CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE
CMLL NOCHE DE CAMPEONES 2024
SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
ARENA MEXICO
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
CMLL’s Night of Champions event is one of my favorite gimmick shows in wrestling. If you do not know the gimmick of this event, it’s a lot like the old WWE Taboo Tuesday shows where the fans get to vote for the challengers in the title matches. Another caveat to the vote is that it also decides the match order. The match that gets the most votes is the night’s main event. It’s great fan service and, because of how often their fans voted, provided Futuro and Rayo Metalico the opportunity to main event a Friday Arena Mexico show – something that seemed impossible without this special vote.
Quick note: Wikipedia, Cagematch, and the luchawiki all have a different number of total reigns for some of the belts. For this review, we are going with the luchawiki number of champions.
CMLL World Trios Championship
Los Infernales (Averno, Euforia & Mephisto) def. Mascara Dorada, Neon & Star Jr. ©
Some would argue that the art of lucha libre is high-flying acrobatics whereas others would argue its the llave style and the general footwork of all the luchadors. I, on the other hand, would argue the true art of lucha libre is when someone is forced to unmask and they are ugly as sin. It’s always great. Losing the mask and looking so intimidating adds so much to his hoss presence.
The rudos dominated for the first portion of the match and the champions bumped like crazy for them. In particular, there was an Euforia powerbomb spot where Neon went splat on the ground outside the ring. The rest of the match was well worked but nothing inspiring. The rudos were great at basing for the tecnicos but some of the connective tissue of the match was sloppy. Star Jr., at points, felt like he was a step behind his teammates, especially when they tried to go for a triple pin, but Star hadn’t even hit his move yet, so there was an awkward pinfall attempt where you knew it was going to lead to a kickout.
Star Jr. was pinned and eliminated. Averno soon followed so the next fall of the match would be the deciding fall. Before that final fall, Neon hit his always spectacular ramp-run springboard plancha. It is always a thing of beauty. Surprisingly, it was Mephisto who made Mascara Dorada to win the match. Los Infernales are the 37th champions. ***½
CMLL World Minis Championship
Ultimo Dragoncito © def. Pierrothito
A technically sound wrestling match that didn’t grab me or the crowd at all. Dragoncito and Pierreothito have wrestled each other a lot over the last couple of decades and they have had much better matches in the past. Highlight of the match was Dragoncito’s moonsault from the top to ringside but nothing else was really exciting. Dragoncito won with an awkward rollup to make his second defense of the title. **½
Mexican National Tag Team Championship
Magnus & Rugido © def. El Hijo del Villano III & Villano III Jr.
The Villano kids have been a staple of the CMLL midcard since they joined forces with Zandokan Jr. last summer. They are always fun to watch in the ring but sometimes their matches fall short of expectations. The same thing applies to Magnus and Rugido. They have been great champions and have had some tremendous matches during this reign but sometimes there’s the odd match that just doesn’t connect. Unfortunately for both teams, they both had one of those matches that didn’t meet expectations and left you wanting more.
Los Villanos have a special ability to get the crowd behind them in these big matches. There was enough good wrestling that this wasn’t a disaster but it really felt like the first half of a super-long match and then it was over with dual submissions by the champions. More time would have helped. Los Depredadores got the win in eleven minutes to make the sixth defence of their title. They can’t all be winners. ***
Mexican National Women’s Championship
Sanely def. Reyna Isis ©
Sanely is fresh off a ruda turn and was seconded by her father Mano Negra. I’ve enjoyed Sanely’s work since she turned heel even if she is not that great in-ring. Reyna Isis can turn it on when needed and helped carry this to a respectable title match. I really appreciated that they went out there to put on the best match possible on this stage.
Isis’ suicide dives looked great. The tempo of the match dwindled down the stretch, however, as both women seemed to be a bit winded. Sanely hit a superplex, followed by a gnarly-looking Dragon Sleeper to win the belt in just over twelve minutes. The match exceeded expectations and was a lot of fun to watch while it lasted. The timing on this one was just right, anything longer would have hurt the match. Sanely is the 24th champion. ***¼
CMLL World Middleweight Championship
Templario © def. Volador Jr.
This show would be the main event of any other Friday Arena Mexico show. On this night, it’s third from top and felt a little bit like a throwaway. The little devil Kemalito seconded Templario. When Kemalito debuted about a year ago, I was not expecting a tecnico partnership with Templario to be one of the highlights of CMLL’s mascot antics. They are great fun together and it’s always a treat to see everyone’s favourite micro get blasted for heat.
The opening part of the match was really good and it felt like they were going for something special on this card. Things broke down a bit afterwards and it felt like they were going through the motions of a “good” match instead of putting on a great match that I know both guys are capable of doing. Don’t get me wrong, the match was not bad at all and had its fun moments but there was a sense of urgency that was missing. A fine undercard match. ***½
World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship
Atlantis Jr. © def. Soberano Jr.
Big Match Soberano with another fantastic look as he made his entrance. The cape isn’t as iconic as the fur coat but it does its job. We are blessed with another maskless Euforia appearance. I hope Soberano got his mother’s looks.
While the match before it slowed down and was just average, Atlantis Jr. and Soberano Jr. went out and stole the show! These two rivals have so much chemistry together that everything they did worked well and got the crowd invested. Soberano was excellent as always in his pure rudo form and Atlantis having to work from underneath to pull through to win was a nice little story. Atlantis Jr. is quickly becoming one of the best faces in the world (despite what a rowdy Arena Mexico would make you think) and it’s a shame he’s not being used better on a worldwide stage.
Despite the interference from Euforia, Atlantis Jr. managed to come back and hoist Soberano up for La Atlantida to make his first defence of the World Historic Light Heavyweight title. Twelve minutes of pure fun and I really want to watch these guys have a longer title match down the line. They are both so good and bring it every time. The chemistry is undeniable and there will be countless great matches between these two down the line if they become career rivals. This is worth a watch. ****
Mexican National Lightweight Championship
Rayo Metalico def. Futuro ©
As mentioned above, this would never main event any other Friday Arena Mexico show. Rayo Metalico isn’t exactly a regular in Arena Mexico and is usually in the first few matches of the night when he does show up. Futuro is one of the talented youngsters on the roster and has had more opportunities to show out on Friday nights but isn’t anywhere close to being a regular main eventer. On this night of champions, these two had an opportunity to prove to the world that they belong on the CMLL roster.
Futuro looked amazing and really showed like he belonged in this spot on the card. Everything he did looked crisp and he sold well for Metalico’s often weak offence. He connected on all of his big spots and got the apathetic crowd invested in the match at different points of the contest. This was his best individual performance in Arena Mexico. I think he deserves a big bump on next year’s 30 Under 30 list and I can’t wait to see how he develops in the future.
The finish was a shocker (not that Shocker). I was not expecting a local guy like Rayo Metalico to win the belt in the main event. He wasn’t that great in the ring and I don’t expect to see him much after this win. I hope Futuro losing the belt means that he’s ready to be pushed at a higher level. Metalico won with the crucifix driver in just under twelve minutes to become the 54th champion. Metalico may have won the match but Futuro was the real winner in this one. ***½
Final Thoughts
Noche de Campeones was a very fun show despite some matches not living up to expectations. The fan vote gimmick is a winner and delivers another good show. CMLL’s willingness to let their stars lose allows some great unpredictable back-and-forth matches that reel you in as a fan. Another notch in the CMLL booking team’s belt as they are the front runners for Booker of the Year.
