CMLL Line - 04/16/02 (30)

More Lucha Then Porky Can Eat (maybe): If you remember from two weeks ago, I said there would be AAA lucha on Telemundo last week (and there was, even if only CRZ seemed to watch it) and this week. I thought I'd remind you about it one more time - Telemundo! 4PM CST! It doesn't appear to be on the schedule for next week, so take your chance while you got it. In one of those coincidences that sure doesn't look like a coincidences, Galavision has decided to run it's own block of Lucha on Saturday - from 1:30 CST to 4:30. That's the same length as the Tuesday block, so it could just be a repeat of the previous action. Or it could be next Tuesday's action days ahead of time. Or it could be something completely different. Who can say - I guess you can if you check it out. Make Saturday afternoon lucha loony! Or find some other way to kill time, I don't really care.

Thanks to: Robert Ortega for the original format.

Vignette: "Rayo De Jalisco Preocupado Por Cien Caras" - Rayo talks with Tienbalas and Blue Demon about the upcoming trios matches. Rayo's still hating the Capos.

Notes: What the heck are Tarzan and Ultimo doing here? Why do they have to mix the cool people with the not-so-cool people? I could totally ignore this match otherwise. This is the semi-annual random Tienbalas Jr. appearance. Ultimo and Demon have a nice mat exchange to start. Tienbalas may be wearing the ugliest outfit possible. Red and black and gold and ugly. Tarzan and Tienbalas aren't as good as the first pair doing the mat wrestling. Rayo and Cien's segment is short - Rayo hits an okay suicide tope and the fall finishes up quickly. Fall 2 was also good - not drop dead great but a lot better than I would have expected, with all the parts meshing well (Tarzan making Rayo look great, most of all.) Triple pose/submission on Demon near the beginning of the third fall but the tecincos broke it up quick. Rayo got a near fall off an abdominal stretch - same move Shocker used in the same building for the win a week ago, so that's either luck or nice building off what the fans had seen. Demon hits a nice suicide tope on Tarzan after some double teaming by the GdI guys goes bad. After a flying cross body got Rayo too, Cien had enough and hit the blatant low blow kick - blatant to all but the referees, of course. Tienbalas saw it, expected a DQ, and pulled the ref away from the following Cien pinfall count when he realized that a DQ wasn't called - but after the three count. 

Vignette: "New Japan vs CMLL" - some of the NJ talent in beat up on Negro Casas. "CMLL Listos Contra Japon"

Notes: I really appreciate the graphics being up this week, because there's no way I'm spelling the NJ Juniors right otherwise. Rey's wearing much more of a pirate get up than usual this week. It's strange to see Rey and Wagner on the same team, seeing as they were fighting each other two weeks ago for the trios belts. First fall is rudo beatdown. Tanemura does a nice German suplex bridge and good team work with Rey. Funny (accidental, I think) miscommunication sees the rudos set up for a triple big boot to start the second fall but Tanemura somehow hits a dropkick instead. Then they have a contest on how who can stomp Olimpico in the corner and out of the ring the best - it's a close one. Second fall is beatdown to start, comeback comes from...Atlantis moving out of the way of a charge and then going 1 on 3 for a moment. Olimpico gives Tanemura an uncovicing DDT on the floor. We transition into a normal match without actually getting the fall, with a lot of building once Tane and Casas get in there. Atlantis and Wagner have a pretty good sequence, then Rey comes in and things go badly for the rudos. Third fall starts normally, but with a crowd shot. Again we build the Tane/Casas encounter. Atlantis and Wagner again do good things to each other. Wagner teased the Rock Bottom but Atlantis elbows out. Rey eventually had to come into save Wagner, but he didn't fair too much better. Buccanero took an unbelievably risky bump - running on the apron, he was monkey flipped over the corner by Olimpico, landing on the floor below. He did grab the ropes on his way over to balance himself but he was lucky to land as well as he did. Tecincos did one of the cool (when the camera picks it up right - not as well done here as in the past) double dives - Atlantis hitting the running suicide tope on Wagner while Olimpico did a top rope suicide plancha for Rey. Again Tane and Casas in the ring - Tane controls earlier but Casas came back and went for the Negro Casas Special (dropkick to the knee, La Majistral) but Wataru Inoue came in and sprayed him with red mist as he was going for the roll up, making it two disappointing finishes in a row. Rey and Wagner weren't too pleased with the outcome either, or the waving of the Japanese flag that Inoue brought with him.  

Notes: Rudos get no entrance (so I don't know who the fourth guy is on their side till I looked it up) and jump the Villanos while Silva is taking his time getting to the ring. A Una Caida is one of the best phrases ever. This greatly resembles every Silva match you've ever seen. And it's putting me to sleep. IV wakes me up with a nice suicide tope and then we have the finish

Note on date: It wasn't the same date as the rest of these matches (not listed on that arena report) and it might have not even aired on the original Televisa broadcast. So that means this wasn't till last fall (at the soonest) when this match could've taken place - I didn't feel like looking it up right now.

Spectacular Moments - Wow, Villano IV picks the wrong way to fall out of the ring for sure. Ultimo sells well. This is a trios match I would have liked to seen. Nice triple teaming. Black Tiger somehow doesn't get DQed for an obvious mask pull - oh wait, he does, but no one tells him.

Vignette: Shocker and Niebla talk on the street. Shocker's dressed awful nice and wow are there are a lot of people standing around watching this. They're doing this for Mexico.

Notes: They list this as CMLL vs New Japan not Tecincos vs Rudos, though it's obviously playing out that way. I think I have the NJ guys straight in my head but we'll see. First fall is fine but not extraordinary - above average. They're really building the German suplex as a huge move for the NJ guys. Black Tiger and his team seems to rather leave than start the next match with Shocker. I think they thought they won this match already - they got the pinfall, they got two pinfalls, actually. Nice snake eyes by Lizmark on Black Tiger - I think he was going for Tiger's mask at the end of the second fall. Shibata pulled off a nice legbar submission and than an octopus. Spinaroonie. It's still weird to see Lizmark as an above average sized guy, but it's all relative. Tiger hit what seemed to be a fairly obvious low blow while Lizmark was on the second rope posing to the crowd, but it was ruled a shot to the inner thigh. Lizmark did the dizzy headbutt to the groin, starting another "low blow or not?" debate - turned out to be not. Bronco Billie special by Shocker. Why do a release Northern Lights Suplex and then pin? Why not just hold on? I guess I don't understand the Japanese. When someone's blocking my superplex I'd check to see how they're doing it before lifting again but I'm going against Shocker so what do I know. The finish was quick and almost out of nowhere - replays showed that another Japanese wrestler (Kuroneko, who had spent the 11 previous minutes standing around and making faces) tripped Shocker from outside and everything domino-ed from there. Shocker complained about the cheating after the match and surely wanted a rematch for next week.

Next Week: Black Tiger and his NJ friends against Shocker and his CMLL teammates, it looks like. Also, Silva, Dr. Wagner, Negro Casas, Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Jalisco Jr., Super Porky and much more

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.

Closing Notes: 

1. I have no idea who the NJ kids are, but they're okay.
2. They didn't seem to have much trouble adjusting to lucha rules
3. Weird the amount of people that are showing up for one week - we had the Tijuana group two weeks ago, and now the NJ group
4. Wish we had some follow up on Magica winning the elimination match a few weeks ago by now.
5. Silva makes me sleepy