CMLL Line - 03/26/02

Thanks to: Robert Ortega for the original format.

Vignette: Los Capos - Universo, Mascara and Apolo (no Cien?) - discuss strategy, smoke and play cards in their basement of evil. Actually, no one smokes, they all just hold the smoking cigarettes. I guess they're talking about the next match. This was much easier when the vignettes had titles - now they just list the people involved and the group name. 

Notes:  Of course the Capos attack before the bell. We don't even get all the introductions, and my mind locks on the third face. Usual team moves Capo beatdown - the tecincos get whipped into each other. Universo reversed a body slam into a small package out of nowhere, with no build or prior hope spot, to get the fall. We pick up right where we left off for the second fall. Okay double teaming with a nice triple dropkick to the head on Mano Negro. Rayo almost won the SAME EXACT WAY for the second fall, but this time Apolo noticed in time and rolled the small package the other way. Mask pulling in between falls - Jalisco's was almost totally pulled out. Apolo and Universo beat down Jalisco till Niebla finnaly tried to make the save. Universo got a hold of a chain and choked Jalisco out on the outside. Somewhere in the third fall, Shocker showed up commentary - but only for a moment, I think. Everyone but Mano Negro and Apolo brawled out in the aisle after the babyfaces made their comeback. Then they all came back. Universo pulled Rayo's mask off completely while the ref was looking the other way, and when Jalisco rolled out to hide his face, that gave the Capos the numbers advantage. The match felt half-hearted at points, and Jalisco dominated on the babyface side.

Notes: Dr. X is an opening match worker we haven't seen often - he and Virus have matching outfits. Hombre Sin Nombre is now wearing a white match to confuse me. We take a huge gut in action in the first minute - one moment, Dr. X is taking down HSN and putting on a STF, one crowd shot later, it's Ricky Marvin putting a half Boston on Virus. During this match, the announcers mentioned Rey Mysterio and La Familia Tijuna - they'll be on next week. Zumbido and Felino did a good quick reversal sequence. HSN about killed Zumbido with a faceslam. Tecincos win a series of individual encounters leading to a pin - that's the big number there that should get a letter because it happens often enough. NC Combo is the dropkick to the knee -> La Majistral rollup that Negro Casas uses as his finish - Marvin almost blew the roll up here. The rudos here are more energetic in their beatdown, I think. While Dr. X gets credit for the winning move, it was more than he got to hit his move last then his was the most important - lots of double teams and set ups in the beatdown. Marvin was down on the outside for a long time after being ejected out of the ring in the second fall. Better triple dropkick here. They tried it twice, though, and it didn't work out so well. Zumbido hit a nice Asai moonsault. Nice tope by HSN was eclipsed a second later by a high springboard corkscrew moonsault by Marvin. Nice finish - Felino flipped into a jacknife just to make sure he'd get the three.

Vignette: Los Brazos hang out in a park. Aww yeech Porky has visible nipples through his shirt. Not that we can't them anyway since he wrestlers without a shirt, but it just attracts attention to them. They talk about the Villanos, I think. Porky is out of breath from running a short distance. 

Notes: Villano V is (was?) out injured. Porky really needs to stop doing that stripe tease. Rudos (?) attack before the bell. Oro's already busted open, under a minute in. IV has a gold/black color scheme going for his mask. This is slightly better than the capos beatdown, but slight. The fact the fall was win didn't really stop the beatdown - they went ahead and made Platino tap too. Oro ripped at Fuerza's mask in the third fall and V3 got busted open. V4's mask got ripped too, but we didn't get to see it happen. Oro, who was eliminated for the match, came in to roll Platino on top of III after the splash, which is totally cheating. The match quickly shifted from "intense brawling" to "comedy" with no transitions, which was kinda annoying. 

Spectacular Moments - some nice 450 splashes. And a big moonsault to the floor. Veneno with a really impactful somersault senton.

Vignette: Los Guerrero Del Infernals discuss the next match, which is apparently the #1 contenders for the CMLL Trios Titles (after the PPV match.) We saw clips of the two semifinals last week, or at least I assume that's what we saw.

Notes: Olimpico and Ultimo started out with an elaborate mat wrestling sequence, ending with Ultimo being monkey flipped out of the ring. When Ultimo came back in, Olimpico put him in a reverse chinlock. Rey and Tarzan ran into break that up and tried to run back out, but Olimpico and Lizmark chased them into the aisle, where they begged off. We got a clip in her, and when we looked back, GdI was double teaming - a great spinning heel kick/leg sweep Total Elimination combo by Rey and Ultimo. Lots of fun triple teaming - best of the bunch. Triple wheelbarrow suplex for Olimpico. Triple pose - I think it was supposed to be a triple cover, but Tarzan Boy didn't hit his move on Atlantis right. Or maybe it was supposed to be a ref stop, but it still didn't look like Atlantis hit his move right. Tarzan Boy missed a corner sliding dropkick (crotching himself, of course) and Olimpico started the comeback. Nice, but slightly brief comeback to secure the fall. Atlantis didn't hit a moonsault counter on Rey, but managed to hit an armdrag to cover quite well. In threw off their timing for the next couple spots, though. Rey took the slide to the floor too, and Ultimo as thrown out, leaving Tarzan Boy alone. Olimpico tried to go for a bodyscissors rollup but Tarzan Boy escaped for his life. Clip ahead to Rey and Lizmark - these clips are killing me this week. Rey took a monkey flip to the floor. We might have got another clip in here to Ultimo coming in - or he's really fast. Ultimo takes a backdrop to the floor. ANOTHER CLIP and now they're just trying to be annoying - nice reverse superlex  and he gets the pin off that. You got the impression that, had we seen it all, this might be a 90+ level match but we saw so little of it, you don't know - they could've kept missing spots like they did at times early.

Anyway, GdI move on to face the winner at the PPV, which is just a few days away at this point. GdI talk after the match - promising victory, surely. Replays show us more than we saw originally, that's always funny. Tarzan Boy hit a pescado on Atlantis, Rey hit a second rope facebuster to set up his finish. 

Next Week: The CMLL Trios Title Match - GdI vs the Champions - (oddly, only Black Warrior, Mr. Niebla, and Antifaz are hyped.) Also, Santo, Halloween, Nicho, Juvi, Damien, Negro Casas, Ricky Marvin, Olimpico, Safari and many more. Don't miss the PPV! 

Rating: Bases on the quality of the finish, ring work, internal/external storyline, consistency and my whims. Also, various other (random) factors that I can't think of right now. 0-100 for matches.

Momentum Key: A number indicate that side is in control, E is for even, M is for Mixed, * for Interference. ^B is for an extended Beatdown.

Closing Notes: 

1. Villanos vs Brazos and Jalsico vs Universo seem like unavoidable evils; they're actual feuds so they need to show up on TV
2. Not that I really enjoy them.
3. You'd think Hombre Sin Nombre would get a name by now.
4. If they show most of it, that Trios Title Match could be off the charts.
5. But which side is the tecincos?