Rey Cometa vs Puma King - Mask vs Mask

(Haven't done a single match recap in so long but this match deserves it)

Puma King comes out first to "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. Rey Cometa is next to whatever Elegido's theme music is in AAA. Guess what? HE GOT AN ENTRANCE VIDEO! FINALLY! He stops at the top of the ramp to take his jacket off... AND LEAPS OFF WITH A DOUBLE TORNILLO PLANCHA ONTO PUMA KING BELOW!!! HOLEE-SHIT!!! In any other universe that is the spot of the year but the match hasn't even officially begun! Cometa whips Puma into the ring, gives him a frankensteiner off the top rope and nails him with a wild tope suicida! Dueling chants! Back inside Cometa with a handspring backflip, somersault up Puma into a sunset flip, Puma escapes, rolls Cometa back and locks on a submission... and Cometa gives up! Crowd chants 'Puma, Puma, Puma!'

Puma misses a charge into the corner to start the second fall. Cometa clothesline misses, Puma does the Sabu backflip escape and trips Cometa coming off the ropes then dropkicks him in the face! Classic Puma King! Time for classic Rey Cometa as he does his no-hands rope fakeout as Puma slides outside to the flor. Cometa jumps onto the apron and goes for a frankensteiner... but Puma catches him! And just as he's done for weeks leading up to the match he swings Cometa into the barricade hard! Crowd loves it! Back inside press slam into double knees? No just a press slam and Puma starts ripping Cometa's mask up! Crowd boo's! Puma supporters cheer him! Clothesline takes off Cometa's head! Cometa whipped into the turnbuckles and bounces off right into a superkick! Crowd loves it! Another whip but Cometa escaped to the apron and kicks Puma King who got stuck on the top rope! Flying dropkick! Whip into the ropes... standing Spanish Fly! That's one of his finishers! Only a two! Cometa picks up Puma and slams him down. 450 Splash! That's his move! 1, 2... 3! Tied up 1-1!

Another Puma charge misses, Cometa superkick misses, Puma superkick connects! Backdrop lands Puma on the apron where he gets slapped hard. Cometa climbs up... no way... he wouldn't... FRANKENSTEINER OFF THE TOP ROPE TAKES PUMA OFF THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! A CLASSIC SICK SPOT! Puma lays there for a bit as Cometa lines him up... for the running double tornillo??? NO! COMETA IN THE BIGGEST MATCH OF HIS LIFE PULLS OUT THE SECOND ROPE SPRINGBOARD DOUBLE TORNILLO aka THE DIVE OF THE DECADE!!! Previously he had only hit it 3 times in late 2009 before he messed up badly and hurt his ankle (and ego) trying it at Arena Mexico. Since then he only used it one more time before retiring it... until now! Crowd pops HUGE and we actually get Cometa chants! Both guys sell the dive for a long time. Trading chops, Puma kicks Cometa down and goes for his mask! But Cometa pulls himself up and reverses it! TIME TO RIP UP PUMA'S MASK! Puma fans disapprove! Cometa trips Puma coming off the ropes... LA CASITA! 1, 2... too close to the ropes! Cometa charges Puma but gets hiptossed and bounces off the ropes which is the usual setup for Puma's submission finisher but Cometa kicks him instead! Cometa gets backdropped onto the apron and this times receives a kick! Puma hits the ropes... RUNNING SUNSET FLIP POWER BOMB TO THE FLOOR! COMETA LANDS HARD ON HIS HEAD! CROWD ERUPTS! INSANITY!!! These guys are just murdering each other! After over a minute and a half recovering Puma slams Cometa and goes up top... flying senton misses! HURACANRANA BY COMETA! 1, 2, KICKOUT! HUGE POP! Cometa goes for a roll-up but Puma crawls away and clotheslines the ?tecnico? down! Loud 'Puma' chants! Puma goes up top but Cometa cuts him off. Both balancing on top... SPANISH FLY! HUGE POP! 1, 2... NO! CROWD CAN'T BELIEVE IT! They're banging on anything available! INVERTED GORY SPECIAL BY PUMA KING! WILL COMETA GIVE UP??? He fights it off and rolls up Puma... who rolls through... AND RIGHT INTO HIS REINERA FINISHER! BUT THE SPINNING TAKES COMETA INTO THE ROPES! HE'S SAFE! Puma walks over and grabs the still dangling Cometa for a hanging DDT! Only a 2! What a match! Cometa places Puma up top with some difficulty and then nails a leaping frankensteiner taking Puma down! 1, 2, KICKOUT! CROWD CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Cometa is frustrated! Puma charges Cometa but gets placed up top....Cometa climbs up for another frankensteiner but Puma resists and punches Cometa in the gut... oh no... you gotta be kidding me... PUMA KING LIFTS UP REY COMETA AND DROPS HIM WITH AN ABSOLUTELY SICK TOP ROPE POWER BOMB VARIATION! CROWD EXPLODES! 1, 2... 2.5!!!!!!!!! INSANE POP FOR THE KICKOUT! THIS MATCH IS INSANE!!! Crowd singing for Puma! Puma charge misses, Cometa gets backdropped outside, slaps Puma King and nails a tornillo off the top! 2 count only! Great touch there as that used to be Cometa's finisher in his early days in AAA. 'Cometa' chants! Puma off the ropes... gets caught with the standing Spanish Fly! Cover? No! It didn't work in the first fall so why would it now? Cometa slams Puma down and goes up! 450 again? Worked once! THERE IT IS! 1, 2... 2.5! Not this time! If only Rey Cometa had a secondary finisher! But he doesn't! Cometa stands with Puma in the corner wondering what he has to do to win! He whips Puma into the turnbuckles but gets kicked in the face! Puma slingshots himself to the apron... SPRINGBOARD FRONTCRACKER! THAT'S ONE OF HIS MOVES! Great impact! 1, 2... COMETA KICKS OUT! CROWD STUNNED! Another vicious kick! Cometa is groggy! Backstabber off the second turnbuckle is a bit off but Puma grabs Cometa and locks on... HIS FATHER'S FINISHER - THE INVERTED FIGURE FOUR! The same move he used to shockingly win Ciclon Ramirez's mask 19 years ago in one of the biggest upsets ever! COMETA GIVES UP ALMOST IMMEDIATLY! CROWD GOES NUTS! PUMA KING WINS! WHAT A MATCH!!!

I can't even put into words how amazing this match was being a huge Rey Cometa supermark. Anything you could have wanted to see him do he did AND MORE! The stage dive, the dive of the decade, the insane bumps, his old tornillo finisher... he delivered! Puma King gets ton of credit as well for taking some sick bumps himself and being right there to catch Cometa every time. The level of difficulty in this match was a 15 out of 10! It's absolutely mind boggling they managed to pull off everything since it took such precise timing and guts! No matter if you are a CMLL fan or not you had to have enjoyed this match a ton!

I have no doubts barring a miracle this will be my match of the year. I also have no doubts this is one of the most memorable apuesta matches involving one of my favorite wrestlers ever. I was very sad to hear Cometa lost but he went down with a fight and gave an incredible performance! He earned this match with hard work alone. He has no family connections and had to work his way up from the opening matches to co-headline the biggest CMLL show of the year. Stories like that should give you hope when you watch guys like Aero Star, Drago, Valiente, Guerrero Maya Jr., Freelance, etc. who all risk their lives every show and have yet to be given the chance to be in headline matches on major shows. Hard work actually does pay off every once in a while for the guys that really deserve it!

VIVA REY COMETA! #porraReyCometa

*****

CMLL & Luchas de Apuesta

#thingsthatwillnotdisprovethetheorythatCubsfan&Iarethesameperson

Here's a quickly put together post outlining the last 11 years of stip matches CMLL has run @ Arena Mexico/Coliseo. Have the amount of big matches gone down or has the amount stayed the same but just less big names are being involved?

(* = Major Match)

2000

3/5 (Arena Coliseo): Mascarita Magica vs Vaquerito - Hair vs Hair
3/17 (Arena Mexico): Atlantis vs Villano III - Mask vs Mask*
3/21 (Arena Coliseo): Tony Rivera vs Mr. Mexico - Hair vs Hair
4/14 (Arena Mexico): Perro Aguayo vs Bestia Salvaje - Hair vs Hair*
5/1 (Arena Coliseo: Brazo De Oro vs Valentin Mayo - Hair vs Hair
5/28 (Arena Coliseo: Tony Rivera/Fugaz vs Ricky Marvin/Super Cacao - Relevos Incriebles -> Hair vs Hair
5/30 (Arena Coliseo): Ricky Marvin vs El Fiero - Hair vs Hair
8/4 (Arena Mexico): Torneo Cibernetico De La Muerte (Masks)*
8/4 (Arena Mexico): Perro Aguayo vs Pierroth Jr. vs Mascara Ano 2000 vs Villano III - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
12/15 (Arena Mexico): Perro Aguayo vs Cien Caras - Hair vs Hair*

Mask Losses: 2
Hair Losses: 8
Major Matches: 5

2001

3/4 (Arena Coliseo): Mano Negra vs Mr. Mexico - Hair vs Hair
3/31 (Arena Mexico): Perro Aguayo vs Universo 2000 - Hair vs Mask*
4/15 (Arena Coliseo): Ringo Mendoza vs Emilio Charles Jr. - Hair vs Hair
5/27 (Arena Coliseo): Ricky Marvin vs Americo Rocca - Hair vs Hair
7/29 (Arena Mexico): Villano III vs El Signo - Hair vs Hair*
7/31 (Arena Coliseo): Alan Stone vs Damian El Guerrero - Hair vs Hair
9/16 (Arena Coliseo): Chris Stone vs Guerrero Del Futuro - Hair vs Hair
9/28 (Arena Mexico): Infernales vs Nuevos Infernales - Cage -> Hair vs Mask*
10/14 (Arena Coliseo): Ricky Marvin vs El Hijo Del Gladiador - Hair vs Hair
10/28 (Arena Coliseo): Alan Stone vs Guerrero Del Futuro - Hair vs Hair
11/23 (Arena Mexico): Apolo Dantes vs Emilio Charles Jr. - Hair vs Hair*
12/14 (Arena Mexico): Brazo De Plata vs Tarzan Boy - Hair vs Hair*
12/14 (Arena Mexico): Shocker vs Emilio Charles Jr. - Hair vs Hair*

Mask Losses: 1
Hair Losses: 12
Major Matches: 6

2002

3/17 (Arena Mexico): Gran Markus Jr. vs El Veneno - Hair vs Mask*
5/31 (Arena Mexico): Shocker & Mascara Magica vs Mazada & Takemura - Hairs vs Hairs*
6/16 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask*
7/14 (Arena Mexico): Mr. Mexico & Poder Mexica vs El Veneno & Violencia - Hairs vs Hairs*
8/11 (Arena Coliseo): Brazo De Platino vs Rey Bucanero - Hair vs Hair
9/13 (Arena Mexico): Negro Casas vs Tarzan Boy - Hair vs Hair*
9/16 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask*
9/27 (Arena Mexico): Mascara Ano 2000 vs Pierroth Jr. - Hair vs Hair*
10/25 (Arena Mexico): Satanico vs Damian 666 - Hair vs Hair*
11/20 (Arena Mexico): Gran Markus Jr. vs El Veneno - Hair vs Hair*
12/13 (Arena Mexico): Vampiro vs Rey Bucanero - Hair vs Hair*

Mask Losses: 3
Hair Losses: 8
Major Matches: 10

2003

2/14 (Arena Mexico): Ricky Marvin vs Zumbido - Hair vs Hair*
2/18 (Arena Coliseo): Apolo Dantes vs Pierroth Jr. - Hair vs Hair*
3/21 (Arena Mexico): Gran Markus Jr. vs Pierroth Jr. - Hair vs Hair*
4/4 (Arena Mexico): Vampiro vs Shocker - Hair vs Hair*
4/30 (Arena Mexico): Pequeno Olimpico vs Pequeno Violencia - Mask vs Mask*
5/16 (Arena Mexico): Negro Casas & Satanico vs Mazada & Nozawa - Hairs vs Hairs*
6/15 (Arena Coliseo): Mr. Mexico vs Takemura - Hair vs Hair
8/1 (Arena Mexico): Guapos vs Talibanes - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
9/19 (Arena Mexico): Violencia vs Pierroth Jr. - Mask vs Hair*
9/19 (Arena Mexico): Shocker vs Tarzan Boy - Hair vs Hair*
11/30 (Arena Coliseo): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
12/5 (Arena Mexico): Angel Azteca vs Arkangel - Mask vs Mask*
12/5 (Arena Mexico): Universo 2000 vs Pierroth Jr. - Mask vs Hair*

Mask Losses: 3
Hair Losses: 10
Major Matches: 12

2004

3/19 (Arena Mexico): Perro Aguayo Jr. & Damian El Terrible vs Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 - Hairs vs Hairs*
4/30 (Arena Mexico): Zumbido vs Super Crazy - Hair vs Hair*
4/30 (Arena Mexico): Mascara Magica vs Damian El Terrible - Hair vs Hair*
6/18 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
6/20 (Arena Coliseo): Tony Rivera vs El Veneno - Hair vs Hair
9/17 (Arena Mexico): Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Canek vs Universo 2000 - Mask vs Mask vs Mask vs Mask*
11/19 (Arena Mexico): Alan Stone & Zumbido vs Loco Max & Mr. Mexico - Hairs vs Hairs
12/5 (Arena Coliseo): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
12/17 (Arena Mexico): Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs Pierroth Jr. & Vampiro - Hairs vs Hairs*

Mask Losses: 1
Hair Losses: 8
Major Matches: 7

2005

3/18 (Arena Mexico): Perro Aguayo & Perro Aguayo Jr. vs Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 - Hairs vs Hairs*
6/17 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
8/19 (Arena Mexico): Pierroth Jr. vs Hector Garza - Hair vs Hair*
9/16 (Arena Mexico): Perro Aguayo Jr. vs Hector Garza vs Universo 2000 - Hair vs Hair vs Hair*
12/2 (Arena Mexico): Universo 2000 vs Halloween - Hair vs Hair*

Mask Losses: 0
Hair Losses: 5
Major Matches: 5

2006

3/17 (Arena Mexico): Universo 2000 vs Perro Aguayo Jr. - Hair vs Hair*
4/2 (Arena Coliseo): Stuka Jr. vs La Flecha - Mask vs Mask
4/14 (Arena Mexico): Dark Angel vs La Amapola - Hair vs Mask*
4/28 (Arena Mexico): Rey Bucanero & Tarzan Boy vs Damian 666 & Mr. Aguila - Hairs vs Hairs*
6/4 (Arena Coliseo): Maximo vs Loco Max - Hair vs Hair
6/18 (Arena Coliseo): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
7/14 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask*
8/13 (Arena Coliseo): India Sioux vs La Medusa - Mask vs Mask
9/29 (Arena Mexico): Mistico vs Black Warrior - Mask vs Mask*
10/13 (Arena Mexico): Lady Apache vs Hiroka - Hair vs Hair*
10/29 (Arena Coliseo): Maximo vs Emilio Charles Jr. - Hair vs Hair
12/15 (Arena Mexico): Shocker & Universo 2000 vs Kenzo Suzuki & Marco Corleone - Hairs vs Hairs*

Mask Losses: 4
Hair Losses: 8
Major Matches: 8

2007

3/18 (Arena Coliseo): Leono vs Mogur - Hair vs Hair
3/30 (Arena Mexico): Marco Corleone vs Universo 2000 - Hair vs Hair*
4/15 (Arena Coliseo): Stuka Jr. vs Jeque - Mask vs Mask
6/17 (Arena Mexico): Diana La Cazadora vs La Amapola - Hair vs Hair
7/17 (Arena Coliseo): Bam Bam vs Pequeno Damian 666 vs Pequeno Halloween - Hair vs Hair vs Hair
7/24 (Arena Coliseo): Bam Bam vs Pequeno Damian 666 - Hair vs Hair
8/5 (Arena Coliseo): Tony Rivera vs Virus - Hair vs Hair
9/16 (Arena Mexico): Mascara Purpura vs Emilio Charles Jr. - Mask vs Hair*
9/28 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask*
10/16 (Arena Coliseo): Bam Bam vs Pequeno Violencia - Hair vs Hair
12/2 (Arena Mexico): Leono vs Mr. Mexico - Hair vs Hair
12/7 (Arena Mexico): Shocker & Lizmark Jr. vs Black Warrior & Rey Bucanero - Hairs vs Hairs*

Mask Losses: 2
Hair Losses: 10
Major Matches: 4

2008

3/21 (Arena Mexico): Hector Garza vs Perro Aguayo Jr. - Hair vs Hair*
5/23 (Arena Mexico): Tarzan Boy vs Perro Aguayo Jr. vs Heavy Metal - Hair vs Hair vs Hair*
6/13 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
8/17 (Arena Coliseo): Bam Bam vs Pequeno Damian 666 - Hair vs Hair
8/29 (Arena Mexico): Lady Apache & La Amapola vs Marcela & Princesa Sujei - Relevos Suicidas -> Hair vs Hair*
8/29 (Arena Mexico): Mictlan vs Dragon Rojo Jr. - Mask vs Mask*
9/19 (Arena Mexico): Blue Panther vs Villano V - Mask vs Mask*
10/5 (Arena Coliseo): Tony Rivera vs Loco Max - Hair vs Hair
10/7 (Arena Mexico): Goddess vs Princesa Sujei - Mask vs Mask
10/17 (Arena Mexico): Marco Corleone vs Lizmark Jr. - Hair vs Hair*
12/2 (Arena Mexico): Mictlan vs Loco Max - Hair vs Hair

Mask Losses: 3
Hair Losses: 8
Major Matches: 7

2009

1/11 (Arena Mexico): Mini's Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask*
3/20 (Arena Mexico): Villano V vs Ultimo Guerrero - Mask vs Mask*
3/31 (Arena Mexico): Shockercito vs Fire - Hair vs Hair
4/12 (Arena Mexico): Marcela vs Rosa Negra - Hair vs Mask
6/2 (Arena Mexico): Shockercito vs Pequeno Damian 666 - Hair vs Hair
7/31 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*
9/18 (Arena Mexico): Mistico vs Negro Casas - Mask vs Hair*
10/16 (Arena Mexico): Black Warrior vs Yujiro - Hair vs Hair*
10/18 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask
11/15 (Arena Coliseo): Maximo vs Okumura - Hair vs Hair
12/4 (Arena Mexico): Texano Jr. & Terrible vs Naito & Yujiro - Hairs vs Hairs*

Mask Losses: 4
Hair Losses: 7
Major Matches: 6

2010

3/19 (Arena Mexico): Mistico vs Felino vs La Sombra vs Volador Jr. - Mask vs Mask vs Mask vs Mask*
4/30 (Arena Mexico): Bracito De Oro vs Pequeno Warrior - Mask vs Mask
6/6 (Arena Mexico): Maximo vs Taichi - Hair vs Hair*
7/6 (Arena Mexico): Bam Bam vs Demus 3:16 - Hair vs Hair
7/18 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask*
8/15 (Arena Mexico): Rush vs Loco Max - Hair vs Hair
9/3 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Mask vs Mask*
10/15 (Arena Mexico): Negro Casas vs Charly Manson - Hair vs Hair*
10/17 (Arena Mexico): Luna Magica vs Princesa Blanca - Hair vs Hair
12/3 (Arena Mexico): Electrico vs Pequeno Warrior - Mask vs Mask
12/3 (Arena Mexico): Rey Bucanero vs Mr. Aguila - Hair vs Hair*

Mask Losses: 5
Hair Losses: 6
Major Matches: 6

2011 (so far)

3/11 (Arena Mexico): Virus vs Demus 3:16 - Hair vs Hair
3/18 (Arena Mexico): Maximo & Brazo De Plata vs Texano Jr. & Terrible - Hairs vs Hairs*
6/17 (Arena Mexico): La Mascara vs El Averno - Mask vs Mask*
8/21 (Arena Mexico): Bam Bam vs Pierrothito - Hair vs Mask
9/30 (Arena Mexico): Infierno en el Ring - Cage -> Hair vs Hair*

Mask Losses: 1
Hair Losses: 3, soon to be 4
Major Matches: 2, soon to be 3

What do we learn from all this?

- January & February mean nothing to CMLL. It's all about building to what will happen in March or doing nothing to make whatever they do in March seem important since nothing has happened in the year up until that point.

- Stipulation matches used to build. Gran Markus would beat a Boricua, then another Boricua and then get beat by Pierroth to set up Pierroth losing at the year-end show. Another example would be Tarzan Boy beating Negro Casas, Shocker beating two Japanese guys and both having big wins heading into their hair match to make it feel important. This shows long-term planning and the company having a direction in mind even more than a year in advance a times. Starting in 2007 this appears to be completely thrown out the window in favor of random matches thrown together just to do a match. The only notable exception would be Panther vs Villano V leading to Ultimo Guerrero vs Villano V a 6 months later.

- Major shows from CMLL often used to mean a major match and a lesser major match. In recent times the focus has clearly been on just one major match.

- This one even surprised me: When business is hot... CMLL does as few apuestas matches as possible. I assume the theory is if people are coming to our shows that don't include any major matches why should we pay someone for their hair or mask if it will draw the same # of fans? Makes sense from a business standpoint. On the other hand when business was at it's worst from mid-2002 until late 2004 CMLL would constantly throw out major matches hoping to draw bigger crowds. Business is just as bad (if not worse) these days but CMLL has not yet gone back to this formula. Makes you ask yourself: Why?

- CMLL has always relied on their Infierno en el Ring cage matches but in the earlier part of the decade they used to include only big names and the match wouldn't be overdone. These days CMLL cage matches include tons of random mid-carders (Histeria, Olimpico, Psicosis, Polvora, etc.) and the mini's + mid-carders get their own cage match every year which makes it less special when the main eventers are put in the same type of match.

- CMLL used to do way more hair matches than they do these days. The reason for this is quite simple: There are very few unmasked guys working in CMLL and even moreso... there are very few unmasked guys in CMLL who can grow hair back quickly allowing them to be in hair matches constantly. This explains why Loco Max drops his hair so often. He's the only expendable wrestler they've got for that role.

- Unless you want to bury your head in the sand you have to agree the quality of the Anniversary main event has plummeted in the last two years. Both cage matches were put together only a few weeks before the show, included mid-carders and last year's loser was a wrestler who had only been back in CMLL for a short time and who's mask meant almost nothing. Unless CMLL throws out a surprise and has Blue Panther, Negro Casas, Hector Garza or Terrible lose - this year will fit the same requirements as last year.

- The main thing I take from all this is how the philosophy of CMLL has clearly changed throughout the years. The goal over the past couple of years seems to be: How To Get The Most From Doing The Least. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But long gone are the days of CMLL running three major matches within a 10 week span like in fall of 2003. The idea over the past couple of years clearly seems to be one major match per half year with another somewhat but clearly not as important major match tossed in if the promotion feels it's neccessary. It definitely works to make the big matches really seem important (Mascara vs Averno, Ultimo vs Villano, Panther vs Villano, Garza vs Perro). However on the flip side it means when the promotion puts together a last minute cage match nobody is interested in (9/3/10, 6/13/08, 7/31/09, etc.) or a hair match with an obvious result (3/18/11, 12/3/10, 12/4/09, etc.) it leaves their fans very disappointed because they know they only have a couple of chances to see CMLL do something major during the year and they will have to wait months just to HOPE CMLL puts together something more interesting next time. As a CMLL fan you can never be sure you are going to get the best match possible which is why so many CMLL fans are always frustrated with the product. Too many times they are teased with the promise of a nice steak dinner (Mistico vs Perro Jr. & Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero) only to be served with last night's leftovers instead (cage match ending with Panther vs Lizmark Jr. & a cage match with only 75% unimportant hairs on the line).

The Road to September 16th!

Here's a little fantasy booking from my deranged mind! I decided to attempt to plan out CMLL's entire timeline until the Anniversary Show on September 16th (a date I am assuming, it has not been confirmed yet). This is realistic style fantasy booking though so I had rules:

1. No using Sombra/Strongman while they are in Japan for the G-1.
2. I was told the Universal Title tournament will take place in August so I worked it into the booking.
3. No insane scenarios like Rey Cometa suddenly main eventing.

So here we go...

"Rumbo a Aniversario"

The main idea here is I don't think CMLL is going to do another singles matches after having La Mascara vs Averno recently. Also, they haven't done a cage match yet this year so odds are that is the direction they will head in. I don't think CMLL eve has any match with two guys that could be a big enough match on it's own unless we're talking Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero but that isn't happening this fast.

July 29, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
-----------------------------

Torneo Cibernetico for the Leyenda Azul:

- Atlantis accidentally causes Ultimo Guerrero to be eliminated and they tease problems between the two with Atlantis storming off angry.

- Final four end up as Shocker/Rush vs Terrible/Texano. Texano/Terrible cheat to eliminate Shocker leaving it 2-on-1 against Rush. Rush fights back and eliminates Terrible. Rudos cheat once again and Texano uses a low blow to beat Rush and win the Leyenda Azul. Both teams challenge each other afterwards.

La Mascara vs Averno - NWA Middleweight Title:

- Hijo Del Fantasma/Mephisto are the seconds.

- Match ends with a disputed finish as the referee gets knocked down and Mephisto enters the ring to low blow La Mascara. Fantasma gets in the ring, dropkicks Mephisto outside and low blows Averno in revenge but the referee gets up just in time to see this and disqualifies La Mascara so Averno retains his title.

July 31, 2011 @ Arena Coliseo
------------------------------

La Mascara/Mascara Dorada/Shocker vs Volador Jr./Alebrije/Hector Garza:

- In the main event Hector Garza again has problems with his teammates and walks out on Volador/Alebrije. During the match Volador/Mascara Dorada rip at each other's masks.

August 5, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
------------------------------

Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero/Dragon Rojo Jr. vs Negro Casas/Felino/Mr. Niebla:

- Everyone is awaiting Atlantis and Ultimo Guerrero to turn on each other but they actually work well together throughout the match.

- The shocking moment occurs at the end of the match as Negro Casas and Felino turn on Mr. Niebla! They are jealous of how popular he is and how he doesn't act like a rudo any more. Felino drags Zacarias away with him and Negro post-match.

- Atlantis feels bad for Mr. Niebla and goes to try and help him up but Ultimo Guerrero pulls him away.

Shocker/Rush/La Mascara vs Terrible/Texano/Rey Bucanero:

- Usual match with Shocker/Rush feuding with Terrible/Texano. The rudos cheat again to win the match. Afterwards they challenge each other to a double hair match with Terrible pointing out that he and Shocker have been the two wrestlers around in CMLL the longest without losing their hair.

August 9, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
------------------------------

La Mascara/Hijo Del Fantasma/Blue Panther vs Averno/Mephisto/Efesto:

- Lots of mask ripping between Fantasma/Mephisto who restart their feud. After the match Fantasma challenges Mephisto to a Super Libre match for the following week.

August 12, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
-------------------------------

Angel De Oro/Valiente/Sangre Azteca vs Escorpion/Polvora/Misterioso II:

- Valiente/Polvora continue their feud and Sangre Azteca/Misterioso rip at each other's masks.

- Misterioso wins the match by pinning Sangre Azteca with his feet on the ropes.

Universal Title Tournament - Block A: Dragon Rojo Jr., Rey Bucanero, Virus, Ultimo Guerrero, La Mascara, Mephisto, Efesto, Diamante

Round 1:

Virus over Dragon Rojo Jr.
Ultimo Guerrero over Diamante
La Mascara over Efesto
Mephisto over Rey Bucanero

Semi-Finals:

Ultimo Guerrero over Virus
La Mascara over Mephisto via DQ (Mephisto rips off Mascara's mask)

Final:

La Mascara surprises Ultimo Guerrero with a roll-up to win Block A

Shocker/Rush/Mascara Dorada vs Volador Jr./Texano/Terrible:

- Dorada/Volador Jr. rip at each other's masks again as it's clear they have a rivalry going on.

- Texano/Terrible catch Rush going for a dive and ram him into the ringpost. They then proceed to "injure" his arm.

- Volador Jr. yanks off Dorada's mask and pins him.

- Shocker challenges Terrible to a mano a mano for next week.

August 14, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
-------------------------------

- The semi-main event on the Fan Apprecation show ends up with Ultimo Guerrero and Dragon Rojo Jr. walking out on Atlantis leaving him along in the ring to get beat by three tecnicos. Atlantis is not a happy man.

- Main event is the cage match with Gen 11 vs Rayos Tapatios/Inquisidor/whoever else. Guerrero Maya Jr. wins the cage match and unmasks Apocalipsis.

August 16, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
-------------------------------

Hector Garza/Volador Jr./Black Warrior vs Naito/Okumura/Yoshihashi

- Garza continues his tecnico turn by being on Team Mexico taking on the evil Japanese rudos. A feud is started between Garza and Naito.

- Jushin Lyger does a run-in to attack the tecncios after the match is over.

Hijo Del Fantasma vs Mephisto:

- Match finishes the way you would expect with Averno and Efesto running out to attack Hijo Del Fantasma. Mephisto yells at him over the microphone and says his time is coming soon!

August 19, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
-------------------------------

Sangre Azteca vs Misterioso II - Lightning Match:

- Unlike most Lightning Matches this has very little action and lots of brawling/mask ripping. Sangre Azteca wins cleanly and challenges Mephisto to a mask match.

Blue Panther/Mr. Niebla/Hector Garza vs Felino/Negro Casas/Naito:

- Panther/Negro continue their feud that has been happening on the Sunday shows.

- Garza/Niebla, the two newest tecnicos in CMLL, team up for the first time here. Niebla gets destroyed by his former team. He has his mask ripped up and when it looks like Zacarias is about to help him... instead he hits him with the frying pan and helps Felino beat Niebla down!

- Tecnicos win the match when Garza pins Naito.

Universal Title Tournament - Block B: Jushin Lyger, Angel De Oro, Polvora, La Sombra, Mascara Dorada, Averno, Texano, Rush

Round 1:

Jushin Lyger over Sombra (sets up a future title rematch)
Mascara Dorada over Polvora
Averno over Angel De Oro
Texano over Rush (quick match with Texano taking advantage of an "injured" Rush)

Semi-Finals:

Mascara Dorada over Jushin Lyger (sets up a future title match)
Averno over Texano

Final:

Averno over Mascara Dorada (After the match La Mascara comes out and tells Averno how about instead of the finals just being for the Universal Title - why doesn't Averno put up his NWA Middleweight Title and they have a rematch of the match from three weeks ago? Averno accepts.)

Shocker vs Terrible:

- Shocker is seconded by Angel De Oro because Rush is "injured".

- The rudos get away with cheating again and thanks to interference by Texano, Terrible wins the match in two falls. They attack Shocker and Angel De Oro afterwards. Rush tries to come and make the save by security holds him back so he won't get more injured.

August 21, 2011 @ Arena Coliseo
--------------------------------

- After a trios match Blue Panther challenges Negro Casas to a hair match. Casas says Panther can have the match only if Panther can beat him in two falls next week!

August 23, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
-------------------------------

Strongman/Super Porky/Maximo vs Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero/Dragon Rojo Jr.:

- The split occurs! Atlantis and Ultimo Guerrero end up fighting during the match which causes their team to lose. Atlantis leaves with the tecnico team!

August 25, 2011
----------------

- CMLL holds their traditional Thursday press conference where they announce the main event for the Anniversary Show will be a Cage Match featuring everyone feuding right now: Atlantis, Ultimo Guerrero, Rush, Texano, Shocker, Terrible, La Mascara, Averno, Valiente, Polvora, Sangre Azteca, Misterioso II, Hector Garza, Naito, Felino, Mr. Niebla, Volador Jr., Mascara Dorada, Mephisto, Hijo Del Fantasma.

- Atlantis announces he is done with Ultimo Guerrero and will switch back to the tecnico side starting immediatly.

- Terrible reminds Shocker that they are the two guys who have been around in CMLL the longest time without losing their hair but that will all change on September 16th!

- Rush vows revenge on Texano for injuring his arm!

- La Mascara says tomorrow he is going to take Averno's title and he will add it to the collection which includes Averno's mask and will include his hair on September 16th!

- Negro Casas and Blue Panther have words to hype their match on Sunday and Negro says if Panther beats him they can just enter the cage as well and put their hair on the line too!

August 26, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
-------------------------------

Valiente/Sangre Azteca/Hijo Del Fantasma vs Mephisto/Polvora/Misterioso II:

- Crazy match with tons of mask ripping. Fantasma pins Mephisto cleanly to win the match.

La Sombra/Mascara Dorada/Hector Garza vs Volador Jr./Naito/Psicosis

- Dorada/Volador continue to rip at each other's masks.

- Garza contiues his feud with Naito.

- Match finishes when Psicosis low blows Sombra and yanks his mask off.

- After the match a furious Sombra demands to be added to the cage match with Psicosis as well! Psicosis agrees and vows revenge for Olimpico!

La Mascara vs Averno - NWA Middleweight Title/Universal Title Tournament Finals

- During the match Fantasma/Mephisto began fighting on the floor and Rambo sends them to the back so there will be no interference.

- La Mascara tries La Campana but Averno reverses it just like he did to win the trios titles... but this time La Mascara re-reverses it and gets the clean win to win the tournament and the NWA Middleweight Title!

August 28, 2011 @ Arena Coliseo
--------------------------------

Blue Panther vs Negro Casas

- Panther does the impossible and makes Negro Casas submit in the second fall to win in two straight falls and gets his hair match! They are both added to the cage!

August 29, 2011
----------------

CMLL calls an emergency press conference to announce a major last minute change: There will still be a cage match at the Anniversary Show but who will be inside the cage will be decided by a Parejas Incriebles tournament that will start this Friday, continue next Friday and then end up with 6 wrestlers left who will be in the cage on September 16th! The teams are as follows:

Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero
Rush/Texano
Shocker/Terrible
La Mascara/Averno
Valiente/Polvora
Sangre Azteca/Misterioso II
Hector Garza/Naito
Felino/Mr. Niebla
Volador Jr./Mascara Dorada
Mephisto/Hijo Del Fantasma
Sombra/Psicosis
Blue Panther/Negro Casas

September 2, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
---------------------------------

The 'Rumbo a Aniversario' starts with a battle royale to decide the match-ups.

Round 1:

Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero vs Valiente/Polvora

- Before the match Ultimo Guerrero apologizes to Atlantis and tells him they need to work together to save their masks and they can easily beat Valiente/Polvora. Of course during the match they have some miscommunication issues and Valiente/Polvora pull off a shocker upset! LOSERS: Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero

Volador Jr./Mascara Dorada vs La Mascara/Averno

- The rudos refuse to follow the rules and end up teaming for most of the match. Volador Jr./Dorada end up winning and Averno steals La Mascara's mask afterwards. LOSERS: La Mascara/Averno

Hijo Del Fantasma/Mephisto vs Sombra/Psicosis

- During the match Mephisto turns on Hijo Del Fantasma and leaves him alone to get destroyed. Fantasma fights back and manages to beat both Sombra and Psicosis on his own! Mephisto is not happy with this turn of events even though he keeps his mask. LOSERS: Sombra/Psicosis

Felino/Mr. Niebla vs Shocker/Terrible

- Quemonito comes out with Shocker to counter the inference of Zacarias. This re-unites the team of Niebla/Monito against Felino/Zacarias! They end up winning easily. LOSERS: Shocker/Terrible

Blue Panther/Negro Casas vs Sangre Azteca/Misterioso II

- Both teams dislike each other but Azteca/Misterioso get it together quickly and use some of their old Poder Mexica tag team moves to win the match. LOSERS: Blue Panther/Negro Casas

Hector Garza/Naito vs Rush/Texano

- Nobody is getting along here and it turns into an almost four-corners match since Texano and Naito are still enemies from a long time ago. Garza ends up pinning Texano and Naito uses an armbreaker to beat a still "injured" Rush. LOSERS: Rush/Texano

September 9, 2011 @ Arena Mexico
---------------------------------

Mr. Niebla/Mascara Dorada/Strongman w/ Quemonito vs Felino/Rey Bucanero/Jushin Lyger w/ Zacarias

- The main point of this match is to establish Mascara Dorada beating Jushin Lyger clean and challenging him to a title match on the Anniversary Show!

Another battle royale to decide the matches for the rest of the tag team tournament.

Semi-Finals:

Sombra/Psicosis vs Shocker/Terrible

- Double pinfall as Sombra pins Shocker at the same time as Terrible pins Psicosis. This leaves Sombra vs Terrible and Sombra wins clean with his split-legged moonsault to keep his mask! LOSERS: Shocker/Terrible

Rush/Texano vs La Mascara/Averno

- An "injured" Rush battles hard so he won't end up in the cage next week. La Mascara/Averno have lots of problems during the match and at one point Averno shoves La Mascara into Texano who rolls him up and pins him! Averno fights back and pins Texano with the Devils Wings but with the crowd cheering him on Rush surprises Averno with a roll-up! LOSERS: La Mascara/Averno

Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero vs Blue Panther/Negro Casas

- Once again Ultimo tries to get Atlantis to be his friend but Atlantis is having no part of that. Guerrero is the first to be eliminated and he is really angry because he doesn't think Atlantis can win by himself. Atlantis somehow manages to beat the odds and uses La Atlantida to eliminate Negro Casas! So it comes down to Atlantis vs Blue Panther. Dragon Rojo comes down the ramp to distract the referee and Guerrero tries to help Atlantis but Atlantis shoves him out of the ring! But he turns around right into an armbar from Blue Panther and gives up! LOSERS: Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero

September 16, 2011 @ Arena Mexico - Anniversary Show
-----------------------------------------------------

SEMI-MAIN EVENT: Jushin Lyger vs Mascara Dorada - CMLL Middleweight Title

- Dorada gets a huge win over Lyger!

MAIN EVENT: Atlantis, Ultimo Guerrero, La Mascara, Averno, Shocker, Terrible - Cage Match (Last one inside loses his hair or mask)

- 3 masks vs 3 hairs! Everyone expects Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero to be the final match but it's far too soon for that match to happen. I put Averno here as the proverbial red herring since him losing his hair would be considered the easy way out and lots of people still think he's heading to the WWE. So instead the match finishes with Shocker/Terrible in the cage and Terrible pins Shocker with the Styles Clash to win his hair! Shocker loses his hair for the first time in his career but has the excuse that he wasn't 100% because he was injured for a long time and this sets up Terrible to lose his hair to Rush at some point in the future.

CMLL 9/18/09

Ah the big Anniversary Show! Somehow all the matches ended up making TV in one way or another with the top 3 as usual making a TV special a few months later, the mini's being a bonus match on a repeat week in October and the women + Poder Mexica match airing on TDN the night of the show.

Women: Solid match between the four solid workers. They clearly weren't out there to steal the show and worked a pretty tame match for their standards with the only big move being Dark Angel's plancha to the floor. Got the show off to a good start with the tecnicas going over as the crowd filed in.

Mini's: Short but accomplished the point of putting Electrico over. He looked great in all his exchanges as he busted out some innovative headscissors spots on all three rudos (especially liked the one with Damiancito and the skin-the-ropes into a spinning one on Warrior). Bam Bam seemed to tone his stuff down a bit as to not overshadow Electrico although he did take a wild bump near the end of the match. I understand the logic... Bam Bam goes for an asai moonsault but the rudo on the apron kicks the ropes and he tumbles outside taking a big bump in the process. He's done this spot two times and the problem is the cameraman is not a Lucha Libre superfan and has no clue what is coming so b/c of the camera angle it just looks like Bam Bam is slipping while trying an asai moonsault and he looks like a goof. Finish was really great as Pierrothito went for his usual roll-up but Electrico rolled back into a full nelson variation for the win.

Hijo Del Fantasma/Mascara Dorada/Sagrado vs Poder Mexica: Best match on the show. Everyone was working hard and they did some really neat spots that they've obviously been saving up for big shows like this. Dorada got LAUNCHED into a dropkick on the ramp by Dragon Rojo in a sickening spot. Then Rojo almost splashed his own partner when he springboarded into the ring and Sangre forgot he was in the way. OOPS. Rudo beatdown in the second fall was brutal with each tecnico taking a big move including Dorada being bounced around like a basketball before getting dropkicked into a tag team power bomb on the ramp. OUCH. The comeback spot was brilliant with Sagrado countering the usual Poder Mexica assisted dropkick spot with a rana, Fantasma doing the Flying Phantom and Dorada following with an unreal running rana off the ramp. He was FLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYING! Third fall had back-and-forth action. Loved Dragon Rojo's dropkicks to counter everything Sagrado tried. Great spot near the end where it looked like Sagrado was about to do his moonsault finish but then lept over the ringpost with a somersault plancha into the first row! Great camera work! Dorada then followed with his insane Dorada Especial II! A THING OF BEAUTY! Fantasma tried the Flying Phantom again but Sangre moved and gave him a spinning leg lariat but then got rolled up. *standing ovation* Dorada is so awesome.

La Mascara/La Sombra/Volador vs HdA: I wasn't as down on this as most folks were. The main complaint seemed to be Volador's gear didn't get along with him but outside of his mask falling off while taking Averno's finisher off the top rope in the first fall I don't think his gear effected him. He blew a satellite headscissors in the third fall but that was his fault, not the outfit's fault. Also seemed to hurt his knee on that spot which is why a few seconds later he came up short on a tope suicida and had the doctor checking on him for some of the third fall. Then during the finish the spot seemed to call for Averno ripping off Volador's mask but the ref counted to three at the same time so it looked like Volador's mask just came off again which it was supposed to. Either way my point is this was a decent enough match. Sombra and La Mascara both looked good and the rudos were in usual excellent form. La Sombra not only busted out the awesome spiderman outfit but also busted out Aero Star's springboard inverted 360 dive to perfection! Takes guts to do that!

Team Mexico vs Team Japan: Pretty weak for a major show. Team Japan is full of stiffs though (Lyger included) so I wasn't expecting much. The rudo beatdown took forever and was very clumsy. The comeback by the tecnicos was also awkward and the cameraman made sure to pan away as far as he could as Warrior loaded up his tope of death. Third fall had the fun Garza shirt spots and the much anticipated (by the crowd) Guerrero/Lyger confrontation which went nowhere. There was a dive sequence and then Lyger pinned Guerrero clean. Easily the worst match on the show.

Mistico vs Negro Casas: DID NOT ENJOY! I expected a lot from these two and figured at worst it would only be a 'good' match b/c... it's the biggest show of the year and you have Mistico's usual greatness combined with Negro Casas who is a genius inside the ring. Things just didn't seem to click at all. Right away I didn't like Felino getting involved and then Mistico using a power move to win the first fall. Since when does Mistico use power moves? Since when does any tecnico use power moves on a bigger rudo? Things kinda picked up in the second fall thankfully and then it really improved in the third fall with both guys scoring amazingly believable nearfalls and teasing the Mistica. In fact they teased the Mistica so well that I was just waiting for Mistico to get it out of nowhere for the big pop when Negro gave up. Instead... they completely ruined it. They became the first two wrestlers to blow the finish of the Anniversary main event. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??? Never in my life would I have thought these two would be capable of such a thing. After brilliant teases of La Mistica & La Casita finishes they went up top for a Spanish Fly and slipped. THEY SLIPPED. WHAT THE FUCK. Negro took a flip bump and Mistico landed on his feet. You would think these two professionals would be smart enough to figure out how to cover this screw-up... but no. They both looked like rookies just out of wrestling school. Mistico just slammed Negro and went up top to hit the worst Swanton Bomb ever and scored the win. WORST FUCKING FINISH TO A CMLL MAIN EVENT EVER. Even Rayo/Universo and Dantes/Porky had better finishes than this. Crowd totally didn't see the finish coming and neither should they have. It shouldn't have been the finish! Casas seemed geniunely pissed afterwards and the win really didn't come off as big as it should have for Mistico.

Overall a very good show but it definitely had it's flaws. Also I'd like to ask the CMLL production crew to calm down with the multiple angles. It's great that you can have a camera shot from behind the ramp but we can't actually see the ring so what's the point? Get the fancy camera shots out of your system in the opener and then retire them for the night, thanks.