The Lucha Libre Thread

[pgi86]

Man, I don't think I've ever seen a crowd turn on a show quite like that. They were PISSED OFF, and rightfully so. On a more positive note, however, there was plenty of good wrestling on this show and the main event in particular was just amazing (if you dig that sort of match that is). Those two guys just killed each other trying to win that crowd. Anyway, thumbs up for the actual show but thumbs way down for CMLL's bait-and-switch shenanigans.

[Vamp]

It was an entertaining night. Super Porky had a blinder I thought, but then that's partly because he had a bigger crowd than usual. The Rush rudo turn, if that's what it was, did not play out anything like I imagined. It seems strange if the angriest guy on the roster turns rudo by using the ropes on a pin. Ishi fit in better than I think CMLL thought he would, although a lot of the credit for that has to go to Stuka who worked Ishi's style.

 

As for the mask vs. mask, yeah. I said a while back that it had entered my mind that the reason they added Volador Jr and La Sombra is that whatever deal they thought they had with Ultimo Guerrero or Atlantis had fallen through. But then in the last week of the show it seemed like the momentum was still so much behind Guerrero vs. Atlantis that I thought they'd have to end it with them two. Instead CMLL managed to put on their second biggest match they had, one of their biggest matches in a hell of a long time, and get the audience to feel ripped off by it. The problem is that the hardcore fans had been there from the start of the Guerrero vs. Atlantis feud where they were promised the mask match between them, and if you're an average joe Ultimo Guerrero vs. Atlantis is a bout of two legends, you'd probably want to see that more than Volador and La Sombra. It was jut stupid booking of the highest degree. As was the "winner stays on" which they didn't really make much of. The mask match itself was a game of two halves for me. I'm not the biggest fan of CMLL singles match in Arena Mexico because they pretty much all try to be epic. For the first half of the match it was very much a Sombra vs. Volador match which is a good match but they've had it so many times this year alone that, if you watch as often as me, you know what's happening. They turned it up in the last half of the third fall though, and credit to the two men to being inventive at times and willing to go that effort to try and make their mask match remembered over the bullshit. The finish was disturbing though. I very much thought Volador had been seriously injured. Big shame that Volador's lost his many masks, they were fantastic, so hopefully he busts out the face paint. Amusing that such a big show ended with the technico winning what should have been such a very big match and the fans were throwing garbage in the ring.

[Reznor]

Wow, that was a fun experience! Terra didn't half deliver. It stopped for a minute once or twice in the first few matches, which mostly covered the intervals, but worked perfectly for 99% of the show. CMLL 1-0 AAA

 

I had to keep the volume low so I didn't quite realise the extent of the crowd anger until I read about it later, although I should've guessed. I was desperate for Ultimo/Atlantis too after my indecisiveness in my slaverings the other day. Sucks for sure, but it's hardly a fraud if the fans bought their ticket after the four men were announced. If they were on sale before Volador and Sombra were added, that's obviously another matter entirely - I don't know how it was done.

 

To me, the show was a mixed bag. First four matches including the 'little' big match were all excellent as expected, before things went south. Even disregarding the 'fraud' aspect to it, the two matches that made up the main were both just horrid to me. The tag match was nothing. I kinda figured what was up when Volador was all kitted out in his classic gear & colour - then Atlantis and Ultimo getting their shit in for a few minutes just confirmed it, which was a big downer. Still, the four of them might've put a bit more thought and effort into the tag match, they can still create drama without going balls out with big crowd popping spots. It felt like one of those shitty little condensed tournament matches CMLL often run.

 

Once it was Volador and Sombra for the masks, I knew it wasn't going to be for me. You know what kind of match you're getting between those two, and it's a 'style' (if you can call it that) I abhor, and which, to put it bluntly, isn't even lucha libre. We also knew the result was a foregone conclusion and the guy I'm into was going down to the golden boy who I have no time for, so there was never any chance of this one wowing me. That said, after about the 4th absurd piledriver and both guys exhausting about every single big move they've ever done, I was almost expecting a draw or dco, but alas it was not to be.

 

It sucks on an aesthetic level too, as Volador always looks boss, whilst the same can't be said for Sombra. Last night was particularly bad, he looked more like resident CMLL shitarse, Diamante, which I guess is kinda fitting. And I wish they'd get those flaming t-shirts to feck!

 

So yeah, pretty gutted about that and no more Volador mask, but look on the bright side, there's still a few of positives to take;

- hopefully that's going to be the end of this boring feud between those two, or at least it'll be toned down a bit from now on

- at least Volador has a decent enough look so he should manage fine

- He can still walk and will actually wrestle again. Seriously, what a retarded final spot (as well as some others during the match) - and what a retarded idea over the past few years to destroy the martinete. That's not the evolution of a style, it's the bastardisation of it. They need to rein that kind of shit in - leave that nonsense to Daga and those backyarder types.

- we've still got Atlantis and Ultimo to look forward to, woohoo!! Roll on Dos Leyendas next March!

 

Elsewhere, no complaints with the opener. Curtain jerkers aren't supposed to blow you away and this was just right for a big show - like a decent segunda would be on an ordinary week. I liked Rey's new outfit, he rarely switches between his blue and back gear - must be a bit of a cheapskate. And you gotta love the Brilla Cometa - just stunning. Hopefully he puts it into storage until next year though. Didn't like the look of the new guy which I guess is pretty natural as i don't like the hard hitting Japanese heavyweight stuff. Shame it basically took Stuka out the game.

 

And what about Porky getting it right up me too? - 'ksake, he was like man possessed, he made that match a lot of fun, but in a different way from how he usually does it. I liked Mephisto's look.

 

And Rush and Casas...... More! More! More! More! - Hair match at year end show please!

 

How good was Panther? What a star. Fun match, probably would've been better as a main event and with an extra 5 minutes. That ending was fabulous though, as much as I was rooting for the maestro.

 

And last but also least,.... the trios match was pretty much exactly as anticipated. And if all they're doing is dives, all we can really talk about is dives, so i'll say I liked Mascara Doradas new twisty one, and move on...

 

So that was that. Cracking night, disappointing ending, but looking forward to a new chapter for Volador Jr, and despite last nights fuck-up of a judgement call, it should be a fantastic upcoming time for CMLL if they go through with the two matches we want to see. It'll be interesting to see what AAA do now as for all their bluster, they've been regressing this year whilst CMLL look to be on the up. AAA have nothing left within their roster to get excited about now, and they're definitely going to have to do something major - whether that's bringing back Park and Wagner for some more fun, Wagner and Canek for a mask match if Park's not for playing, Sin Cara when he's inevitably released soon, or whatever... Interesting times may lie ahead.

 

Finally, f*ck Sombra

[Vamp]

You and others are a lot more confident that Atlantis vs. Guerrero is happening than I am. I still think CMLL balked at the price of either mask and that's why what happened happened.

 

Cubs and RobViper seemed to be hinting that Black Terry and co might be getting involved in the Rush vs. Casas feud. So that's very exciting.

 

I think AAA's waiting for the American deal that they think is on the verge of happening. They hired some people to produce cheat sheets to their storylines and things to gear for it. I don't think anything's going to happen until that either goes through of collapses. We'll presume the latter's happening. I don't think they're gonna do anything in the meantime. Which is sucky for Secta as they're getting a push at a time when nothing matters.

[D R]

I was just browsing here for the first time in an eternity and thought I should pimp the new DVDR 1980's Lucha set. 100 selected matches that represent the best of Mexican wrestling in the 80's. You can get it from the awesome Goodhelmet. The old DVDR forums died a horrific death a few months ago but the new forums are up where there will be threads to discuss all the matches. I've watched several of the 80's sets before for other promotions and they really are a great way to highlight a golden decade for wrestling.

[Reznor]

So, anyone been watching much CMLL since the anniversary shows now that (at least the undercard of) normal Friday shows are being streamed? Some cool shit to be had. And whether there's a a pattern emerging, or it's just coincidence, the best of the bunch seems to be falling into the tercera slot.

 

First week after the anniversary, there was a cracking midcard 'workrate' type battle with Rey Cometa, Hijo del Fantasma, Triton vs Puma, Tiger, Ishii. The next week surpassed it, it was great stuff with Guerrero Maya, Stuka, Fuego vs Psicosis, Kraneo, Morphosis and featured plenty of midget violence. One of my fave trios matches all year. If I had a list of everything I looked for in my midcard lucha, this would've ticked most of the boxes.

 

Then the following weeks offering (friday past) was as much of an angle as a match. A bit brief maybe, but great stuff while it lasted. Super Porky, Maximo, Stuka vs Rey Escorpion, Dragon Rojo Jr, Polvora - No vid until later in the week. Porky and Escorpion are feuding and it's been loads of fun! Stiff and intense brawling, dastardly beatdowns, intense comebacks, and post match challenges (with more violence). All it needed was blood. I'm totally sold on a hair match between these two, and it will happen, maybe even as soon as a week on Friday where a big(ger than usual) Friday show is expected to counter Heroes Inmortales and the WWE tour. I so wish I could understand spoken Spanish for all their post match stuff though. So aye, definitely one to check out once Cubs does his stuff on Tuesday.

 

Anyways..my blabbering aside, the real reason for this post; a heads up for anyone with good taste

 

Virus v Guerrara Maya. For the CMLL Super Lightheavyweight Title. In a rematch from their classic from two years ago. Tonight. On terra.

 

Me:

 

 

Rest of the show looks fun too. Not that it matters. Get it watched, people!!

[Vamp]

Aye Maya vs. Virus looks very tasty. I'm pretty much staying up just for that one.

[Forrest]

Can someone list the TV shows CMLL currently have? I gather they have a lot. Do the Lucha fiends on here follow them all or do you just follow the main ones?

[Mr Butternut Squash]

Has there been a standout CMLL event/PPV from this year (and a free link)? About time I got into some Lucha.

[Vamp]

On the TV show front there's the two Terra broacasts (Friday and Sunday), the Fox show which shows the main events from the Friday show, there's a shorter version of the Sunday event, there's the C3 show (from the Tuesday show) and a couple more from local regions like Puebla. I'm sure some people watch all of them but there's no actual 'need' to in terms of keeping up with things. The Friday show is the main one (though I tend to prefer the Sunday shows) which has the main angles. I'm going through a down period with my lucha watching having watched very little these past few weeks but even when I'm not I don't think I could watch all those shows. I'm sure some people do but you're just going to burn yourself out because a lot of it is just random meaningless matches with outcomes that don't matter a jot. The best way to watch, I find, is to check out the pimped matches (deathvalleydriver have a weekly topic on good lucha matches to check out) or to follow matches with the guys you're interested in and matches involving whatever feud is going on. The Sunday show's fun to watch live on Terra. To me there seems to be a notable difference between the way they wrestle on Fridays and Sundays (i.e. they take it easier on Sundays) and I prefer the latter. I think terra's started uploading the shows to watch later too or something. But beyond that I don't really follow shows so to speak.

 

As for stand out events, there's the 80th and the Arena Coliseo events. I think you can find the first on the luchablog youtube page. I'm not sure what happened with the latter.

[Reznor]

Amazing.

 

Like their was any doubt.

 

In fact, it was even better than expected because I surprisingly got the result I wanted when I felt certain it would go the other way! One or two little nitpicks but they were negligible, this was right up there with the best this year.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

Virus

 

[close spoiler]

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Super fun show otherwise too blah blah blah...

[Vamp]

I didn't really get into the rest of the show but loved that Virus vs. Maya match. Probably one of the best lucha matches of the year. The crowd actually gave them the time too, rather than some of the shitty Friday crowds who would have booed the basic first fall.

[ultimo the great]

Dr Wagner Jr was stabbed last night. in the wrist

 

Graphic

 

Santo's claiming it's down to AAA

 

google translated

 

Dear friends! Unfortunately a couple of hours ago my colleague Dr Wagner Jr. suffered an attack upon reaching home, was threatened with a knife and trying to fend suffered a wrist injury. This was related to what they said before TV cameras referring to who was stripped of his character in USA, because it was not an assault.

Rather than being rivals in the ring, we are colleagues and I wish you a speedy recovery! This cowardly attack can not go unpunished.

[Vamp]

Santo is an idiot.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I'm hearing all this El Rey Network stuff is all spin and its not much of a big deal at all? Konnan made it out like they'd be touring the US like the Harlem Globetrotters or something. Anyone got more info on this thing? Sounds like typical wrestling hype which will lead to little buzz to me.