#grako

Coyote & Grako vs. Electrico & Oro Jr.

Who’s who?

Coyote in brown, Grako in green/gold.

Electrico in maroon/white and Oro in black/gold. 

How’s the match?

Good, I like the team of Grako/Coyote, but CMLL need to stop doing count outs to end so many of these openers. Feels like it’s the only slot that ever has a count out which sticks out as a pattern after the 4 or 5 times it’s happened this year. Just let Grako/Coyote beat guys cleanly. I don’t like these weakish finishes, makes the tecnico being counted out look weak since no one else ever gets counted out. 

Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. & Black Panther vs. Virus, Kawato San & Disturbio

Who’s who?

Blue Panther in blue/white maskless, Blue Panther Jr. in blue/white masked & Black Panther in black.

Virus in black and facepaint, Kawato in blue/silver and Disturbio with blond hair.

How’s the match?

Very good, it’s a bit like the match Panther Bros. had the previous week. The rumor was that Kawato/Black Panther may do a lucha de apuestas, but that might be a little hasty. This was a fun panther clan match and the rudos did a good job here. I always love when I can see Virus do his bonker ass armdrag. 

Mephisto, Ephesto & Rey Bucanero vs. Valiente, Stuka Jr. & Audaz

Who’s who?

Mephisto in silver mask, Ephesto in shirt & Bucanero maskless.

Valiente in light blue metallic pants, Stuka in black/blue & Audaz in gold. 

How’s the match?

Good, but might be the most by the numbers match on this card. I suppose the opener might be a bit more guilty having the pretty standard count out opener ending. Still this one despite the great talent, just didn’t feel like an urgent match with much on the line. Though outside of the tournament, nothing tonight had many stakes. 

Barbaro vs. Templario Lightning Match

Who’s who?

Barbaro the caveman and Templario with cross on his face. 

How’s the match?

Fantastic, this may go down as the best lightning match this year when the 12 months of the callender and done and gone. Templario has been Mr. Lighting Match this year a position his peer Audaz had last year. I’d love to see these two in a title match, but who knows how likely that is. Barbaro does have a belt, so it doesn’t seem like an impossible thing to set up.  

Caristico, Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs. Gilbert El Boricua, Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero

Who’s who?

Caristico in white, Oro in silver/gold & Roja in red.

Gilbert in black pants, Ultimo/Gran in blue/white with ultimo maskless.

How’s the match?

Good, though this really felt like just a pilot episode for Gilbert to perhaps get him in a feud with any of the tecnicos. So it felt like a match we have seen before with Gilbert added for some extra spice/intrigue and of course both teams of Gran/Ultimo and Angel de Oro/Niebla Roja will be in next week's Dinastias tournament block.  

Seeding Battle Royale

Copa Dinastias Block Semi Final : Negro Casas & Felino vs. Volador Jr. & Flyer

Who’s who?

Casas in plain black and Felino in orange/black.

Volador/Flyer both in blue, with Flyer in mask.

How’s the match?

Very good, I actually think this is the smartest that Flyer Jr. has looked in his year or so of being softly pushed as the younger version of Volador Jr. He still isn’t the superstar his uncle is, but Flyer seems to have been improving since getting more spotlight.  

Copa Dinastias Block Semi Final : Soberano Jr. & Euforia vs. Rush & Bestia del Ring

Who’s who?

Soberano/Euforia in black/blue with Euforia being the bigger/older man.

Rush/Bestia much the same, but Bestia is bald, both in yellow/black.

How’s the match?

Very good, I loved seeing Soberano Jr./Euforia team here and the two teams mirroring each other in the size difference. Seeing Bestia and Euforia having a dad fight was a highlight I wasn’t aware I’d be so hot for. A good showing from all four guys here. 

Copa Dinastias Block Final : Volador Jr. & Flyer vs. Bestia del Ring & Rush

Who’s who?

Volador/Flyer both in blue, with Flyer in mask.

Rush/Bestia much the same, but Bestia is bald, both in yellow/black.

How’s the match?

Good, of the three tournament matches of the night, this one seems like the least exciting. Rush/Volador Jr. are top rudo and top tecnico in the company right now, but they have fought so many wars that is one will be forgotten pretty quickly. It wasn’t bad by any means, just didn’t have the excitement of the previous two matches. I’m exciting to see who Rush/Bestia take on in two weeks though, hopefully that match will be better than this one.  

Highlights :

Grako & Coyote vs. Suriano Halcon Jr. & Arkalis

Who’s who?

Grako in green/gold & Coyote in brown.

Suriano in black & Araklis in gold.

How’s the match?

Good, it was a fun opener and Grako/Coyote have quickly become a dominate opening tag team. That doesn’t mean much as their isn’t an opening tag tournament or belt, but it could lead them to bigger things in the following year or two. Everyone has to start somewhere and in CMLL that somewhere is the opening tag team matches. Was nice to see Suriano again too.

Tae Honma, Princesa Sugehit & Kaho Kobayashi vs. Dalys, Amapola & Reyna Isis

Who’s who?

Tae in green, Sugehit in a one piece and Kaho with shorts.

Dalys in 2 piece, Amapola in black Isis in blue.

How’s the match?

Very good, I’ve not seen much of Tae Honma, but she looked good here. Wish it had a better ending, but all the action here was pretty fun. Excited to see what Kaho/Tae do in the coming weeks. I’d assume Honma isn’t around long term, but I could be wrong. While Kaho has said her current tour has no planned end date. So she may be around the rest of 2019 for all we know. 

Kawato San vs. Rey Cometa lightning match

Who’s who?

Kawato in blue/silver and Cometa with face paint.

How’s the match?

Good, but too brief to really be amongst the great lightning matches this year. Nice to see Cometa put over here, but wish he’d have looked more impressive or did something more interesting with his finish. He has this cool new look, but feels very much like the same Cometa, except now he does a bow and arrow taunt. Cometa is going to need to do more if he wants to escape his midcard role. I’m not so convinced that will happen, even if he does put it together.  

Caristico, Angel de Oro & Atlantis Jr.  vs. Sanson, Rey Bucanero & Hijo del Villano III

Who’s who?

Caristico in white, Oro in gold, Atlantis Jr. in blue/white/black.

Sanson in black/white, Bucanero in facepaint & Villano in pink. 

How’s the match?

Very good, everyone worked really well here even new faces Hijo del Villano III and Atlantis Jr. Of course Caristico/Oro/Sanson all did good, as they almost always do and Bucanero for the most part kept up. This is pretty comparable to last week’s big none block match, Volador vs. Gilbert, but that will be more noticeable in coming months since it was of course Gilbert’s 1st singles match in CMLL. While this is mostly just a random trios match.

Seeding Battle Royal

Not reviewing this, but it played out pretty nicely.

Round 1 : Hechicero & Stuka Jr. vs. Mistico & Cuatrero

Who’s who?

Hechicero in suspenders & Stuka in blue.

Mistico/Cuatrero with black/white attires, Cuatrero having horseshoes on his.

How’s the match?

Very good, great block match from two of my favorite teams in the entire tournament. This did feel very much like a ‘get my shit in’ match, but I like the shit these guys have so, that’s fine by me. Not the best block match in this tournament, but might crack the top 5. Just a little too short. 

Round 1 : Templario & Audaz vs. Negro Casas & Atlantis

Who’s who?

Templario/Audaz in matching gold and silver, Templario has tattoos.

Casas in black and Atlantis in his iconic white mask. 

How’s the match?

Very good, Negro Casas looked like a million dollars here and really earned his team's victory here. I really was pulling for Audaz/Templario here, but it didn’t feel like a cheap or easy win. Casas clawed his way to the win and Atlantis was there to help. Was happy to see Templario and Audaz work so well on a team, but it’s a shame this will likely be a one off.

Round 1 : Terrible & Niebla Roja vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr.

Who’s who?

Terrible shaved and Roja in red/silver.

Ultimo in blue pants and Volador Jr. in spandex blue top shaved as well.

How’s the match?

Good, here we the the trope/cliche of teams not able to work together. This was more blatant than last week’s Oro/Bestia who just seemed to not be on the same page. Here Roja may have had the match won, but Terrible attacked him leading to the strongest team in the block, Ultimo/Volador Jr. to basically get a buy into the 2nd round. 

Round 1 : Rush & Vangellys vs. Gran Guerrero & Valiente

Who’s who?

Rush in white and western boots & Vangellys in red bodysuit.

Gran in red masked and Valiente in gold. 

How’s the match?

Meh, it was a pretty short contest and the seemingly obviously wrong team went over. That’s trying to create a believable tournament for you, but CMLL making me watch 2 Vangellys matches in one night seems a bit unfair. 

Round 2 : Cuatrero & Mistico vs. Atlantis & Negro Casas

Who’s who?

Mistico/Cuatrero with black/white attires, Cuatrero having horseshoes on his.

Casas in black and Atlantis in his iconic white mask.  

How’s the match?

Very good, Casas and Atlantis look good here vs. two much younger guys. Both the young guys too did their own bumps to make Atlantis look like the icon he is. While I may be upset at Casas/Atlantis over Audaz/Templario earlier it did give Mistico Cuatrero a bigger threat to beat here in the block semi-finals.

Round 2 :  Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. vs. Mistico & Cuatrero

Who’s who?

Ultimo in blue pants and Volador Jr. in spandex blue top shaved as well.

Rush in white and western boots & Vangellys in red bodysuit.

How’s the match?

Meh, again this seemed pretty short, but that just happens to be true for most CMLL block matches. I don’t care much for Vangellys and Rush just throwing away the contest makes it seem pretty moot after the fact. Vangellys in the past got his head shaved by Bestia del Ring, could this lead to a Rush/Vangellys feud? No... probably not. 

Block Finals : Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. vs. Mistico & Cuatrero

Who’s who?

Ultimo in blue pants and Volador Jr. in spandex blue top shaved as well.

Mistico/Cuatrero with black/white attires, Cuatrero having horseshoes on his.

How’s the match?

Great, best match of this block, but I’d also take either Casas match or Stuka/Hechicero in the 1st round too. This block was lots of fun, but didn’t reach the highs last week did in my opinion. I’m certainly cheering for Titan/Barbaro over Ultimo/Volador and am holding out hope that perhaps this will be a long term story with Ultimo/Volador Jr. coming up short in the finals for a 2nd year in a row. Though perhaps this year it won’t be due to cheating like last year with Rush/Terrible.   

Highlights :

Coyote & Grako vs. Robin & Astral

Who’s who?

Coyote in brown & Grako in green/gold.

Robin in blue/white & Astral in gold.

How’s the match?

Good, it’s not a blast, but it’s an opening match. I normally don’t expect much for matches in this spot. This filled the slot just fine. It felt very much like a clock in and clock out situation. Not too much new here, but not much reason to expect new since these guys are always in this position. Robin look like he might have hurt something doing his 2nd fall submission. Not sure what that was about, but didn’t seem too serious. 

Dalys, Tiffany & Reyna Isis vs. Kaho Kobashi, Princesa Sugehit & Jarochita

Who’s who?

Dalys in red/white/blue 2 piece, Tiffany in all black, Isis in red.

Kaho in shorts/sports top, Sugehit in purple & Jarochita in green.

How’s the match?

Good, I think all 6 women here did a fine job. These are some of the better talents from the division and it’s nice to see Tiffany here without Amapola since the two of them always wear black get ups and have long blond hair. Nothing here stood out too much for me though. I think Kaho continues to be good on this 2nd tour, but it’s hard to really feel where this 2nd tour is heading. They keep pairing her with Dalys, which I fear will just mean getting another Dalys singles match, which was the final match for her the last tour she had with CMLL. I’d like to see her and Metalica for the Mexican National Women’s title, but that doesn’t seem to be in the plans or at least alluded to just yet. 

Hechicero, Felino & Vangellys vs. Rey Cometa, Audaz & Flyer

Who’s who?

Hechicero lone masked rudo, Felino in orange/black and Vangellys in black/white with white hair. 

Cometa in blue maskless, Flyer in blue masked, Audaz in gold. 

How’s the match?

Very good, Audaz/Hechicero are two of my favorites on the roster. Rey Cometa/Felino are underrated gems and Vangellys/Flyer well... felt sorta like 3rd wheels here. I recall less with the two of them, but they were here somewhere. Worth checking out and might be the best trios match on this card, in great part due to it feeling completely while some of the later matches feel truncated by how some of the rounds end.

Templario vs. Titan lightning match

Who’s who?

Templario in silver, Titan in gold mask and blue trunks.

How’s the match?

Great, Titan continues to kill it in singles matches, this making weeks in a row for him, where is one on one match is the week's best match. I’d love to hope for a 3rd week in a row, but that seems unlikely. I won’t completely rule it out though, because Audaz last year felt like he had a month where each week had a lightning match with him and Audaz is/was less established than Titan. Templario too should be commended, being basically the rudo side of the Audaz coin and improving so much in 2018, can’t wait to see more great matches like this from Templario in 2019. 

Gilbert & Cl4n(Ciber The Main Man & The Chris) vs. Diamante Azul, Caristico & Valiente

Who’s who?

Caristico in white, Valiente/Azul both in blue with the latter being bigger and wearing a white shirt to start. 

Gilbert shirtless, Ciber’s shirt has Cl4n on the front and I think Chris is wearing a vest and doesn’t have Cl4n as visible on his shirt. 

How’s the match?

Good, Cl4n still aren’t my cup of tea, but they did mostly fine here. Ciber is still seemingly the worst of the 3 or perhaps 4 now. As Gilbert came out with them here, but still doesn’t seem like an official member. Like Barbaro last year who made plenty of entrances with Ingobernables, but never joined. Some people seem to be pretty uninspired by a Gilbert/Azul match that this set up. I’m excited, but it seems more like a tag feud should be set up, since Azul/Valiente have tag belts and Azul has no singles gold nor does Gilbert. From what I’ve seen Gilbert feels like he benefits from fighting smaller guys, we’ll see if a hoss battle with Azul will be able to yield anything interesting the next week. 

Volador Jr., Niebla Roja & Angel de Oro vs. Ingobernables(Rush, Terrible & Bestia del Ring)

Who’s who?

Volador in red/white/blue, Roja in red & Angel de Oro in gold.

Rush shirtless in western boots, his father Bestia in black shirt with western boots and Terrible in a white shirt, normal boots.

How’s the match?

Very good, ingobernables bring with them chaos and the chaos of this match did a good job of building them for their hair match in 2 weeks vs. Oro/Roja who put up a good fight here, despite ingobernables showing very little to no respect for the rule of law. This was fun and it was nice to have Rush in a CMLL ring again. Not that it had been that long, it’s a shame he’ll be in RoH working the night of Homage to 2 Legends when his father Bestia and stable mate Terrible will be fighting for the right to keep their hair. This match won’t blow anyone away, but I found the chaos plenty of fun. 

Highlights :

Grako & Coyote vs. Sonic & Bengala

Who’s who?

Grako in green/gold and Coyote in brown.

Sonic in gold and Bengala in blue.

How’s the match?

Very good, this is much better than you’d expect from a CMLL opener. Grako about a month ago had a rough opening match where it seemed like both Astral/Electrico got hurt albeit minorly so since it seemed neither took time off. Sonic & Bengala looked really good here and it’s a shame not many people will give them props because so many people skip theses opening matches and of course CMLL isn’t as talked about as much as it should be in general by the general English speaking IWC. I’d recommend this match.

Princesa Sugehit, Skadi & Jarochita vs. Dalys, Metalica & Amapola

Who’s who?

Sugehit in silver, Skadi in blue and Jarochita with red hair.

Rudas all in black, Metalica masked, Dalys with white spiders on her gear and as she normally does Amapola has a pink sash. 

How’s the match?

Very good, I really enjoyed this match and think Skadi looked good. This was her return to Arena Mexico after a year and a half away from the flagship arena. Last performing there in the Copa Natalia Vazquez in July of 2017. She looked good here and CMLL needs to shake these luchadora trios up if they want people to be more enthusiastic about the division. It’s hard to care about the division when it feels like variations of the same trios match every week. Skadi was a breath of fresh air as was Metalica... still this match had Sugehit & Dalys who are two of the faces we may see too often in these matches. No offense to either woman. I’d suggest this match too, better than the luchadora division normally is. I think it’s on an upswing as of late. Hope that trend continues. 

Okumura, Kawato San & Virus vs. Titan, Flyer & Audaz

Who’s who?

Okumura in orange, Kawato red & Virus in black.

Titan in silver mask, Flyer in black & Audaz in gold with white mask.

How’s the match?

Good, nice team of tecnicos here instead of the panther bros. All three of these guys will be going to Japan as well as Okumura on the rudo side for the annual FantasticaMania tour. I was surprised to see Audaz get the win for his team as on that tour he is positioned as one of the opener talents with Templario as both guys are relatively new names even in CMLL. A nice moment for him in a match where I assumed Flyer/Titan would have won or even Okumura. This isn’t anything mindblowing from Okumura/Kawato, but a good match. 

Templario vs. Angel de Oro lightning match

Who’s who?

Oro maskless & Templario in his silver gear.

How’s the match?

Very good, but not as good as one would hope seeing these two slotted for a first time ever singles match. There were moments of brilliance here, but not enough. I think perhaps they were both playing it safe here since they do have an international trip to make pretty much immediately after this show if Dragon Lee’s Twitter was any indication. Fun finish to this match, but it came a few minutes earlier than I’d have liked. Hopefully these two can have a more proper match in the following months/year.

Caristico, Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero & El Terrible

Who’s who?

Casristico masked, Volador Jr. maskless both in white with Soberano Jr. in his signature blue mask/pants.

Ultimo(maskless)/Gran both in green/black and Terrible in all black.

How’s the match?

Good, this felt very much the the staple CMLL semi-main with Caristico/Ultimo facing off for the thousandth time, but they do work well together. Literally all these guys are going to Japan for the next two weeks and this was a good going way match before they do. Nothing too wild happened though, very by the numbers. I feel that phrase is used too often by me when I don’t love a match, but I don’t know how else to describe a match like this that’s exactly what you’d expect from these talents. Great work on a technical level, but almost no heat. As though this was just practice for all involved and nothing was at stake, which is often the case/feel for this and Puebla which are CMLL’s secondary shows to the more important Super Friday cards.

NGD(Sanson, Cuatreo & Forastero) vs. Dragon Lee, Mistico & Rush

Who’s who?

NGD all in black. Sanson has the most plain gear, Cuatrero has horse shoes on his and Forastero has a bandolier printed on his tights.

Dragon lee in black, Mistico in white/gold and Rush maskless.

How’s the match?

Great, this match might be starting 2019 with a feud that could be the biggest in the company this year. Dynasty vs. Dynasty warfare is always fun and it’s even better when so high on the card. Main Eventing a Tuesday show isn’t going to set the world on fire, but it’s a great tease for the CMLL fans right before 5 of these guys disappear to japan for the next half month. This feud may continue in Japan as Sanson/Cuatrero/Mistico/Dragon Lee are all in a family tournament there and may meet in a few other matches. Rush sadly isn’t going to Japan, but luckily that means he’ll be holding down the fort in Arena Mexico and hopefully we will get some good matches from him. Maybe even a singles match of some sort, though none are announced at this moment. 

Overall a really good New Values show, one that is completely watchable from top to bottom. Normally the opener or 2nd match can be a slog.

Highlights :

Grako & Espanto Jr. vs. Astral & Electrico

Who’s who?

Astral in white, Electrico in Maroon/white.

Espanto in black and Grako in gold/green.

How’s the match?

Good, could have been better. The main culprit in this match not being better is Grako who managed to hurt both men on the tecnico side. Being where he is on the card Grako has lots of to prove and here, he proved that he shouldn’t be on these Friday cards yet. It was a bumpy start to the show and not really how you want to kick off the night... by thinking both tecnicos may have been seriously hurt via the carelessness of Grako. It’s a shame because outside of those two bumps, the match was a pretty fine opener. 

Dalys, Tiffany & Amapola vs. Marcela, La Guerrera & Lluvia

Who’s who?

Dalys in 2 piece and having a hard body, Tiffany in full legged black attire, Amapola in legless black attire.

Marcela in white, Lluvia in black 2 piece and La Guerrera in black one piece.

How’s the match?

Good, this is obviously just a heater match for Dalys/Marcela who are scheduled to meet Monday night for Dalys CMLL Women’s Championship. Nothing wrong with that, but as a trios it’s too short and forgettable to recommend. Marcela does her cool spots here, but she does them in many of her trios matches that go longer and have more impact. La Guerrero too did her ropewalk hand in hand spot which is cool. I do have to say... that someone at CMLL should tell the women to get more unique outfits. 4/6 women being in black attire is pretty boring to see and makes them harder to tell apart for any newcomers. 

Vangellys, Okumura & Misterioso vs. Rey Cometa, Esfinge & Guerrero Maya Jr.

Who’s who?

Vangellys in red, Okumura in orange & Misterioso in black with green mask.

Cometa in blue/maskless, Esfinge in silver/gold and Maya in white.

How’s the match?

Very good, honestly I sorta rolled my eyes when this match started. Cause I wasn’t actually expecting all that much from an unannounced match that was thrown on the card to give it more length. The tecnico side here though, are 3 of the best guys in the midcard/upper midcard scene. Rey Cometa is bland, but damn can he work/dive. Same goes for the other two. This marks Vangellys return and I can’t say I’m too excited. If you are a fan though, he looked good here and showed some good fight. Getting the win for his team... as you’d expect from someone coming off a little less than a year-ish injury. Last we saw him he was feuding with ingobernables, but now that literally all the feuds ingobernables have had since are more exciting... I’d doubt that thread gets picked back up. 

Leyenda de Plata torneo cibernético(If you want to skip the seeding Battle Royale... click this link instead)

Who’s who?

Teams after the seeding Battle Royale were : 

Dragon Rojo Jr. in red, Flyer in light blue, Templario in silver with a red cross on his mask, Mephisto in demon mask/black, Mistico in white, Titan in silver mask/dark blue gear, Soberano Jr. in dark blue/mask attire & Kawato San in red pants, not masked 

vs.

Volador Jr. shaved in black attire/white boots,Tritón white mask/purple attire, El Audaz in gold, Felino in black/orange attire no mask, Barbaro Cavernario no mask in leopard print attire, King Phoenix in black/maroon attire, Virus in black with some facepaint, & Tiger in orange  

How’s the match?

Great! Think I liked last years more, but I think last years was nearly perfect for me. Something feels missing here and that something is the inclusion of any NGD/Guerreros. I know Guerreros were in the main event, but NGD didn’t do anything on this card. Still this match is above par and lives up to the lofty expectations set by previous Leyenda de Plata torneos. Lots of great acrobatics from the likes of Soberano/Triton/Audaz as well as some brutal suplexes from the rudo side via Templario/Barbaro/Mephisto. I wish Templario/Audaz has better showings. I get why Templario didn’t go longer since he won the previous big torneo and got a singles match out of that, but I don’t get why Audaz didn’t use his armbar to eliminate anyone, even if he did still get the 1st elimination on Kawato. I like both Felino and Mephisto, but both seemed to overstay their welcome in this match without doing much to earn it. I’d obviously recommend this match, but I don’t see it being as high on my Top 100 list for 2018 as 2017′s was on it’s list. Both because the stronger year 2018 has been, but also because I think 2018′s Plata Torneo isn’t as strong compared to 2017′s. Though... I do think the finals of this years will be better than last years Final. We’ll have to wait a week to see on that though. 

Último Guerrero, Gran Guerrero & Pentagon vs. Caristico, Valiente & Diamante Azul

Who’s who?

Ultimo/Gran in green/black with Ultimo maskless, Pentagon in black.

Caristico in white, Valiente in metallic blue and Azul in dark blue. 

How’s the match?

Very Good, honestly this is one of the better matches Pentagon has had in CMLL. It shows him being a rudo(which he naturally is, just look at him), but also has him teaming with someone other than his brother. This isn’t as good as the semi-main at Anniversary, but Pentagon stands out more here than he did there with La Park/Fenix taking up all the air in the room. The ending exchange in this match between Caristico/Ultimo is also just classic lucha libre at it’s finest. 

Overall if you want to make this a quicker watch, just check out the Torneo and Main Event. Rest of the show was okay, but those are the main matches to catch. Next Friday is Mascara Ano 2000’s 40th Anniversary and Leyenda de Plata finals, which should be great! 

Highlights :

Grako & Coyote vs Sonic & Leono

Who’s who?

Grako in black/gold and Coyote in brown/gold.

Sonic in gold and Leono in black. 

How’s the match?

Good, I tend to be praising these openers more and a big reason for that is Super Astro Jr. They are showing that he isn’t the only opener to look out for though. Sonic is someone I have very little matches I’ve seen. In his post match interview on Youtube he said he was put out of commission by Coyote, so perhaps they will be feuding long term in this opening slot. That doesn’t seem like a bad idea and I thought Coyote was one of the better people in that New Values tournament a few months back. This match had a few sloppy moments though, but Sonic has been out of commission for quite some time.   

La Seductora, Metalica & Reyna Isis vs. Marcela, Jarochita & La Guerrera

Who’s who?

Seductora in gold/black, Metalica in yellow and Reyna in blue.

Marcela in white/black with red hair, Jarochita in green & Guerrera in black.

How’s the match?

Good, this match did a good job of standing up despite missing Dalys. I don’t dislike Dalys, but she has been in all the luchadora trios for what feels like months. I was worried the rudas wouldn’t be able to function well without her, but they did which is surprising cause I don’t think too much about Metalica/Seductora. The latter seemingly just on TV as an exchange for her losing her scalp to Sugehit, but it taking the opportunity and running with it. Newcomer and rookie La Guerrera too is doing a great job in what’s one of her 1st half dozen matches on the roster/TV. This isn’t a great match, but it didn’t disappoint or make it seem like the luchadoras can’t exist without Dalys in the frame. She is the Women’s Champion, but she doesn’t need to be in every luchadora match CMLL puts on TV. 

Rey Cometa, Fuego & Pegasso vs. Misterioso, Sagrado & Kawato San

Who’s who?

Rey Cometa in white is maskless, Fuego in orange/yellow and Pegasso in red.

Kawato maskless in red, Misterioso in green and Sagrado in black.

How’s the match?

Very good, when I saw this match was on the card I thought to myself ; “This is a who’s who, of who’s not doing shit”. Which is a little cruel, but besides Kawato San, I’d be surprised to see any of these people in a storyline in 2018. You never know, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for Misterioso or Cometa to be getting a big push soon. Still, they all showed why they have jobs despite not being the posterboy of CMLL. They are all skilled in the ring and can put on a good or even great match when called to do so. 

Triton vs Audaz Lighting Match

Who’s who?

Triton in white and Audaz in gold. 

How’s the match?

Fantastic, honestly this might be the best lightning match we’ve seen all year. I think it’s even good enough to be a MOTYC, but having to be less than 10 minutes it’s on the shorter side. These guys are both so agile and both being tecnicos this match was a fresh one. Not only was this the 1st time they met in a singles match, but it’s also the 1st time they have fought on opposite sides(barring a single battle royal). So it was a really unique match and I honestly don’t know what other lightning match possibilities this year will be as exciting as this one. This is what all lightning matches should be, but I understand they aren’t all this because then they couldn’t surprise us with this. Audaz took a nasty back bump to the outside that left me shocked. It was so ugly a part of me thought it was a botch, but Triton drop kicking him right after sorta puts that idea to bed immediately. Great showing for both men, hopefully CMLL brass took note. 

Ephesto, Luciferno & Hechicero vs. Blue Panther, Kraneo & Stuka Jr.

Who’s who?

Ephesto and Luciferno have their names on their shirts and Hechicero wears suspenders. 

Blue Panther is maskless, Stuka Jr. in slight blue/black and Kraneo in red. 

How’s the match?

Very good, Hechicero and Stuka Jr. continue to feud and this match was much better than the Monday show where they also went toe to toe. On paper this group might seem like they couldn’t put on a classic, but in practice they might surprise you. I am pretty easily charmed by Kraneo/Mije though and not everyone is on board the Kraneo hype train. That’s not me though, Mije is a darling and should be cherished. Hechicero is also always a treat to watch perform when CMLL actually decide to use him, he goes all out. 

La Peste Negra(Negro Casas, Felino & Mr. Niebla) vs. Mistico, Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja

Who’s who?

Negro Casas in silver, Felino in black/orange and Niebla the lone masked rudo.

Mistico in white, Oro in gold/silver & Roja in red/white.

How’s the match?

Good, it’s always fun to see Negro Casas go toe to toe with basically anyone. He has been teasing a feud with Dragon Lee for ages and that seems to be including Mistico lately. I hope we get some more great singles matches out of Negro Casas before he hangs up his boots. His recently singles match with Soberano Jr. proved that he still has it in thats setting. Negro Casas at 58 though is obviously nearer to retirement than his debut, but that’s been true for a while as soon he will be having his 40th Anniversary show. This was a good match, but it wasn’t anything too crazy and not something I’ll be rewatching anytime soon. Tuesday night was obviously stolen by the lightning match, everything else was basically par or perhaps just above it. 

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