#Review CMLL Spectacular Fridays 03/22/19

We’re coming off the 2 Leyends show where the main event basically crashed against the barricade. El Terrible dislocated his shoulder leading to the babyfaces being very hated for beating a one-armed man. We did get an amazing Trios match just before though in the latest edition of CMLL Spectacular Fridays.

Grako & El Coyote vs Star Jr & Enigma

We get the more standard CMLL opening match here. A rather dull affair as the four start off taking turns chain wrestling before Grako hits an Elbow Drop on Star Jr to eliminate him and a Splash to Enigma ends the first fall.

The second one is just as short as Enigma gets a Flapjack after some brawling. Star Jr rallies and holds Grako for a Missile Dropkick to the groin to eliminate him. A Michinoku Driver from Enigma to Coyote ties the match one a piece and it ends with the heels attacking together for the third fall. Star Jr surprises Grako with a top rope Tornillo Dive to pin him and a Backpack Stunner from Enigma to Coyote wins it for the babyfaces. Again, very dull here.

#Review CMLL Spectacular Fridays 03/22/19
Image: CMLL

Kaho Kobayashi, Mystique & Marcela vs Dalys, Reyna Isis & Amapola

Mystique sounds like an X-Men gimmick. She’s actually a ninja. They take their usual turns to start off before Dalys (who’s a powerlifter and impressive in stature) and Kaho Kobayashi (a Yoshihiro Tajiri student and very short) have quite the David/Goliath battle. Kobayashi uses her quickness sending Dalys out with a Missile Dropkick and hitting a Tope Suicida which lets her partners hit big moves to pin Dalys’ partners and win the first fall.

The second fall is….. Very confusing. Dalys dominates the action and her partners lend a hand. The babyface team mounts a comeback but Dalys hits Mystique with a Powerbomb to eliminate her. At the same time, Kaho pins Isis with her own Powerbomb and the heels jump Kaho which leads to a very out of nowhere DQ. I don’t know if it was because the heels broke up one pinfall too many or the ref just had it but it was not well explained here.

#Review CMLL Spectacular Fridays 03/22/19
Image: CMLL

Polvora, Vangellys & Hirai Kawato (with Mije) vs El Audaz, Flyer & Stuka Jr

Hirai Kawato is an NJPW Young Lion and is billed as “Kawato-san” here. Surprisingly, Spanish and Japanese go very well hand in hand in terms of pronunciation. Yet Japanese names are still very hard to read due to the lack of those accents on top of vocals. Very key for pronouncing words. And that was your culture lesson for this review.

This match is a solid one. After the rather too common “everyone gets a turn” tagging that has been going on all night, The team of Audaz, Stuka and Flyer clear the ring for a Triple Tope spot. Flyer hits Kawato with a Spanish Fly and Audaz hits the always impressive Dragonrana to Vangellys to win the fall. The second fall is very short as Polvora hits Audaz with a top rope Gordbuster and Kawato a Missile Dropkick to Stuka to win it.

The final fall starts with the ring being cleared and with all the heels outside, all three babyfaces stand on one single corner diving with Triple Moonsaults. Then things get a bit wacky as everyone starts hitting spontaneous Canadian Destroyers in the ring. Stuka changes one into a Crucifix, pinning Polvora to win what’s been the best match of the night.

#Review CMLL Spectacular Fridays 03/22/19
Image: CMLL

Barbaro Cavernario vs Forastero in a Lightening Match

This is one fall with a 15 minute time limit and we get a clock to follow along. Barbaro is the current National Light Heavyweight Champion which becomes important later. It starts quick as Barbaro sends Forastero outside for a Tope but gets cut off. Forastero works him over, cutting off any attempt at a comeback. Cavernario does eventually manage to rally. He does his worm dance (as cavemen tend to do?) and sends Forastero outside to hit the Top Rope Dive he looked for at the start. After throwing him against the barricade he looks for the Slingshot Splash in the ring but it’s only good for 2. Now Forastero goes for his own dive, hitting it but in the ring, he’s surprised with the Cavernaria submission hold. Forastero gets out, sets Cavernario up for a Swanton Bomb and hits it to win the match just before the 10 minute mark.

It was fun, it was energetic and it left you wanting more which is the point of these matches. That gets fulfilled right away as Forastero takes the mic saying that was a sour victory. He wants a rematch with the National Light Heavyweight title on the line. Cavernario surveys the crowd who hilariously respond with a resounding “NO”. Cavernario is curious how things would go with more than 10 minutes and more than 1 fall though and accepts the match.

Image: CMLL

Negro Casas cuts a promo for next week’s show with a very special guest: IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito. He’ll be teaming up with Rush and Terrible in the main event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AayUZTwU99g

Mr. Niebla (con Zacarias) & Los Ingobernables (El Terrible & Bestia Del Ring with La Comandante) vs Titan & Los Hermanos Chavez (Angel De Oro & Niebla Roja)

Oh dear. You may have heard of Mr. Niebla. Notorious for appearing intoxicated to shows and a couple of months ago wrestling drunk. CMLL suspended him and this his return to Friday nights. Also, CMLL shows a lot of bravery with what is basically a rematch of last week’s main event which has two rather disliked babyfaces, an injured heel and another heel with a very well documented history of alcoholism. Terrible’s shoulder is very taped after dislocating it last week.

Of course, Los Ingobernables are involved so they attack outside before the bell. They hit Angel De Oro with a Double Powerbomb to pin him and Titan gets a Splash from Mr. Niebla to end the first fall. The second one is even shorter as the heels hit a Triple Powerbomb to poor Angel De Oro. They go for another one to Niebla Roja but much like last week, the heels celebrate too soon. Niebla Roja rolls Terrible with a Hurricanrana, Mr. Niebla and Bestia are too busy looking away to see and Terrible is pinned. Him being the captain means things are tied up.

The last fall Terrible facing Angel De Oro and sticking his tongue out so close to Oro’s face he accidentally licked his teeth. The ring gets cleared so the Chavez Bros can hit stereo Topes as Mr. Niebla does his dance and spits up, catching it back in his mouth. A typical spot for him which actually gets cut off in favor of showing the very disgusted crowd. Titan sends Mr. Niebla outside for a Tope but Terrible hits Angel De Oro with a Styles Clash and Bestia Del Ring hits Niebla Roja with an Angle Slam so the heels win. It was an average match all things considered. But this feud has expired.

Image: CMLL

Caristico, Diamante Azul & Volador Jr (with Kemonito) vs Los Guerreros Laguneros (Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero & Euforia)

On paper the main event sounds very exciting. Especially after the Guerreros’ showing last week with 2/3 of this team. The first fall goes by quick (as usual) with the Laguneros locking Triple Submissions after some triple teaming to win it. The second fall sees the babyfaces mount a comeback. Caristico leaps outside onto Ultimo Guerrero while Diamante Azul and Volador Jr pin Gran Guerrero and Euforia to tie things up.

The final fall starts with Caristico hitting several Hurricanranas before Diamante Azul comes in to show his strength. The ring gets cleared and La Mistica to Ultimo Guerrero wins the match.

Image: CMLL

It’s as short as it sounds as they were taking it pretty easy here. A theme for the whole show, really. They just came off a big show and the annual “Parejas Increibles” tournament (Unbelievable Partners Tournament) is coming up where heel/babyface teams are made. Next week sounds fantastic though with the Forastero/Cavernario title match and Tetsuya Naito.

Thank you for reading this review. If you want to check out CMLL, they upload their shows to their official YouTube Page Here. If you wish to follow me on social media and see my various escapades, do so here on my Facebook Blog. See you for the next article.

AB Morales
Photo / AB Morales

Originally posted by AB Morales