What is CNL? Well, it is a promotion based in Santiago, Chile. Campeonato Nacional de Luch Libre hosts shows regularly at a venue called Club Chocolate and have so for over 3 years now. Previously they held occasional events every two months or so. Now to keep a more steady presence, they tape shows to air weekly via Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. We start with last week’s episode.
Commentators Matias Reyes and former wrestler Nelson Medel welcome us from the DJ booth before going into the first match.
CJC vs Sobre2sis
Sobre2sis is more literally translated as “sobredosis” or “overdose”. The match, a theme throughout the show, is a short one. Sobre2sis hits a Dropkick and Suicide Dive as the crowd chants “Si Se Puede” (Yes You Can). CJC responds with a Suplex but Sobre2sis comes right back with a Standing Spanish Fly that comes a little short on the rotation. Sobre2sis tries a Double Springboard jump but CJC gets out of the way and hits a not so well executed Stormbreaker for the win. It’s an abrupt and simple as it sounds.
After that, we see the arrival of Jumbo Jackson manager of the Chilean Empire and the CNL Tag Team Champions. Jumbo right away shows his influences as he wears the same necktie as character Yoshikage Kira from the anime ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’ and does The Miz’ “When my hand goes up your mouth goes shut routine”. He calls CNL’s idea of a Tag Team division a joke and while being kings is easy, being gods like them isn’t.
Semi-Final #1 Contenders Tournament:
Demian Kross vs Addam Jones
This is a tournament to decide the next challenger to the CNL National Champion, CNL’s top title. Though who the Champion is, isn’t mentioned. Jones is a pretty well-built guy while Demian has a somewhat typical goth look. He bounces Jones off the corner but right away is stopped with a Spinebuster and a Sitout Pop Up Powerbomb to give Jones the win. It’s also as abrupt as it sounds.
We get our first (and only) backstage segment as Metropolitan Champion Francis enters general manager Jorge Salazar’s office. Salazar shows he’s a bit of a quirky geek as his arm has a Majora’s Mask tattoo, he has a Baby Groot doll on top of a PlayStation Classic (someone bought one?!) next to an NES Classic. He’s also clearly binging YouTube videos before he’s interrupted as Francis wants to be a fighting Champion and bring prestige to the mid-card title and face competition like Rocket, PPS, and Alessandro. So Jorge makes a match with those 3 guys as his opponents. Francis seems very pleased.
CNL Women’s Championship:
Alexandra (c) vs Engel
Engel is quick to antagonize and mark herself as the heel as the two exchange blows in the corners. Engel is sent outside for a Suicide Dive with Alexandra barely avoiding a fatal crash face first against the bleacher steps. She does hit a unique looking Snapmare Driver performed with her legs rather than the standard Cravate variant but it’s only good for 2. Engel spits at Alexandra who gets mad and charges in. The ref tries to calm her down but Engel rakes the eyes, hits a Dirty Deeds and a Swanton Bomb for the win and the title. Again, really short, but it had a story to it. We got this thrown completely dry here.
We get a profile on Axel Ochoa. A man who traveled from Venezuela to train and wrestle for CNL. None of the controversy going on in Venezuela is touched, and he was probably in Chile well before it.
CNL Tag Team Championships:
The Chilean Empire (Eddie Vergara & Al Cold with Jumbo Jackson) vs Sinner & Shocko
Sinner is more of a heavy metal type than goth while Shocko is….. I really can’t define him. He’s meant to be a surprise, but we’re never given any context as to why he was meant to be a surprise. The make-shift babyface team goes on the offense right away with big moves. A Reverse Rana and a Tope Suicida clears the ring and lets Shocko hit a big Splash on to Al Cold for a 2 count as the crowd loses it for the hot start. Things cool down as the heels get to work on Sinner until he manages to hit a Dropkick. He goes for a tag and the crowd is very hot for it but gets cut off with a German Suplex. Sinner again has to work for the tag and this time hit’s a Step Up Tornado DDT to knock both Champions out of the way to get the tag to Shocko who comes in hot for a bit. The babyfaces hit stereo Moonsaults for a double pin but Jumbo Jackson pulls the referee out of the ring. That lets The Empire hit stereo low blows and the Authors Of Pain’s Super Collider. A Flapjack/Fameasser retains the title in what was a very hot main event to close the show.
The action was not bad at all but the matches were very short to really get a hold on anything. The characters though show some pretty interesting quirks to them. Overall, the promotion feels very similar to PROGRESS with the nightclub atmosphere, the quirky young roster grown inside from the start and such but you just see small glimpses of it here. For me, it was interesting enough but it not might be for most who are less patient.
Thank you for reading this review. If you want to check out CNL, they upload their shows to their official YouTube Page Here. If you wish to follow me on social media and see my various escapades, please do so here on my Facebook Blog where I now present a pretty unique regular Blog.
Originally written by AB Morales
