CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE
HOMENAJE A DOS LEYENDAS 2026
MARCH 20, 2026
ARENA MEXICO
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
Watch: TrillerTV
Meet Our Reviewers
Dalton Henry: One-half of the CMLL Watch Guide team. Voter in the Voices of Wrestling 30 Under 30. Cannot be found on social media. Subscribe to Hollywd’s Wrestling Rewind instead.
Griffin Peltier: The other half of the CMLL Watch Guide team and has been covering lucha libre for Voices of Wrestling since 2019. Creator and curator of the Voices of Wrestling 30 Under 30. Hollywd’s Wrestling Rewind on YouTube and @Hollywd12 on Twitter.
If you haven’t read it yet, we highly recommend thecubsfan’s excellent Homenaje A Dos Leyendas preview. Cubs shares the same thoughts about 2026 CMLL that we’ve had and expressed in the recent Watch Guides. CMLL has swung hard in the other direction of what they usually do and it’s been a weird start to the year. Homenaje A Dos Leyendas is another example of the general weirdness surrounding the promotion and lucha libre as a whole this calendar year.
Las Infernales (Dark Silueta, Lluvia, Valkiria, Zeuxis) def. La Catalina, La Jarochita, Persephone, Skadi
Dalton: Awesome Las Infernales gear. I thought this started fairly strong, but the Lluvia injury unfortunately brought things to a screeching halt and led to a meandering final stretch. It was good enough up until that moment. **¾
Griffin: A solid opener that was derailed for a bit when Lluvia was taken out of the match with an injury. Las Infernales’ matching gear was cool and the right team won. **½
Copa Infernal
Averno def. Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Bucanero, Toscano, Mephisto, Euforia
Dalton: This was worked more like a trios match than a cibernetico. Once I figured out what was going on, I enjoyed it. Heading into this, I figured the winner would be either Ultimo Guerrero or Averno, mainly because they’re the only guys who can still move well other than Euforia, who wasn’t going to win. Incredibly fitting that it ended with a foul. Wouldn’t have it any other way! Not much else to talk about here, just good, fun, rudo-filled wrestling. ***½
Griffin: Dudes rock. Averno and Ultimo Guerrero are two of the best guys on the roster and the match really focused on them. It feels like this is building back to a feud (maybe an Aniversario apuestas match?), which I’m all for. Toscano worked this like he was trying to impress everyone to get more bookings. This was a hoot, and ending it with a foul was perfectly fitting for the theme of the night. ***½
Satanico def. Blue Panther & Atlantis
Dalton: Beautiful ceremony before the match with Satanico’s family and CMLL management. His family was clearly emotional, and Satanico tugged at everyone’s heartstrings by apologizing for missing birthdays, sporting events and other events in order to be here entertaining the fans. As for the match, the first third or so was really slow, due almost entirely to Atlantis dragging things down. Ironic that the youngest man (at 63 years old!) also moved the worst. When he was eliminated, things picked up quite a bit and this turned into a memorable match. Satanico’s jump off the entrance steps onto Blue Panther was bonkers. Panther’s dive off the ramp onto Satanico was also incredible, doubly so on rewatch when you could see how Panther protected Satanico’s head on the way down. The same happened later on a Panther dive off the top rope. Satanico put him away for the victory to the adulation of the crowd, and to the delight of this viewer. Great stuff! ***½
Griffin: The pre-match ceremony felt like a huge deal, with multiple generations of the Lutteroth family, Satanico’s trainees, and his family all out for the moment. It was genuinely beautiful. The match that followed was not. Like many of CMLL’s recent three-way matches, it was a mess until one man was eliminated, and then it quickly settled into something decent. Based on how they looked, you’d think Atlantis was the 76-year-old retiring that night. Thankfully, he was eliminated early, and things picked up from there, including a fantastic Satanico leg drop off the stairs that no one saw coming. Satanico getting the win was a perfect touch, and the crowd loved it. Enjoy retirement, you’ve earned it! ***
Satánico senton #CMLL pic.twitter.com/C6O0n9RNU6
— Donal オビエド (@D_Wrestlingifs) March 21, 2026
Hair vs. Hair
Marcela & La Magnifica def. Princesa Sugehit; Sugehit loses her hair
Dalton: These luchadoras were put in a tough spot, following an emotional retirement ceremony and match. They never fully got the crowd invested. I’ll admit I was also surprised to see Princesa Sugehit be the one to be shaved; I was sure it would be La Magnifica. This lacked the tension and heat that a hair match should have, but I didn’t think it was all that bad. As is the case with most CMLL three-ways, it was way better after the first elimination. **½
Griffin: Really weird format for this apuestas compared to what CMLL has been doing for the multi-person apuestas on recent H2L and Aniversario shows. Instead of trying to advance to get the chance at winning someone’s hair, getting the first fall would eliminate you from the match. La Magnifica was the favourite to lose her hair going into the show… and then she was the first one out. That helped the match tremendously because she’s pretty bad! Marcela and Sugehit in a singles match was a million times better. *¾
Mask vs. Hair
Max Star def. Polvora, Virus, Calavera Jr. I, Hombre Bala Jr., Calavera Jr. II, Cancerbero, Coyote; Polvora loses his mask
Dalton: I was very lukewarm heading into this, but shame on me for doubting the potential of an Arena Mexico apuestas match. This had some crazy spots, with an early highlight being one of the Calaveras doing a Neon-esque moonsault, maybe even more impressive since he jumped from the ramp to the second turnbuckle to the top turnbuckle before landing a stunningly perfect moonsault on Polvora. It was so impressive that it took the wind out of the sails of Neon’s tone-down triple jump dive later in the night. I’m also unsure how Coyote is still breathing after he slipped on the second rope, leading to Max Star planting him directly on the crown of his head as hard as humanly possible. One of the scariest spots I’ve ever seen! On the topic of Max Star, this is easily the best singles performance I can recall. The final mano a mano sequences with Polvora was some of the best stuff on this entire show. His tornillo was picture-perfect. The spot that saw him splat on the floor on a dive almost felt like a receipt from God for spiking Coyote earlier in the match (though that wasn’t his fault). This was everything a multi-man apuestas match full of the CMLL midcard can and should be. It was followed by the unmasking ceremony, with Polvora’s brother Inquisidor removing the mask to reveal a Mexico City-born, twenty-five year veteran named Jose Luis Grande Escalante. ****¼
Griffin: There’s nothing better than a hot apuestas match where someone loses their mask. It doesn’t matter if it’s main event stars or undercard guys, nothing hits like this, which is why the show peaked here. The Calavera brothers continue to stand out on the undercard and had another strong showing. Virus was great as always, while Cancerbero and Hombre Bala Jr. made the most of their spots. Coyote nearly died at one point and he played his role perfectly.
The real star of the match was 24-year-old Max Star. Over the past few years, he has felt like someone destined to be just another guy on the roster, consistently lapped by the other young members of Los Viajeros del Espacio and never quite showing that extra fire. That changed in the final stretch with Polvora. Max Star went absolutely wild and finally showed what he is capable of. His bump to the floor was brutal in the best way. Polvora more than held his own in the closing stretch and helped make Max look like a star.
This is well worth your time, even at 39 minutes. CMLL has done a great job in recent years of elevating young talent with wins like this, and it is something I hope continues, even as the product leans more into American influences.
Polvora is Jose Luis Grande Escalante, a 25-year veteran from Mexico City. ****
Ouch #CMLL pic.twitter.com/ZAgNd0mLLH
— Donal オビエド (@D_Wrestlingifs) March 21, 2026
CMLL World Trios Championship
Sky Team (Mascara Dorada, Mistico, Neon) © def. Death Riders (Daniel Garcia, Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta)
Dalton: This is where the tone of the show shifted. After five matches showcasing pure big-show CMLL (both the good and the bad!), the final two matches switched to a decidedly more American style. And that’s not just because seven out of the eight wrestlers in the top two matches are on AEW’s payroll, which is a different conversation entirely, it’s that the pacing, flow, psychology, and even the refereeing were more suited to Wednesdays at 8pm ET on TBS. That doesn’t mean this match was bad, because it was quite good, but there was a clear delineation between the first five matches and final two. Poor Neon had to be looking around the ring and wondering why he isn’t getting that sweet sweet TV money that every other person in the match is. As I mentioned, the match was very good for the style it was worked in, complete with a long heat segment on Neon and hot tag to Mistico. Neon’s new toned-down dive is still impressive as hell, but he’s been using such an otherworldly move that it looks lesser-than in comparison. The Calavera Jr. I (or II?) move from earlier in the night was better than this one. The match ended the only way it could have: La Mistica on one of the non-Moxley guys. It had great heat, and Mistico was as over as ever, so any pushback to his new AEW contract didn’t make its way into Arena Mexico here. ***½
Griffin: A very good US TV-style match. Mistico was very over with the crowd, as expected, while the Death Riders worked their heat to keep them engaged. Sky Team hit their spots, and Neon finally attempted his famous dive, albeit in a modified form, before Mistico submitted Yuta with La Mistica for the clean win. I wanted this to be better than it was, but that is often the case with these invasion-style matches. ***
CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
Hechicero def. Claudio Castagnoli ©
Dalton: I enjoyed most of the Claudio title run. I think it went on a tad too long and they had one or two defenses too many, but all-in-all it was fun. With this Hechicero challenge being announced separately and after the rest of the card, I strongly believe this spot was meant to be Zandokan Jr., who is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered on September 12th of last year. He’s been advertised for CMLL-staffed shows over the last couple weeks, only to be replaced last-minute. Unfortunately he wasn’t ready by H2L, and CMLL was (rightfully) steadfast in Claudio’s reign coming to an end at this show. Hechicero was the second-best option, as long as we agree to memory-hole his loss to Roderick Strong in the number one contender’s match in January. This didn’t have the heat you’d expect from the H2L main event, which wasn’t surprising as this followed a great apuestas match and a Sky Team trios match. It also didn’t help that the novelty of AEW vs. CMLL has completely worn off (ignoring that both of these guys are AEW regulars). All that said, it was still a good match with a good finish and the right winner. Claudio’s new CMLL contract means that he will continue to be around, so I’m curious where they go with him if he’s not defending the heavyweight title. ***¾
Griffin: The wrestling in this match was technically great but very dry. The crowd was pretty dead for most of it except for the pockets of Hechicero fans. The lack of crowd noise at points was pretty jarring as they were hot for everything up until this point. This was the least interesting Claudio singles title defence in Arena Mexico since he won the belt. It felt like every AEW/ROH heel has done the ref distraction spot when they work CMLL so while I get Claudio had been adding it to his finishes for this run for more heel heat, it lacks the impact it would have when goobers like Johnny Nitro do it too. Hechicero winning the title was a nice feel-good moment but it lacked the big emotional moment that the apuestas and the Satanico retirement had earlier in the show. ***½
Final Thoughts
Dalton: CMLL is always at its best when it’s pure CMLL. The peak of the show was the eight-way apuestas, with the honorable mention being the entire Satanico stretch. Outsiders coming into Arena Mexico to shake things up is cool and fun, but when only one of eight wrestlers in the top two matches doesn’t have split loyalties at minimum and the novelty of interpromotional matches is gone, it makes for an odd dynamic. I still think this was a good show overall, I’m just very curious what Homenaje A Dos Leyendas 2027 will look like.
Griffin: A tale of two shows. The CMLL-only portions, with matches only they can pull off, were great. The show dipped as soon as the CMLL vs. AEW matches started. Overall, it was a good show, but it lacked an apuestas match or a major tag in the main event slot. Last year’s show had a Star Jr. main event and felt like a bigger deal. It’s time to shy away from the constant CMLL vs. outsiders stories for a bit and really focus on what’s made them have the boom period they’ve experienced the past few years. I doubt that will happen.
2026 will be a very interesting year for CMLL.
