[2011-06-07-CMLL] Virus vs Guerrero Maya Jr

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Graham Crackers]

Not only is this a great modern CMLL match, it also feels like a huge moment. Each fall gets plenty of time and the crowd seemed really into everything. The matwork in those first two falls was fantastic, you know, like a title match should have but it gets even better in that last fall. Nearfalls in lucha are tricky. Sometimes a decent modern lucha match can lose me when they start trading bombs but it worked pitch perfect here. When those bombs first start showing up after Maya hits the cerebrina driver it's a logical extension of the matwork after the cerebrina didn't submit Virus. He does the cerebrina driver a second time hoping to finish him off. Then there's that incredible Virus comeback. The 90s AJPW comparison is appropriate here. Replace some of the moves with elbows and the awesome senton with an elbow suicida and it wouldn't have seemed out of place in a Misawa match. This was my 2011 MOTY and one of the best matches of the last ten years.

[Makai Club #1]

I kept on using the words "beautiful" throughout watching the match. Beautiful this, beautiful that. Because that's the only way to describe it. It's fucking beautiful. The first two falls were tremendous. Excellent maestro skill shown by Virus. Superb matwork with tons of struggle mixed with finesse. I loved that both falls were given just the amount of time needed, neither blown away without a thought. Both laid great foundations for a grand climax. And it totally delivered on that. Great bursts of intensity and increase in tempo for the third fall. Both guys throwing their all in hitting bombs like Maya and his tope or that brutal running knee to the back of Virus. Maya really showed his worth in that aspect. His counters to set up that neckbreaker on the knee were amazing. Virus was great as always. Tremendous match. From start to finish. ****3/4