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The next generation of luchadors and new renovations at Arena Mexico were seemingly the themes for the CMLL show on Friday night in Mexico City.

Although the card included plenty of veterans, the younger luchadors got to shine on a lot of the undercard. Nevertheless, tradition is still a major influence on the entire culture, so many in the younger generation carry on family legacies with the personas or characters they portray. Someone with a junior suffix even won a title in the most exciting match on the show.

That title change (in a thrilling high-flying spectacle) stole the show. Up-and-comer Soberano Jr. continues to get a push with him winning the Mexican National Welterweight Championship on this show after also winning the Copa Junior tournament several weeks ago.

In hindsight, the title match arguably should have closed the show. Nonetheless, the main event was a trios match featuring established stars and veterans. However, even they had a generational aspect as Rush was teaming with his father. What actually got featured most on the show was something newly renovated.

Sometimes in superhero stories, locations or facilities take on such a prominent role in a narrative that the places almost become characters altogether. For example, the Batcave in the realm of the Batman universe epitomizes that role. Likewise, Sherwood Forest is ever present in the story of Robin Hood.

On this show, the Freedom Sports Bar & Grill took on a similar role by getting more camera time than anything else as a prominent fixture throughout the broadcast.

The Freedom Sports Bar & Grill is a new restaurant inside Arena Mexico that opened this week. This show itself opened with a view of the restaurant from inside the arena, which has seating that includes a bird’s eye view of the ring. The new facilities include a great new mural that was commissioned as part of the renovation project.

Leono & Sensei defeated Artillero & El Hijo del Signo

The tecnicos won the first and third falls. In the first, Sensei submitted Artillero with a head-and-arm choke. Leono then pinned Signo after dropkicking him as he was draped in the ropes.

Evening the score in the second fall, stereo leglock submission holds by the rudos led to them getting their win back as Artillero submitted Sensei and Signo made Leono submit. Into the third fall, Sensei submitted Signo with a cross-armbreaker and Leono submitted Artillero.

Cancerbero, Raziel & captain Virus defeated Astral, Principe Diamante & captain Robin

Cancerbero started the match by taking Diamante to the proverbial woodshed before he fired up on him. Likewise, Astral squared off with Raziel. Then, the two captains faced off.

The rudos ran roughshod in a flurry late in the first fall as they left Robin reeling. They then used teamwork to score pinfalls. Virus assisted with a dropkick as Cancerbero was hoisting up Astral for a powerbomb, followed by a pin. Cancerbero then submitted Astral to clinch the first fall for the rudos.

In a short second fall, the tecnicos made a comeback leading to team captain Robin submitting rudo captain Virus. By the way, Robin’s gear was a throwback to Los Brazos.

The tecnicos all got to shine heading into the third fall. The rudos shut them down, and Raziel jumped off the top rope with a guillotine legdrop as Cancerbero held Robin in position. Raziel then pinned the tecnico team captain to win the deciding fall.

Cuatrero, Forastero & captain Sanson defeated Drone, Esfinge & captain Guerrero Maya Jr.

The story of the match was that the rudos, Nueva Generacion Dinamita, were simply a better team with them all having a connection to a legacy that began with the legendary Los Hermanos Dinamita (“The Dynamite Brothers”). The rudos would win the first and third falls using teamwork, even if it was underhanded at times.

The rudo faction took the first fall as Forastero pinned Esfinge after Sanson assisted with a flying knee drop. Sanson also assisted Cuatrero in executing a version of the old Demolition finisher, and Cuatrero pinned Drone to take the fall.

The rudos continued their onslaught heading into the second​ fall with a series of triple-team attacks. The tecnicos rallied into a comeback that led to Drone pinning Cuatrero after a modified Spanish Fly. Guerrero Maya moments later used a neckbreaker similar to an ushigoroshi, then he pinned Forastero for the tecnicos to win the second fall.

Late into the third fall, the two captains faced off. Having dispatched the other two tecnicos, the rudos then ganged up on Guerrero Maya like predators on prey. Guerrero Maya was held in place for Forastero to run down the ramp, springboard off the top rope, and hit a missile dropkick. Rudo team captain Sanson pinned tecnico captain Guerrero Maya to score the deciding pinfall.

Marco Corleone endorsed a pineapple flavored beverage in a commercial. The ad spot even had a caricature of Corleone as a flexing cartoon pineapple.

Soberano Jr. defeated Rey Cometa to win the Mexican National Welterweight title

For the seconds, Dragon Lee was in the corner of Soberano and Fuego was in Cometa’s corner. Everybody involved was a tecnico except for the rudo referee, Tirantes. His heel antics would play a part in the match later on.

Two falls ended rather quickly, giving way to a climactic third fall. The defending champion, Cometa, took the first. Soberano ran the ropes and charged towards him only to run into a Spanish Fly. Cometa then scored a pinfall to end the initial fall. Soberano fired up again in the next fall, pinning Cometa after springboarding into a guillotine moonsault. That evened the falls in short order.

They upped the ante in the more lengthy third fall with high-risk moves. Cometa springboarded into a corkscrew plancha, and Soberano leapt into a Fosbury Flop. Cometa jumped off the apron to catch Soberano with a hurricanrana on the floor. Cometa connected on a tope suicida, but wiped out when he crashed into the barricade. Leaping off the top turnbuckle, Soberano did a crazy corkscrew plancha to the floor.

As the action eventually returned to the ring, both got near falls with the heel referee doing a slow count. While the seconds in the corner and the crowd grew more angry over the slow counts, Tirantes progressively counted slower in an even more exaggerated manner. That was the only thing slow about the match.

The high flying still continued at a rapid pace. Cometa did an Asai moonsault and got a close near fall after a Spanish Fly off the top rope. Soberano also got a near fall in the closing moments with a sit-out tombstone.

Out of nowhere, Soberano struck with a Canadian Destroyer to score the deciding fall. Tirantes had no choice but to count the pinfall as Soberano cradled Cometa to win the title. In a show of good sportsmanship, the former title holder strapped the belt around the waist of the new champion.

Angel de Oro, Dragon Lee & captain Valiente defeated Negro Casas, Cavernario & captain Mr. Niebla

The rudo faction, La Peste Negra (“The Black Plague”), started off strong en route to taking the first fall as Cavernario splashed and pinned Dragon Lee. Casas then applied a scorpion deathlock to submit Angel de Oro, quickly ending a short fall.

The second fall was shorter than the first. The tecnicos launched into a rally. With Cavernario hanging in the ropes, Dragon Lee jumped off the top rope with a double foot stomp. Lee pinned Cavernario and the other rudos were counted out of the ring, awarding the fall to the tecnicos.

In a micro showdown, El Percio Zakarias and KeMonito slugged it out. KeMonito fell off the apron for a plancha on Zakarias. From there, they all went home and headed into the finish.

Dragon Lee got to shine with a flurry of high-flying offense in the closing moments with the tecnicos finishing strong in the third fall. Valiente applied La Tapatia for a submission on Casas while Oro cradled Niebla for a three count, winning the match for the tecnicos.

Stuka Jr., Diamante Azul & captain Atlantis defeated Pierroth, La Mascara & captain Rush

Of course with the rudos being Los Ingobernables, they were unruly rule breakers as usual. Rush renewed his rivalry with Atlantis in this match. I’m still crossing my fingers that a singles match between them with major stips is the main event of this year’s anniversary show, but that is merely wishful thinking on my part for the time being. 

The first fall of this bout began with a brawl as Los Ingobernables attacked the tecnicos just as the ring announcer was wrapping up his introductions​. The rudos went on to pummel the tecnicos throughout much of the match. Unlacing the strings on their masks, Los Ingobernables tied all three tecnicos to the ropes with the laces of their own hoods. That led to a disqualification, though rudo ref Tirantes took his time in calling for the DQ.

Undeterred by technically losing the first fall, the onslaught by Los Ingobernables continued into the second fall with even more of a beatdown. They went about trying to annihilate the tecnicos one at a time. Rush charged into a corner and dropkicked Atlantis. La Mascara then pinned the tecnico team captain, so the rudos evened the falls. The last fall began with Los Ingobernables continuing their beatdown.

Rush and his Los Ingobernables cohorts taunted Atlantis, leading to Atlantis hulking up. The tecnicos all then fired up into a comeback. From there, the match settled into a more traditional structure as opposed to a brawl. However, Los Ingobernables soon instigated more brawling in living up to their “ungovernable” moniker.

Rush ripped at Atlantis​’ mask. A few moments later, Atlantis fired up again and ran wild with tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. Stuka sailed off the top to the floor with a torpedo splash. Azul got a running start in leaping off the ramp into a senton.

The team captains headed into the finish in the ring, where Atlantis submitted Rush after applying La Atlantida, winning the final fall with a captain submitting another captain. The heroes vanished the villains in the end, yet the rudos live on to fight another day.

CMLL returns to Arena Mexico today with a matinee show and the following card:

Caristico vs. Euforia
Atlantis, Marco Corleone & Maximo Sexy vs. Mephisto, Luciferno & Ephesto
Titan, Blue Panther & Johnny Idol vs. Gran Guerrero, Kraneo & Dragon Rojo
Stigma, Esfinge & Pegasso vs. Disturbio, Puma & Sangre Azteca
Electrico, Stukita & Fantasy vs. Mercurio, Pequeno Olimpico & Pequeno Violencia