Nearly every month, we, Griffin Peltier (Hollywd’s Wrestling Rewind on YouTube) and Dalton Henry, highlight the matches we consider “notebook-worthy,” rated four stars or higher, along with anything else we think deserves your attention. That might include bouts significant to the broader CMLL landscape, matches that were simply a joy to watch, or hidden gems that stood out for one reason or another.
The Watch Guide went on a bit of a hiatus, skipping March and April. The only real highlight of those two months was the Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show, which we covered in a full-show review. Even then, the only must-see match of that night was the Octagonal Infernal apuestas match, where Max Star won Polvora’s mask. I went 4 stars on that one. The only other notebook matches from those months were Mascara Dorada vs. Yutani on 3/31, Los Hermanos Calavera vs. Los Villanos on 4/4, and the best match of WrestleMania Weekend between Blue Panther and Ultimo Guerrero on 4/16.
CMLL remains a bit directionless and heavily reliant on outsiders from other promotions. Sometimes there’s a diamond in the rough, like KUSHIDA, but most of the time we’re forced to sit through some of the most boring matches featuring washed US TV wrestling stars like Johnny Nitro, Baron Corbin, and Donovan Dijak. It is increasingly frustrating to see younger talent on the card like Soberano Jr., Atlantis Jr., Yutani, and Xelhua take a back seat to these absolute losers.
This reliance on the outsiders doesn’t help with how the shows have been presented and how they feel. There’s been a big uptick in these shows feeling directionless and generally featuring the same homogeneous pro wrestling you can find elsewhere. More and more matches are being contested under one fall rules, and the effect of the total elimination of captain’s falls rules earlier in the year is pretty evident nowadays. “La mejor lucha libre del mundo” is technically sound but increasingly boring every night, and that makes it difficult to recommend much.
We know they are capable of doing a lot more.
Just a few years ago, this company was turning out some fun storylines and feuds every week. It made you feel like you needed to tune in to see what was happening up and down the card. The weekly Friday show felt must-watch, especially as guys like Mascara Dorada, Neon, and Zandokan Jr. shot up the card and were elevated to the level they are at today. Everyone was trying to impress, but now it feels like everyone is instructed to play the hits.
I’m sure adding another Wednesday Arena Mexico show will help #RestoreTheFeeling. – Griffin
Must Watches
May 5
Kushida & Yutani vs. Mascara Dorada & Templario
I really enjoy the Dorada/Templario duo, even though they seemingly never team. We’ve also been singing the praises of Yutani since the start of this Watch Guide, and he’s only continuing to rise. Kushida can be hit or miss, but in CMLL that hit rate has been top notch. I wish he would spend more time in Mexico. These two teams meshed exceptionally well here, and the rudos worked like they’ve been together for years. It had the perfect amount of stalling that kept the heat up without bringing things to a halt. The finish had the standard mask grab and rollup by Yutani, but in the context of the match I think it worked well and directly led to the Templario vs. Yutani match the following Tuesday when Templario got his revenge. Great stuff. **** (DH)
May 29
Villano III Jr. vs. Zandokan Jr.
Atlantis Jr. went down with an injury and was replaced by Zandokan which turned out to be a happy accident because this was something special. The only two guys on this all juniors show who came in with their working boots on. Villano worked beautifully as a tecnico and had the crowd fully behind him throughout. Zandokan was Zandokan, which means he was doing things nobody else thinks to do. The heat seeker piledriver was great but the moment that truly encapsulated what makes him so special was covering Villano’s eyes so he couldn’t see the count of the pin. That is the kind of little thing that fully immerses you in a match and separates the good from the great. Villano moonsaulting to the floor and going splat was another highlight in a match full of them.
These two went all out and delivered easily one of the best CMLL matches of the year, which feels even more impressive given how weak 2026 has been overall. Villano III Jr. wins the Copa Jr. and hopefully this is the start of the sustained push he has deserved for a long time. We need more energy like this in these main events. ****½ (GP)
You should also watch…
May 1
Kushida © vs. Templario for the MLW World Middleweight Championship
Originally reviewed in the CMLL vs. MLW (May 1) Results & Review.
Evil Kushida looks absolutely amazing with the Hakushi body paint and new gear, and I was really impressed by a really creative and violent arm work performance here. The running bulldog onto the arm on the ramp was a real highlight, and I’m all in on him keeping this gimmick and hopefully bringing it to New Japan. Templario had to deal with interference from the Contra Unit on top of Kushida’s fouls, which gave the match some good drama down the stretch.
Chemistry-wise, these two clicked really well together, and Templario was his usual fun self throughout. The biggest surprise was seeing him and CMLL stand tall over their partner promotion at the end, because that is not something I’m used to seeing nowadays. A really good title match between two great professional wrestlers. ***¾ (GP)
May 15
Mistico, Mascara Dorada, Neon vs. Averno, Ultimo Guerrero, Volador Jr.
This was the match with Natalia Jiménez singing “Me Muero” for Mistico’s entrance that went viral. A great moment that is worth seeking out by itself, but make sure you watch a fancam so you can hear the crowd (how is CMLL’s audio still so bad?). As for the match, this was the best trio in wrestling against a collection of long-running, Mistico-hating rudos. The floor for that matchup is high. The outcome was never in doubt as everyone knew Me Muero would play again, but it was still entertaining and another example of the minimum quality of a Friday trios main event being good at worst. (DH)
May 17
El Bandido vs. Volador Jr.
The better of the two matches from their series this month. Volador rolled back the clock just enough to make this a pretty entertaining match that did a great job showcasing Bandido’s fire throughout. The finish was ugly but there was something enjoyable about how out of nowhere it came. I really enjoyed it with the story of the more experienced luchador using every bit of that home turf advantage to steal it at the end. (GP)
May 22
Estudiante Jr. vs. Tornado
A fun lightning match opener that served as a pretty convincing argument for getting Estudiante Jr. into a trio as soon as possible because this kid is going to be a star. He spent most of the match powerbombing Tornado all over the place and finished it with a powerbomb from the top rope. Simple and effective. (GP)
May 24
El Clon vs. Mascara Dorada
A bombastic full-length singles match between two of the world’s flashiest performers. It wasn’t exactly Thesz vs. Gagne, nor should it have been. We knew what we were getting here, and they delivered well on that promise. The highlight for me was the sequence on the outside with Dorada being sent into the walkway between the fans, but countering Clon’s offense into a hurricanrana and moonsault off the post. A really enjoyable Sunday Arena Mexico match, and a great example of why I’m happy these are finally being released on the subscription feed. (DH)
