some steam by fighting him here. This match and feud seemed like it was going to be Mistico/Caristico, but Rush reminded Caristico and everyone else that he too isn’t fond of Caristico. This match comes to an end as many a Rush match do... with a kick to the groin. The Puebla card has already been released and Rush will be taking Caristico on in a singles match. Should be fun, if it doesn’t have a deflating finish like this match did. 

Highlights :