[2000-03-02-CMLL] Atlantis & Tarzan Boy & Rayo de Jalisco Jr vs El Satanico & Cien Caras & Bestia Salvaje

[soup23]

Atlantis jumps Villano III in the ring and takes his mask right off. What a brutal hate filled feud. Atlantis is even aggressive with the referee and beats up Villano as he goes to the back. The rudos come out and Satanico decides to take the boots to TB once again. A nice bald head that Satanico is sporting. Brutal rudo beatdown that was reminiscent of a lot of the stuff we saw in January but still entertaining. Rayo and Cien is great given their history together. Bestia gets in a low blow as Satanico has TB by the hair. All of a sudden, the tecnicos make their comeback. Cien gets thrown into the announce booth and Rayo has some words to say. We get some brief Atlantis vs. Satanico interactions and I clamor to see them in a long form match around this point. TB gets his revenge but Satanico yanks him by the hair to take over again. I like that bit of psychology that plays into their apuestas match. Rayo rolls around avoiding contact and Atlantis gets the Atlantida to win the match. Afterwards, he helps stretch out Villano III when the rudos back up come out led by Villano III. You knew he was going to have a receipt for Atlantis and he gives it as Rayo is handcuffed. All roads are now leading to the big 3/17 show and stuff is peaking perfectly. ***1/4

[Loss]

Not too much to say about this one. Another strong CMLL brawl that peaks at the right time and continues to build interest in the 3/17 show, specifically in the Atlantis-Villano III feud, although Satanico and his shaved head seeking revenge on Tarzan Boy suggests that there is far more environmentally friendly renewable fuel in that tank. I liked the post-match beatdown quite a bit as a way to put as much heat as possible on Villano III. Very good match. ***1/2

[Tim Evans]

Another build up match to spawns several feuds. I don't think I've seen Rayo as motivated as he was here. Atlantis is on another level attacking Villano III. Post match beatdown was fun.

[Moonsault Marvin]

Atlantis gets the sneak attack on Villano III this time, as they build to their big match. I was surprised to see the feud of Satanico and Tarzan Boy continue as I assumed the hair match would be the end to their feud. The rudos seemed very dominant even though they lost the match. Fun match.

[ohtani's jacket]

Stone Cold! Stone Cold! CMLL is getting more WWF by the second. I liked how you had all these old school luchadores working a classic rudo beatdown and suddenly there were run-ins and shit. That wasn't unprecedented in Mexico but for CMLL it was like reinventing the wheel. A couple of things stood out to me here. The first was that they did a nice job of intertwining the various story threads in the match. You had the eternal feud in Rayo vs. Caras, the recent humiliation of Satanico by the upstart Tarzan Boy and Stone Cold vs. The Rock They also mixed up the pairings which is an underrated aspect of lucha trios matches. I really liked the part where Satanico gave Atlantis a working over. There was no reason for him to have a beef with Atlantis but he was keenly aware of his fellow rudo's vendetta with him and did his best to soften Atlantis up for Villanos. In fact, the Satanico vs. Atlantis segment was so good I half-wished it was Satanico taking on Atlantis at the PPV. That wouldn't have been anywhere near as monumental as one of two legends losing their mask but I thought Satanico in this bout looked better than Villano has at any point during the build. Satanico's handprints were all over this and he looked badass with his shaved head. Few workers manage to be a ring general and a superstar but Satanico is right up there with Casas as the cream of the crop. Really fun TV match in this new era of CMLL booking.

[AstroBoy]

Satanico is really beating the shit out of Tarzan Boy here. The violence in this is awesome, with unhinged brawls bookending a solid match. The pre and post match are really something else and of course help build to the Atlantis-Villano match that I cannot wait to see. It is just fantastic, gritty, realistic brawling that feels bigger than wrestling.

[cramerjason87]

Entertaining brawl. It continues to be a pleasure to watch Satanico in these matches. He can do it all.

[Grimmas]

Not much to add that wasn't already said. A fun brawl, loved Atlantis killing Villano then Satanico killing Tarzan Boy. *** 1/2

[Stiva]

Real hot piece of business here as CMLL continue to fire on all cylinders. Satanico is an all-time great bastard with my personal favourite moment being when he escaped a pin by just grabbing a fistful of Tarzan Boy's hair. Subtle but absolutely perfect.

[klhare]

Loved Satanico's du-rag. Otherise, more good stuff from CMLL. Can't wait for this PPV.

[ohtani's jacket]

Correct date on this is 3/3/00.