CMLL
Arena Mexico (Mexico City, Mexico)
Gran Alternativa Tournament Final
CMLL opted to not show the entire Gran Alternativa tournament (veterans teaming with rookies in a two-block, 16-team tournament) on the Friday night Terra stream. As a result, I didn’t watch the entire tournament because the qualifying matches were generally short. What I saw was skippable and what I did not see was reported to be skippable. The matches were shorted and rushed – like in most CMLL tournaments – and nothing big went down.
The finals came down to this match up with the Jr.’s taking on the Peste Negra duo. Not a bad choice of rookies to go to the finals. Soberano is very thin (CMLL lists him at nearly 6’0 and 165 pounds) but he is quick and hits as spots as well as any young CMLL wrestler. He does kind of look like a Snork though. I know he has a ponytail coming out of his mask instead of a snorkel but I still think “snork” whenever I see him wrestle. Cavernario – along with Herodes – is one of the new Peste Negra members. His caveman gimmick makes him a perfect fit for that stable. I have also been been impressed with his work so far. He has a good look, strong presence, and moves around the ring really naturally.
For the most part, Niebla and Volador Jr. stayed out of the way and let the kids shine. For the most part, they did shine. The match was nothing special but neither Cavernario nor Soberano looked out of place wrestling a featured match in the same ring as Volador (or Mr. Niebla for that matter). It was nice to see both get a spotlight, although especially Soberano given that Caernario has already been more heavily featured in recent weeks via his association with Peste Negra.
I love the Gran Alternativa as a concept for that exact reason. You get to see guys that haven’t gotten a lot of exposure yet in their careers. If the WWE did one-night tournaments, ripping off that concept for a NXT special on the network would work. They already broached that area with the rookie/coach format over the early NXT seasons so it is not like it would be a huge change of directions or anything.
Okay match that is probably worthwhile watching since it was a tournament final (yes, I know you can see a CMLL tournament final basically every few weeks . . .) and a chance to see two fresher faces (or masks) in the spotlight.
Lucha Tag | Common | Quality, Individual Performances (Soberano & Cavernario) & Tournament Final
