Welcome to the CMLL Roundup. Let’s get caught up on the major moments from the past week. Los Ingobernables and the brothers Chavez competed to win the Copa Dinastias, an international legend is saying goodbye, a new referee is in the mix, and a potential hair vs hair feud could be in the works.
First up is news that Jushin Liger will be wrestling on July 19 for CMLL one last time. They are calling it his goodbye to Mexico.
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Liger had worked on and off with CMLL from 2007 to 2013. He was crowned a universal champ, world middleweight champ, and world tag team champ. This visit to Mexico will be part of Liger’s retirement tour on his way to his last match on January 4, 2020 at an NJPW event in the Tokyo Dome.
Copa Dinastias Final
The finale to the three week family tag team tournament culminated with Rush & La Bestia del Ring against Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja. Los Ingobernables won the first phase, while the brothers Chavez won the second phase. The final was best-of-three with both team members needing to be defeated to win a fall. The entrances began at 1:46:50 of the show last Friday.
Los Ingobernables won Fall 1. The brothers Chavez were running around with flashy moves, but they got clobbered by a clothesline and power slam. Rush pinned Niebla after a running dropkick in the corner, and Bestia pinned Angel after a flying back splash.
Los Ingobernables were dominating Fall 2 until the brothers came alive with three consecutive tandem suicide dives. The brothers set up their train finisher of a running clothesline, running forearm, but on the running superkicks, Los Ingobernables surprised the brothers with suplexes into the corner. Rush then whipped them with the camera cord. That tactic got Rush and Bestia disqualified. I guess luchadores can be whipped outside the ring but not inside. Go figure.
Fall 3 went about fifteen minutes. Highlights include moonsaults to the outside by the brothers, a German suplex by Bestia, a tope con hilo by Rush, and a super powerbomb by Niebla.
The first elimination for Fall 3 was Niebla after a super duper powerbomb by Bestia. Los Ingobernables tried same maneuver to Angel, but he reversed into a Frankensteiner and pinned Bestia while Rush had his back turned celebrating a presumed victory.
Down to Rush and Angel de Oro to determine which team would win the Copa Dinastias. They traded pin covers and worked the crowd with back and forth action. For the finish, Rush used a tombstone piledriver, which should have been a DQ. The ref didn’t call it. While Rush was over in the corner, Angel low-blowed him into a roll-up to win. From the referee’s vantage point, it could have appeared that Angel did it all in one motion to hide the dirty deed.
Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja received ceremonial cups as their prize as the best family in CMLL.
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That’s a wrap on the Copa Dinastias. It was a fun tournament with plenty of quality action. The finale was good enough to entertain and provide enough drama to keep the winners unpredictable.
Referee Tigre Infante
The luchador known as Metalico recently lost a career vs career match against Virus at El Juicio Final. Metalico’s next career step is to become a CMLL official. He’ll now go by the name Tigre Infante. That name is a homage to his previous persona Tigre Metalico and the movie star Pedro Infante.
Tigre Infante is training to get a license from the Mexico City Wrestling Commission. It is interesting that he wears all white, while the other referees wear all black. Perhaps that is for his rookie status, or maybe it is just for style.
I’m pretty sure this is legit, but I can never be sure in the world of wrestling. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if this turns into a “Rugged” Ronnie Garvin referee storyline in the feud with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. Tigre Infante has already had controversy in his bouts. In the first match last Tuesday, the losing luchador was pinned after a fancy piledriver. His legs got the jimmies and were twitching away as he was carried out by the medics. On Sunday, mask shenanigans occurred under Tigre Infante’s watch.
#PorSiNoLoViste FOTOS: Reporte del Sábado de #LuchaRetroCMLL de @Arena_Coliseo en https://t.co/D9iCgzsbdj
— Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) June 24, 2019
¡Forastero despertó la furia de Volador Jr!
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That’s not to say this is for sure a gimmick, just that there is a very slim chance it could be.
CMLL action in the ring
Let’s go over some storylines and other big matches from the week. The shows from Monday, Tuesday, and Friday can all be viewed on CMLL’s YouTube channel.
Monday from Puebla (Jun. 17, 2019)
Ultimo Guerrero vs El Terrible
The main event (starting at 1:37:10 of the show) featured singles action between Ultimo Guerrero and El Terrible to finish their three week mini feud. Guerrero took Fall 1 via octopus submission. Terrible took Fall 2 via Styles Clash. Ultimo Guerrero won Fall 3 via roll-up and grabbing the ropes. The referee was counting quicker for Terrible and slower for Guerrero, so Guerrero had to lie, cheat, and steal to overcome the disadvantage.
This bout was pretty solid. It felt like an old-fashioned slugfest as they chopped the crap out of each other. There was brawling on the floor, an amusing exchange of clotheslines to work up the crowd, and a super powerbomb by Guerrero. If you want a change of pace, check this one out.
In the semi-main, Caristico, Volador Jr., & Titan defeated Sanson, Cuatrero, & Forastero. For the finish, Volador nailed a flying crossbody on one of Los Dinamita, then that bad fellow kicked Volador in the nuts for a disqualification. After the match, Volador was in too much testicular pain to talk, so he passed the mic to Caristico. He said that the dynamite went out. The dynamite did not explode and they lack the pants (or balls) to win or lose clean. The tecnicos don’t like to win that way and want a rematch. Challenge accepted for Monday, June 24, cabron. One of the Dinamita said that they make the rules, decide how to humiliate, and... He pulled the mask right off Caristico’s head as the rudos stomped the tecnicos. That was a pretty funny heel moment.
In the third bout of the evening, Felino, Tiger, & Kawato San defeated Esfinge, Triton, & Stigma. Tiger smashed Triton with a powerbomb to win Fall 3 then snatched his mask. There was no mic work afterward, but a feud will carry on as Esfinge & Triton defend their Arena Coliseo tag team titles against Felino & Tiger on Monday, June 24. Those belts are on a third, maybe fourth, tier of importance. That doesn’t matter though. Titles add zest and the match has potential to be pretty good. I’m looking forward to it.
Tuesday from Mexico City (Jun. 18, 2019)
There were no storylines to set up the next show on June 25, but there was a lightning match. Let’s hit that.
Lightning Match: Esfinge vs Vangellys
The sphinx versus the German tank (starting at 1:05:00 of the show). Esfinge had nice size for his size, but it didn’t compare to the brick wall known as Vangellys. Esfinge tried to go toe to toe but came up short in the exchanges of clotheslines and kicks.
Vangellys was in complete control until he missed a running shoulder block into the the ring post. That allowed Esfinge to spark up for a suicide dive, tope con hilo, and a springboard facebuster. Vangellys regained momentum on a belly-to-belly super slam.
For the finish, Esfinge was running the ropes back and forth until Vangellys caught him for an over the shoulder sack of potatoes style Northern Lights suplex with a bridging pin to win at 7:50 of the ten minute time limit. It was a splendid maneuver by Vangellys.
Friday from Mexico City (Jun. 21, 2019)
We already went over the finals of the Copa Dinastias. Let’s jam on a lightning match and possible hair vs hair feud for the future.
Lightning Match: Titan vs Negro Casas
The story of the match (starting at 1:10:05 of the show) was Titan using speed and air while Negro Casas used his veteran savvy on holds and escapes. The bout was pretty nifty with the first heavy move coming five minutes in as Negro Casas jumped off the middle turnbuckle for a DDT. For the finish, Negro Casas caught a kick, banged Titan’s knee, dropkicked him in the knee, then used la casita for the winning pin at 6:30 of the ten minute time limit.
Hair vs Hair?
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The semi-main featured Ciber the Main Man, The Chris, & Gilbert El Boricua versus Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, & Euphoria. For the final pin, Ciber low-blowed Ultimo Guerrero behind the referee’s back then chokeslammed him for the win. After the match, Guerrero called out Ciber for a pending account to settle. He challenged Ciber to hair vs hair. The mic wasn’t very clear, so I had trouble understanding. I believe Ciber said hair vs hair is fine, but he wants a heavyweight title shot first. A regular trios rematch was set for Friday, June 28.
How do you feel about Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja winning the Copa Dinastias? Are you interested in a hair vs hair feud between Ciber and Ultimo Guerrero? Will you be tuning in July 19 for Jushin Liger’s farewell to Mexico?