#malayo

Cosario del Fuego, Malayo & Perverso vs. Stigma, King Jaguar & Arkalis

Who’s who?

Cosario maskless in gold/black, Malayo masked in white shirt, Perverso in purple. 

Stigma in black/red, Jaguar maskless and Aralis in white masked. 

How’s the match?

Good, this marks my first time seeing Cosario del Fuego. Think he is a new face in CMLL and not like some guest spots. We will probably see him in this spot on Puebla from time to time here on out. Can’t say he really impressed, but it is my first time seeing him and that might not mean he isn’t a good talent, just didn’t do all that much to wow here. Has a decent look.  

Felino, Tiger & Misterioso Jr. vs. Triton, Esfinge & Fuego

Who’s who?

Felino in orange, Tiger in camo and Misterioso in green.

Triton in white, Esfinge in silver/gold and Fuego in orange/yellow.

How’s the match?

Very good, love seeing Tiger/Felino team and that didn’t change here. Add to that the fact that Triton/Esfinge are a great unit and Fuego is always fun and you have a very nice trios match for Monday Night. Above what often happen in the midcard on a Puebla show.  

NGD(Sanson, Cuatrero & Forastero) vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros(Gran Guerrero, Euforia & Templario)

Who’s who?

Sanson in white boots, Cuatrero in black and Forastero having gold trim.

All in blue, Gran is in shorts, Euforia the big man and Templario with a black cross on his mask. 

How’s the match?

Very good, I don’t think this is above what I’d expect from these two groups, but getting what I’d expect out of these guys is still really fun. For anyone who has wanted to see Templario team more often with his Los Guerreros Laguneros stablemates... well here you are. I like this feud and I hope Anniversary has a trios titles vs. trios titles matches between LGL and NGD. It probably won’t happen, but a lucha fanboy can dream. 

Terrible, Mascara Ano 2000 & Rey Bucanero vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja

Who’s who?

Terrible with a shaved head, 2000 bald and Bucanero in facepaint.

Ultimo in blue, Oro in black & Roja in red with a black t-shirt.

How’s the match?

Meh, this was a throw away main event that ended pretty quickly. I wasn’t expecting much with this rudo team and was shown that they wouldn’t do much. Ultimo was rolled up with the help of the ropes... which made the ending have challenges back and forth. Hopefully the Ultimo/Terrible singles match can live up to the expectations a heavyweight champion vs. heavyweight champion match should have. 

Highlights :

Espanto Jr., Malayo & Toro Bill Jr. vs. Triton, Stigma & Pegasso

Who’s who?

Espanto in black with a white cross on his mask, Toro in neon green/yellow and Malayo in black/white.

Triton in white, Stigma in black/red & Pegasso in blue. 

How’s the match?

Good, this rudo team isn’t too exciting. Espanto though has been showing improvement and if he continues to do so, perhaps he will even win over some fans. He is cousin to Andrade/La Sombra and that would likely give him a boost in CMLL event upgrade him past this position on the card. Rudos did a good job of stooging to all the fun tecnico moves. 

Soberano Jr., Flyer & King Jaguar vs. La Peste Negra(Negro Casas, Mr. Niebla & Barbaro Cavernario)

Who’s who?

Soberano/Flyer both in blue with Flyer having a top. King Jaguar the older tecnico who isn’t wearing a mask. 

Negro Casas in plain black, Mr. Niebla with afro/mask & Barbaro the caveman.

How’s the match?

Very good, I say it nearly anytime Negro Casas is in a match these days, but he tends to elevate anyone he works with. King Jaguar here is a great example of that, but King Jaguar has been looking pretty good recently anyways. It’s a shame his hair vs. hair match wasn’t much to write home about. It makes me wonder why CMLL have highlighted him more lately.   

Seeding Battle Royal

Sanson & Audaz vs. Volcano & Luciferno

Who’s who?

Sanson in black/white & Audaz in gold. 

Volcano in firefighter outfit and Luciferno in demon mask. 

How’s the match?

Good, but of all the block matches of the night... this was probably the easiest to call. Sanson/Audaz being much more highlighted recently over Luciferno/Volcano. I wasn’t thrilled with this end either, as someone getting pinning on missing their move feels pretty weak. Even if it is a 1st round Puebla tournament match. 

Atlantis & Vangellys vs. Hijo del Villano III & Caristico

Who’s who?

Atlantis in white mask and Vangellys in black jumpsuit.

Villano in the signature pink and Caristico in all white. 

How’s the match?

Good, but I’m rarely if ever going to tell you to watch a Vangellys match and this doesn’t change that trend. Short and pretty forgettable. 

Esfinge & Templario vs. Terrible & Niebla Roja

Who’s who?

Esfinge in silver/gold, Templario in silver/red.

Terrible with head shaved and Roja in red/white.

How’s the match?

Very good, though I wish it was a little longer. These teams are probably the most interesting match up in the 1st round. Either could have won, instead of most of these 1st round tag matches where it seems plainly obvious who will win and lose. Roja/Terrible pairing again, just like in the more important Arena Mexico version of this Incredible Pairs tournament. 

Felino & Valiente vs. Mistico & Ephesto

Who’s who?

Felino in orange/black & Valiente in Metallic blue. 

Mistico in white/black & Ephesto in a demon mask. 

How’s the match?

Very good, Ephesto and Felino are two guys who can really go when motivated and you can tell Ephesto doesn’t want to weigh down Mistico and here he doesn’t even come close to weighing down the match. Mistico/Valiente too of course have held the CMLL World Trios Titles together a shit load of days over 2 reigns. So it’s refreshing to see them as enemies here. 

Hijo del Villano III & Caristico vs. Sanson & Audaz

Who’s who?

Villano in the signature pink and Caristico in all white.

Sanson in black/white & Audaz in gold.

How’s the match?

Great, you have baby rudo Villano vs. his more seasoned counterpart in Sanson and a similar meeting of agile flyers in Caristico/Audaz. Plenty of great action in this short 1 fall match. Might be the best of this block and one of the better tag matches we have gotten from this season of tag tournament. 

Mistico & Ephesto vs. Terrible & Niebla Roja

Who’s who?

Mistico in white, Ephesto in demon mask. 

Terrible bald & Roja in red/white. 

How’s the match?

Good, but too quick to really rave about. It’s also Roja/Terrible who are bonafide main eventers in CMLL vs. Mistico who is a big deal and Ephesto who is sorta the 2nd best demon until Mephisto retires or leaves CMLL. Would have liked to see more of this match. 

Hijo del Villano III & Caristico vs. Terrible & Niebla Roja

Who’s who?

Villano in pink & Caristico in white. 

Terrible bald & Roja in red/white.

How’s the match?

Great, really fun block finals and if Puebla mattered a little more I’d say this elevated Villano. Probably his best performance since joining CMLL was this block. He hasn’t even been around a year and already he is treated as a pretty big deal. Likely to build him for a feud vs. Atlantis Jr., but being built is being built and I’m excited to see where he goes from here. 

Highlights :

Dragon Rojo Jr., Polvora & Malayo vs. Drone, Fuego & Stigma

Who’s who?

Rojo in red, Polvora in red/black with a flamey mask and Malayo in pink.

Drone in blue/red/silver, Fuego in orange/yellow and Stigma in red/black

How’s the match?

Good, this is a little one sided though. It’s just obvious Rojo/Polvora are so good as a tag team and the tecnico side are just some midcard whoevers. You never know who might win on a given night and Malayo makes the rudo team seema little less powerful, but still. Until CMLL make people think Fuego/Drone/Stigma are championship material, matches like this will lack a certain drama. Still a fun match, but a bit overshadowed by the next three more important matches.

Dalys (c) vs. Marcela for the CMLL Women’s World Title

Who’s who?

Dalys in black/white bone bodysuit, Marcela in gold.

How’s the match?

Very good, this isn’t a masterpiece, but it does showcase why these two women are the standard bearer for the women in CMLL along with Princesa Sugehit. A classic title match with the main women’s title of CMLL. This isn’t too shocking of a pairing though as Dalys/Marcela have been feuding on and off for about 5 years at this point. Had Dalys won this, I’d be a bit annoyed that it was these two women, but since Marcela took the belt it seems fine. Though honestly she doesn’t need the belt either. Already having the most reigns and most combined days with the belt. Hopefully she doesn’t hold it for another year to further bury the other women. We’ll see where it goes, but I’m skeptical at the moment. 

Stuka Jr., Atlantis & Octagon vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Mephisto & Ephesto

Who’s who?

Stuka in light blue/black, Atlantis in his iconic white mask with dark blue/black attire with Octagon in white mask and black gi. 

Fuerza Guerrero in his red/blue headed mask, Mephisto in a pink mask & Ephesto in an orange curly horned mask with his name on his shirt. 

How’s the match?

Good, this was honestly better than I was expecting from the 3 older guys in this contest. I’ve already mentioned, but will reiterate here in case you’ve missed it. I think Fuerza Guerrera is back in CMLL looking to lose his mask. He went from not being around at all to showing up once and awhile. This could just be attributed to Octagon coming back and being a big rival of Fuerza, but I do think there is more to it than that. If he was to lose his mask in the coming months, I’d hope it would be to someone like Stuka Jr. and not Atlantis/Octagon even if he has more history with those old school talents.   

Último Guerrero (c) vs. Sanson for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship

Who’s who?

Ultimo maskless and Sanson in all black with a mask. 

How’s the match?

Fantastic, this is one of my favorite title matches from CMLL this year. I will admit though that Ultimo Guerrero is one of my all time favorites and Sanson is one of my current favorites. So this was an exciting match up on paper and after watching the show, it’s obviously the main reason to catch Puebla this week.

Sanson and Ultimo threw bombs back and forth here and Sanson looked strong vs. the most decorated rudo in CMLL and perhaps in Lucha Libre over all. This might be the end of the NGD/Los Guerreros Laguneros feud in Puebla, but we won’t be sure of that til the next week. I think next week’s Puebla will have a hard time living up to the last 3 weeks of that feud. It’s nice to know that Puebla is treated well by CMLL. It’s not a show to always skip as this feud and the Rush/Park feud showed that it will get it’s due... even if it’s obviously secondary to the flagship Arena Mexico. 

Don’t want to go too deep into Play by Play for this match as it’s obviously one to check out, if you only check out one match from this card and maybe this week. Though I have high hopes Fenix/Barbaro Plata Friday Night will be as good or better. Ultimo/Sanson will meet on Friday Night as well in an atomicos match, which are fairly rare in CMLL. 

Highlights :

Super Astro Jr. & Oro Jr. vs. Malayo & Toro Bill Jr.

Who’s who?

Super Astro Jr. in blue, Oro in silver mask and black pants.

Malayo in black/white and Toro Bill Jr. in yellow.

How’s the match?

Very good, call me blinded by Super Astro Jr. if you want to, but I feel like he elevates these early in the card matches. Granted he has to be given enough time to actually show what he can do, which he was given that space here. I wasn’t particularly wowed by Toro Bill Jr. This is my first time seeing him as far as I can recall. He did have a nice powerbomb at the ending portion of this match was was pretty decent though. 

Tiffany vs. Marcela lightning match

Who’s who?

Tiffany in black and Marcela in blue/pink. 

How’s the match?

Good, Marcela is up there on the luchadora roster. Could even be considered the best amongst all the female talent in the company, Tiffany is not so high on the proficiency rankings. I don’t want to reduce this to simply; Tiffany isn’t good enough. It does partially comes off that way though watching this back. Still a good/decent match because Marcela is so fun to watch, but not a match I think anyone will remember weeks/months/years from now. 

Templario, Tiger & Virus vs. Titan, Audaz & Triton

Who’s who?

Templario in silver, Tiger in gold and Virus maskless in black.

Titan in gold mask with blue gear, Audaz in all gold and Triton in white. 

How’s the match?

Great, there are few things that can guarantee I’ll watch a match and talk about them. One of those things is putting Audaz/Triton on the same team. If they are going to team regularly in Arena Puebla, CMLL is making Puebla must watch. This likely isn’t either guys best match of 2018, but it’s still plenty of fun. A stacked lineup for this match as rudos Templario/Virus/Tiger aren’t pushovers either. Titan/Templario seemed to be the main feud teased here, but we also had some great moments between Tiger/Triton as well. 

Diamante Azul, Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs. Hijos del Infierno(Mephisto, Luciferno & Ephesto)

Who’s who?

Diamante Azul in white, Oro/Roja in red/gold with Oro having gold boots and Roja having red boots.

Mephisto in a half red demon mask, Luciferno in blue pants and Ephesto in red.

How’s the match?

Good, but this was too by the numbers. CMLL seems to want a Azul/Mephisto feud, but this was a poor way to build to it. Having a so-so match last week with a screwball finish and then this match that felt like it was everyone just going through the paces. Hopefully if this is leading to a 3rd week with Azul/Mephisto we get a good title matches that makes these preliminary matches being lackluster forgotten about. 

Los Guerreros Laguneros(Ultimo Guerrero/Gran Guerrero/Euforia) vs. Rush, Mistico & Caristico

Who’s who?

Guerreros in green/black/white Ultimo maskless and Euforia the biggest.

Rush maskless, Mistico in white/gold and Caristico in all white. 

How’s the match?

Very good, this match is more about the feud between Caristico/Mistico than these two teams actually fighting. I have no idea why Caristico would want to team with Mistico since they always butt heads. Rush isn’t the type to calm down his little brother so when shit hit the fan at the end of this match, he only helped Mistico take out his frustrations on Caristico. It’s a feud reheated and I’ll be excited to see how this is followed next week on Puebla, perhaps we’ll get Mistico/Caristico, but more likely is probably Rush/Mistico vs. Caristico(+Guerreros) or some other ally of Caristico? This match is more about the story development than a great match, but was still plenty of fun to watch. 

Highlights :

Disturbio, El Hijo del Signo & Malayo vs. Star Jr., Rey Samuray & Arkalis

Who’s who?

Disturbio with red hair in DBZ inspired gear, El Hijo del Signo with facial hair and Malayo is wearing all red. 

Star Jr. in green, Rey Samuray light blue and Arkalis in white. 

How’s the match?

Good, I’m a fan of Star Jr. and Disturbio. Both are guys who can go missing for a week or two, so it’s nice to see them both resurface. Even if it is on the undercard of a Puebla show.  Rey Samuray is pretty good, but he looks awful in trunks. I think the look he is going for is Avatar... which will be cool again when Avatar 2 comes out in 2025. Signo is a better base than even I give him credit for. This isn’t anything to write home about, with Disturbio wearing a scouter when he came out being one of the cooler things in the match. Still a cut above the average opener which is normally minis or a group of low low low card guys. 

Okumura, Kawato San & Universo 2000 Jr. vs. Guerrero Maya Jr., Triton & Stuka Jr.

Who’s who?

Okumura/Kawato San both in red pants with Okumura being the senior member and Universo 2000 Jr. in black wearing a mask. 

Guerrero Maya Jr. in black, Triton in white and Stuka Jr. in light blue. 

How’s the match?

Very good, Kawato San gets lots of shit. I don’t think it’s all warranted even if he had pretty awful catches a month or so ago. This match and other matches since dying his hair shows that he has improved a lot since first coming to CMLL. Triton of course is great as always and it’s nice to see 2000 Jr. on these cards even if he is obviously not the star of this match or his other recent matches. Stuka Jr. and Kawato San fighting was lots of fun, even if we have probably seen it in recent weeks. 

NGD(Sanson, Cuatrero & Forastero) vs El Hijo del Infierno(Mephisto, Luciferno & Ephesto)

Who’s who?

NGD in white/black.

Sansons has the hardest to pickout with long accents back from his eyes.

Cuatrero has horseshoes on his attire.

Forastero has a bandolier around the hips of his tights and a gun on the side.

Mephisto the leader in a gold mask, Luciferno in red mask with his name on his shirt, and Ephesto has his circular goat like horns. 

How’s the match?

Very good, NGD brought out all the spots and looked impressive here. Demons did fine, but didn’t do much to make themselves look great. That might have been the point to put the younger champs over who retained, but not without first unloading everything they had. With the win here, it sorta feels like Sanson could demand a shot at Mephisto’s CMLL World Welterweight Championship. Maybe that’s asking too much, but I think it could be a great program between two great talents. It would also continue this feud a little longer. 

Kraneo, Atlantis & Niebla Roja vs. Los ingobernables(Rush, Terrible & Bestia del Ring)

Who’s who?

Kraneo in gold/black, Atlantis in blue/black & Roja in red. 

Rush takes his shirt off, all three have their names on the back and Terrible has the most facial hair. 

How’s the match?

Good, this is about what I expected when it looked like Rush/Kraneo were facing off again. Rush bullied Kraneo and threw the match way by ripping off the mask of Kraneo. It’s interesting this is still going on as people may have thought that this was going to be over now that La Park showed up. I’m not sure if Kraneo will figure into the La Park story or perhaps this will be a B plot for Rush that stays mostly in Puebla? Either way, I like Kraneo even if he isn’t the most athletic or traditional looking luchador. So, I’m excited to see if this goes somewhere.  

Titan, Gran Guerrero and Ultimo Guerrero vs. Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. & Flyer

Who’s who?

Soberano Jr. in blue, Volador Jr. in red(maskless) and Flyer in white.

Titan in a silver mask, Ultimo Guerrero in black/green maskless & Gran in green/black with a mask.

How’s the match?

Great, this match is overflowing with talent and it shows. Gran Guerrero and Ultimo do some teamwork which Gran has been doing in spades the last few weeks with Euforia on Tuesday. This match wasn’t something we knew would lead to something, but it did. With Soberano/Titan fueding heavily in this match which included the fun finish. Those two locked up a few times here and post match Titan threw down the challenge to Soberano Jr. A good puebla show for CMLL and proof that the drought of good shows there is over. 

Highlights :