CMLL Roundup: 87th Anniversary night of champions official matches, Cavernario injured, more!

Welcome to the CMLL Roundup.

CMLL’s biggest show of the year is right around the corner. The 87th Anniversary show will be a night of champions with seven title fights on Friday, September 25. The challengers were voted on by the fans. CMLL officially closed the polls to announce the full card. Unfortunately, one winner had to be replaced due to injury, and another winner has to be replaced due to a positive COVID test.

The main event will be Caristico & Mistico defending the CMLL World Tag Team Championship against Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro.

This is a classic Cinderella case for Rey Cometa and Espiritu Negro. They were underdogs to win the poll. Those two are generally on the lower card scene for CMLL despite their stylish pugilistic skills. To make it even better, that poll received the most total votes overall to make it the main event.

Volador Jr. will defend the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship against Bandido.

Yes! That was the matchup I most wanted to see when all the options were laid out. It has match of the year potential for CMLL. Granted, it has been a short season due to the COVID pandemic, but this contest has the ability to still be up there even with a full year’s worth of matches if they perform to their maximum capabilities.

Ultimo Guerrero, Euphoria, & Gran Guerrero will defend the CMLL World Trios Championship against Templario, El Terrible, & Hechicero.

Barbaro Cavernario was originally part of the winning trios team alongside El Terrible and Hechicero, but he had to pull out due to injury. Cavernario suffered a dislocation in his foot during a match and required surgery.

Thank you to God. The operation was a success, and I left the operating room well. Now to wait for rehabilitation.

Templario won a fan vote over Vangellys and Dark Magic to become the replacement for Cavernario.

Sanson, Cuatrero, & Forastero will defend the CMLL National Trios Championship against Virus, Raziel, & Cancerbero.

Chamuel will defend the CMLL World Micro-Estrellas Championship against Microman.

Marcela was supposed to defend the CMLL World Women’s Championship against Princesa Sugehit, but Sugehit has since tested positive for the coronavirus.

The easiest solution would be to name Dalys as the replacement. She’s the biggest name in the women’s division despite losing the fan vote. Dalys seems to be at that stage of her career similar to fans being tired of John Cena’s constant success in WWE. CMLL will push her even though fans want something fresh.

Metalica will defend the CMLL National Women’s Championship against Lluvia.

CMLL’s 87th Anniversary show is available for live streaming through Ticketmaster Live. The September 25th event starts at 9:30 pm ET for the sum of 287.50 pesos (about $13.50 USD). CMLL has been streaming shows the past three Fridays through that service. Reviews indicate that the quality has been uneven with occasional video and audio issues popping up.

Those Friday shows have been live streaming and not on demand for later viewing. CMLL was kind enough to post highlights of last night’s show. The main event saw Volador Jr. defeat Gran Guerrero with a Mexican Destroyer resulting in a stretcher job.

That’s an oddly timed choice to leave on a stretcher considering Gran Guerrero has to return Friday for a Trios title defense at the 87th Anniversary.

If you are yearning to scratch your CMLL itch for free lucha libre action, fear not. CMLL also taped a separate show to air on local TV. That was posted on YouTube as a closed-door function.

The lineup includes:

• Mistico, Caristico, & Soberano Jr. vs Mephisto, Felino, & Negro Casas
• Flyer & Atlantis Jr. vs El Hijo del Villano III & Tiger
• Blue Panther Jr. & Drone vs Okumura & Dark Magic
• Sonic vs Grako

I only watched the last two bouts. The semi main had nifty suplexes, fancy pins, and an overall aggression that made it seem important. It was much better than the final contest. The third fall of the main event had some exciting action with flying hurricanranas and Fosbury flops. Neither are worth going out of your way to consume, but it is nice to see lucha libre getting back in the groove during the pandemic.

Are you happy with the matches for CMLL’s 87th Anniversary? Which bout are you looking forward to most?