In a year of massive success with their weekly events, CMLL holds their biggest event of the year tonight at Arena Mexico with their 91st Anniversary show.
The headliner will see AEW star Chris Jericho make his promotional return for the first time since 1995 to take on the legendary Mistico. While the two briefly shared the ring twice in WWE, they have never gone one-on-one adding some extra excitement for tonight.
Another major match will see Hechicero vs. El Valiente vs. Esfinge vs. Euforia in a four-way where the loser will have to remove their mask.
Orange Cassidy will make his CMLL debut, teaming with Rocky Romero and current MLW Champion Satoshi Kojima against ROH TV Champion Atlantis Jr., Volador Jr. and Ultimo Guerrero.
CMLL Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale will defend the title against Zeuxis in her first title defense since winning it in July.
Other action includes Titan vs. Mascara Dorada in the finals of the Copa Independencia Tournament.
Our live coverage begins at 10:30 PM Eastern.
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We opened the evening from inside the legendary Arena Mexico with Roberto Lopez Olvera greeting fans from outside the arena.
Inside Arena Mexico, ring announcer Omar Garcia stood inside the ring and welcomed everyone to tonight’s 91 Aniversario event. He introduced the two championship matches we’ll be seeing tonight: Titan vs. Mascara Dorada in the Copa Independencia Tournament finals and Willow Nightingale vs. Zeuxis for the CMLL Women’s Championship.
Six-Man Tag Match: Los Viajeros (Futuro, Max Star, & Hombre Bala Jr.) def. Los Depredadores (Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido)
Magia Blanca & Futuro were announced as the team captains for their respective teams.
The match was underway with the two teams locking horns in the ring. Max Star hit a nice set of hurricanranas as his team dazzled with high-flying moves that left Los Depredadores on the flatfoot outside the ring. Hombre Bala Jr. topped it off with a running dive outside.
Magia Blanca soared from the top roe with an el tornillio. Back in the ring, the action was fast and furious, with Max Star managing to hold his own against Magnus and Rugido. Fantastic avalanche arm drag by Futuro on Blanca, was followed by a dive to the outside on Magnus.
Los Depredadores briefly regained the advantage by tripping up Futuro as tge three proceeded to hit consecutive maneuvres on their foe. Hombre Bala was sent to the elevated ramp outside the ring as he fell victim to a triple-team assisted triple dropkick.
The rudos remained in the driver’s seat as they worked over Max Star in the corner before focusing their attention on Hombre Bala Jr.
Magnus found himself floored by an arm drag from Hombre Bala Jr., who then glew outside with. The tecnicos regained advantage with stereo avalanche hurricanranas on opposite ends from Max Star & Hombre Bala Jr. The count was made, and Los Viajeros scored the victory in this opener.
A fantastic opening contest that was fast paced and helped set the tone for the night ahead.
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Six-Man Tag Match (2/3 Falls): Soberano Jr., Niebla Roja, and Angel de Oro def. Neon, Star Jr., and Templario
Niebla Roja and Templario were the designated captains for their respective teams.
Templario and and Soberano started off for their respective teams as the bell rang. Lockup in the middle of the ring between the two ended with a brief headbutt exchange before Templario was caught in a leg hold by Soberano.
Templario escaped as he and Soberano sized each other up in the middle of the ring. Soberano backed off and taggked in Angel de Oro, as Star Jr. entered for his team.
We get an exchange of arm drags and shoulder blocks between Star and Angel before Neon and Niebla were tagged in. The action spilled outside the ring as Templario and Angel hit a double team maneuver on Star. The rudos suddenly had the upper hand as they had Templario isolated in the ring with Neon and Star down at ringside.
Niebla, Angel, and Soberano slammed Templario with an amazing triple powerbomb before they hooked up Neon and Star with simultaneous slams onto Templario. We got a triple pin from the rudos, who went up one-nil in this 2/3 Falls Match.
The second fall began with Niebla, Angle, and Soberano attacking their foes outside the ring as the action resumed in-ring with Star Jr. isolated in the corner of the rudos.
Soberano lifted Angel on his shoulders for a dive onto Star as Templario tried to mount a comeback for his team. Neon attempted to intervene, but his leg was targeted by repeated kicks that left him down and out. Angel hooked up Neon by the legs as Soberano stomped on him.
Now Templario returned to the match to try and spark something for his team, but that was to no avail as he got stomped on by the rudo team. Star Jr. and Neon regained momentum with dual hurricanranas, followed by dual dives to the outside to take out Soberano and Angel.
In the ring, Templario scored the fall for his team after he hit a diving powerbomb on Niebla for the one, two, three.
Fall number three began with Soberano attacking Templario’s mascot on the ramp as Templario and Angel faced off in the ring. With impressive agility, Templario managed to keep the two members of Los Hermanos Chavez at bay before he turned his attention to Soberano. The crowd was on their feet for Templario’s amazing display as he tagged in Star Jr.
Star Jr. took down Niebla with repeated chops, followed by a Superman Punch. He followed that up with some aerial offense on both Niebla ansd Angel before he had Soberano in his sights with a guillotine leg drop. Neon entered the match and kept up with his own fantastic display of aerial excellence that kept the rudos flatfooted.
The tecnicos regrouped on the ramp and hit a series of dives to their opponents, but Templario’s dive to Angel was a very close near fall. Templario had a rush of adrenaline after Soberano kicked him in the back, but that wasn’t enough as Angel took him down with a tope.
Back in the ring, Star Jr. and Niebla faced off as the action remained fast and furious. The finish saw Soberano, Niebla, and Angel get the pin and win after Los Hermanos drove Neon onto Star with a slam, and Soberano got a powerbomb of his own.
Even more fast-paced trios action. Lucha libre excitement at its finest. Even going in blind, I found myself having a good time seeing this here.
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Flip Gordon was backstage for some remarks as he said that he was here to confront Rocky Romero.
Copa Independencia Finals: Titan def. Mascara Dorada
As the bell rang, both Titan and Mascara Dorada played to the crowd before they faced off in the middle of the ring with an exchange of holds.
Titan attempted to use his agility to break out of Mascara Dorada’s hold, but was met with a springboard flip from Dorada as the two continued to lock horns. Neither man could get the upper hand as they met each other with flips and dropkicks.
As Mascara Dorada rolled outside, Titan tried for a plancha, but was stopped short. At ringside, Mascara Dorada was sent to the barricade, but he flipped over to the crowd and landed on his feet. Titan responded with a Michinoku Driver, followed by a diving two-foot stomp from the apron.
Back in the ring, Titan had the first pinfall attempt after a running kick to a seated Dorada, but that was not enough. Titan maintained control until Mascara Dorada avoided calamity with a flipping dodge. With Titan outside the ring, he got floored by a superhuman-like dive from Mascara Dorada.
Mascara Dorada kept command of the match with a suplex inside the ring to Titan. Both men sized each other up as they traded chops and taunted one another. Dorada caught Titan with a spinning kick as he then escaped an attempted tornado DDT from Titan.
Titan avoided a clothesline from Dorada with a Matrix-style dodge before he took him down with a dropkick. Mascara Dorada countered a running corner strike by Titan with a modified black hjole slam for a two-count.
Dorada headed up top for a 450 Splash, but Titan got his knees up as he took advantage with a Falcon Arrow for the near-fall. Mascara Dorada countered a diving stomp from Titan and lifted him up for a leg submission. Titan managed to counter it into a leg lock of his own as he pulled away on both Dorada’s arms. However, Dorada reached the ropes to break the hold.
Titan caught Dorada with a springboard DDT, but couldn’t connect with the subsequent superkick as Dorada caught his leg and slammed him for a near-fall. Again, Dorada headed up top for the 450 Splash and connected, but that wasn’t enough.
Dorada’s attempted corner attack was intercepted by Titan, who ended up taking out Dorada with a corner clothesline of his own, followed by the two-foot stomp from the top rope. Dorada managed to kick out at the last second.
Titan wrenched in his leg submission once again and grabbed at Dorada’s neck for extra pain. Dorada tried to fight out of it, but he had no choice but to tap out, which gave Titan the win and the Copa Independencia.
After the match, El Fantasma and CMLL officials awarded the Copa Independencia to Titan, as Mascara Dorada showed him respect in a sign of good sportsmanship.
I found myself enjoying this match up and the back and forth action from Titan and Mascara Dorada was just great to see. So far, a great show from CMLL with their 91st Anniversary event.
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CMLL World Women’s Championship: Zeuxis def. Willow Nightingale (NEW CHAMPION)
Lockup between Zeuxis and Nightingale to start off as the challenger looked to have the advantage early on here. Zeuxis trapped Nightingale in the middle of the ring with a submission hold, but that was quickly broken out of.
Zeuxis had Nightingale pinned by the hand in the middle of the ring, but the champion fought out of the hold. Lots of technical-based offense from Zeuxis, but that was met by the sheer power of Nightingale. In the corner, Zeuxis had Nightingale stunned briefly, but she fell victim to a fisherwoman’s suplex for a two. A hurricanrana from Zeuxis sent Nightingale outside the ring as the action spilled over to ringside.
Nightingale ran across the apron and took down Zeuxis with a fierce cannonball to the outside. Nightingale continued her assault on Zeuxis with a spinebuster for another near-fall. She worked over Zeuxis in the corner for a bit before the challenger fought back with kicks to the back of Nightingale.
Now it was Zeuxis with the upper hand as she charged at a prone Nightingale with double knees in the corner, followed by a suicide dive that sent Nightingale crashing into the barricade at ringside. The battle headed to the apron, where Nightingale dropped Zeuxis onto the apron, back-first.
Zeuxis lfited Nightingale on her shoulder,s but couldn’t capitalized. She did manage to floor the champion with a running Meteora for the near-fall in the ensuing standoff. Sit-down powerbomb from Nightingale wasn’t enough to keep Zeuxis down for the count.
Nightingale headed up top and missed with the moonsault as Zeuxis dodged it at the last second. Now Zeuxis had her try at a moonsault, but Nightingale avoided calamity. Things began to pick up as Zeuxis and Nightingale fought on the top rope, which ended with Zeuxis hitting an avalanche powerslam. And that’s it, over, Zeuxis is the new CMLL Women’s Champion.
A fantastic match and this was certianly the right time to crown Zeuxis as the new CMLL Women’s Champion. Hard hitting and an intense showdown between champion and challenger.
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Six-Man Tag Match (2/3 Falls): Atlantis Jr., Ultimo Guerrero, & Volador Jr. def. Satoshi Kojima, Rocky Romero, and Orange Cassidy
Romero and Volador Jr. were named the captains for their teams before the bell rang.
Ultimo Guerrero and Kojima started things off for their teams as they got into a shoving contest. The fans were solidly behind Ultimo as he locked up with Kojima. Ultimo was backed into Kojima’s corner as Cassidy was tagged in and Romero’s team began to target him.
Atlantis Jr. entered the match and got taken down by a double suplex from Romero and Cassidy. Romero’s team were booed as the rudos by the Arena Mexico crowd. They had Ultimo Guerrero isolated in the middle of the ring as they worked him over with tandem offense.
Romero flew to the outside to take Volador out with a dive as Atlantis Jr. was flatlined by a double stomp and Beach Break combo from Romero and Cassidy for the first fall.
Flip Gordon was shown in the crowd taunting Rocky Romero, who started to attack him. Atlantis held Gordon back as Romero mocked him and backed away.
The second fall began with Romero and Kojima hitting Volador Jr. with a double shoulder block. Romero’s team then turned their attention to Atlantis Jr. Cassidy and Romero took Atlantis down with a double suplex as Ultimo Guerrero entered the match once again. Guerrero was outnumbered by the rudo team as Volador Jr. tried to make the save. He took down Kojima and Cassidy with a double handspring strike, followed by a hurricanrana and suicide dive on Romero.
The action picked up as Cassidy was hit with a piledriver from Atlantis, while Guerrero caught Kojima with a face-first superplex for the double pin to tie the match up at one fall a piece.
Fall three kicked off with Romero’s team trying to keep Atlantis isolated, but couldn’t on the account of Atlanti’s high-speed offense. Atlantis monkey flipped Romero halfway across the ring as Volador Jr. and Cassidy faced off in the ring.
Cassidy did his “hands in pocket” bit and the weak kicks on Volador as things began to pickup. A superkick from Volador sent Cassidy rolling out of the ring as Romero entered the fray. Ultimo Guerrero got the crowd pumped as he and Romero exchanged strikes.
Team Romero took down Guerrero and once again attempted to triple-team the big man. Guerrero managed to fight out it, but Kojima caught him in the corner and hit his patented rapid-fire chops and elbow from the top. Only a two-count.
Cassidy entered the match and tried his hands in the pocket on Guerrero. Nice hands-free hurricanrana from Cassidy is followed by a suicide dive to Guerrero outside the ring. Atlantis responded with a dive of his own to Cassidy.
In the ring, after a wild back and forth, Volador got the pinfall with a high-octane Canadian Destroyer on Romero.
While I enjoyed the other six-man tag 2/3 falls match more than this, what we got here was still good. Having some familiar faces in the form of AEW stars like Cassidy, Romero, and Atlantis helped bring a familiar feeling. I enjoyed this trios match.
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“Cuadrangular de Mascaras”: Hechicero def. Euforia, Valiente, and Esfinge
Fast and furious to start off as we got simultaneous dives to the outside from Esfinge and Valiente. Back in the ring, Euforia slammed Valiente as Hechiero targeted his legs.
Roll-up pin by Valiente on Euforia did not work as the action found its way onto the apron. Hechicero is pulled down to the floor by Valiente and Esfinge, who began to fight in at ringside. Euforia attempted for a dive, but the other three men caught him and dropped him down on the mat with a triple powerbomb of sorts.
Back in the ring, Esfinge contended with Hechicero and Valiente as the three men exchanged offense on one another. Hechicero spun Valiente around and dropped him on his knee for a backbreaker. Euforia stopped Esfinge’s attempt at a dive, but he got sent to the canvas with an armdrag from the top rope. Esfinge followed this up with a powerful monkey flip on Euforia.
Hechicero and Valiente both entered the ring and tried for dual pins, but that would not work. Esfinge took down the other three competitors with spinning kicks as he then trapped Hechicero with a unique pinning combination. Hechicero managed to get a foot on the rope to break it up.
On another corner of the ring, Euforia dropped Valiente with a superplex, but that only got a two. Euforia caught Hechicero for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as he then took Valiente hit a modified GTS for a two. All four men struggled to their feet until a Euforia dropped Esfinge with a scoop powerslam for the near-fall.
The numbers whittled down as Esfinge caught Hechicero in another pinning combination, but that wasn’t enough. Valiente tried for a piledriver, but Esfinge countered it into a slam of his own. Euforia caught Esfinge in a submission hold to eliminate him from the match.
Valiente hit Euforia with a suicide dive as Hechicero ran and leapt off the top turnbuckle onto both Valiente and Euforia. At ringside, Valiente sent Euforia over the barricade as he began to mix it up with Hechicero.
Valiente kept Hechicero grounded with a swinging neckbreaker, but that wasn’t enough for the three. Hechicero rolled through and tried for a sleeper hold, but Valiente got out of it and appplied a leg submission of his own.
Valiente missed with a springboard moonsault as he got caught in a knot with a submission from Hechicero to force an elimination via submission. Now the match woudl be down to Hechicero vs. Euforia, with the loser being forced to unmask.
Hechicero pulled down the straps as he hit Euforia with a nice single-leg kick that sent him outside the ring. With a full head of steam, Hechicero ran across the ring and landed a vaulting diving press onto a prone Euforia outside the ring.
The Arena Mexico crowd were firmly behind Hechicero as they chanted his name. Euforia was draped across the top of the barricade as Hechicero flew right into him with a dive. He tried again for a leg drop, but Euforia moved out of the away at the very last second.
As the referee tried to check up on Hechicero, Euforia continued the asssault by targeting the shoulders and arms of his wounded opponent. In the ring, Euforia tried to rip away at Hechicero’s mask. With Hechicero outside the ring, Euforia soared with a backflip tope onto him.
Euforia tried to go up top, but Hechicero met him at the pass and took him out with a top rope hurricanrana. That got a close two-count. Hechicero caught Euforia with a knee in the corner and tried for another attack. Euforia reversed it into a powerbomb from the corner, which got a near-fall.
Hechicero got sent for a ride as Euforia tried once again for the mask of his foe, to no avail. Hechicero trapped Euforia on the top rope and attempted a springboard armdrag, but that only got a two.
The two men traded clotheslines as Hechicero now had his turn at ripping away at Euforia’s mask. In the corner Hechicero battered Euforia with nine punches and an elbow strike. Euforia recovered long enough to hit an avalanche powerbomb on Hechicero. An incredibly close near-fall as Hechicero kicked out at the very last second.
Hechicero rolled Euforia around the ring with his feet as desperation began to set in among the two competitors in this high-stakes encounter. Euforia regained the advantage with a dangerous running Meteora to a prone Hechicero in the corner. The cover and Hechicero just barely managed to kick out.
Hechicero trapped Euforia in a figure-four leglock, but that would be enough. Once Euforia escaped, he locked in a submission reminiscent of the Rings of Saturn on Hechicero, who got a foot on the bottom rope to escape.
With the advantage now his once more, Hechicero ascended to the top, but he was met by Euforia, who hit an avalanche butterfly suplex. Yet again, Hechicero kicked out at the last possible second.
Euforia with the rollthrough and the chokehold on Hechicero as he leaned backwards to add more pain to it. Hechicero refused to give up on that hold. Hechicero kicked Euforia in the back of the head and hit a running splash afterwards.
With both men back up, they began to exchange strikes, with Hechicero ultimately having gotten the better of Euforia. In the corner, Hechicero’s attempt at a hurricanrana is blocked and gets turned into another avalanche powerbomb by Euforia. Once again, Hechicero kicked out at two.
Euforia had Hechicero dead to rights with the dive, but he got nothing as Hechicero had his second wind. Euforia was trapped in a a submission hold that held both his arms, in a painful position, as he had no choice but to tap out.
After the match, Euforia was emotional as he had lost the match and was now asked to remove his mask. He addressed the crowd afterwards and seemed to show respect to Hechicero for a hard fought battle. Euforia removed his mask and handed it it over to Hechicero, who showed his appreciation for everything Euforia has done for lucha libre.
I surprisingly enjoyed this match a lot more once it became a one-on-one match. The stakes of the loser being forced to unmask just added to the intensity of it all and the battle between Euforia and Hechicero was just something that kept my interest from start to finish, especially when considering the circumstances their battle played out in (Hechicero was stablemates with Euforia as part of Los Infernales, but got kicked out last year). Probably my favorite match of the evening as a whole.
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Mistico def. Chris Jericho (w/ Big Bill) (2/3 Falls)
Both men took time to play to the crowd as the bell rang on the first fall. Jericho tried to take advantage with a shoulder block, but he found himself in an exchange of armdrags and dropkicks with Mistico.
Jericho was in firm control early after he took Mistico down with a two punches and a couple of chops. Mistico recovered and sent Jericho to the outside with an amazing leaping armdrag. Jericho escaped a dive from Mistico, as Big Bill took the brunt of it instead.
On the apron, Mistico leapt off the rope for a springboard dive as he had command of the match at this point. Jericho blocked a tiger feint kick and applied the Walls of Jericho. Mistico instantly tapped out, which gave Jericho the first fall.
Round two began with Jericho taking the ringside camera and waving to the crowd as he attacked Mistico. In the ring, Jericho tried to rip away at Mistico’s mask while punching him in the face repeatedly. Jericho seemingly had momentum on his side as he continued to work over Mistico along the middle rope. Mistico created an opening by dodging a running attack from Jericho, as he then avoided Jericho’s signature dropkick.
Mistico launched himself from inside the ring onto Jericho outside not once, but twice, which created some much needed separation. In the ring, Jericho once again snatched away momentum as he had Mistico trapped on the top turnbuckle. Mistico managed to fight Jericho off as he then flew through the air with a swanton bomb. He followed that up with a springboard frogsplash for the one, two, three to tie this match up at one fall a piece.
The third and final fall began with Big Bill attacking Mistico outsidde the ring, as he slammed him across the apron with a chokeslam. Jericho looked for an opportunistic pin, but Mistico kicked out.
Jericho missed with a running corner splash as he flew out of the ring. Mistico attempted for a running dive, but Big Bill pulled Jericho at the last second, which caused Mistico to have a crash landing. Bill and Jericho had a laugh at Mistico’s expense at ringside.
In the ring, Jericho held Mistico up for a good while for a stalling suplex, but that got a two. He placed Mistico up on the top turnbuckle and battered away at him before he threw Mistico across the ring. Jericho maintained his control over the match as he planted a foot across Mistico’s head along the bottom rope.
Mistico responded with a running superkick that sent Jericho falling to the canvas. Jericho dropped Mistico across the mat and he went for the Lionsault, but he got nothing.
Roll-up pin by Mistico only got a near-fall. Jericho started to pummel Mistico with punches as he yet again tried to rip at Mistico’s mask. Mistico found a second wind with repeated superkicks that sent Jericho across the middle rope. He tried for the tiger feint kick, but Big Bill held him up. Jericho ended up hitting Bill by accident, wich led to the feint kick from Mistico.
Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho again, but Mistico refused to give up as he eventually escaped. Mistico tried for a springobard dive, but Jericho caught him with the Codebreaker.
Mistico reversed Jericho’s Judas Effect and applied his spinning armbreaker submission. Jericho had no choice but to tap out, which gave Mistico the victory.
After the match, Big Bill attacked Mistico as Jericho threw the referee outside the ring. Jericho and Bill had Mistico cornered, but Orange Cassidy made the save. Jericho fled as Cassidy struck Bill with an Orange Punch, with Mistico following that up with a dropkick from the top.
Cassidy put his sunglasses on Mistico and left as the commentary team wrapped up the evening by signing off.
After the high-stakes action of the mask versus mask match, that main event match felt like a bit of a letdown, especially through the later stages of the third fall. Things between Jericho and Mistico felt like it kind of slowed down by the time we got to the finish, and it didn’t feel nowhere near as exciting as previous matches on the night.
All in all, a strong 91st Anniversary show for CMLL with a flat main event, but I still found myself enjoying the show as a whole, even as a new viewer of CMLL. I’d check out this show for the two 2/3 falls six-man tag match, the four-way mask vs. mask match, and Willow Nightingale vs. Zeuxis.
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