An old man brawl in the cage with punches, blood, ball shots and intensity. This match is long and there is a lot of punching and kicking but it was done in an intense level and the hook of Villano being in the match and selling his injured arm and having to face another failure in getting his hair shaved raised the match overall. Los Capos beating up both Perro and Pierroth when they get eliminated was a good jump start for the future. The final moments between Ano and Villano had a real Thrilla in Manilla feel with both guys winded but the submission victory for Villano was extremely satisfying and capped an incredible show overall with Ano receiving his haircut. ****1/4 (8.4)

I thought it was fine but just didn't feel the intensity was all the way there. Mascara Ano in particular I thought failed to bring a ton of intensity at least in the earlier portions of the match. And while the action throughout was pretty solid I just didn't feel it was incredibly propulsive or urgent. That being said, it did have high drama, and built to a very good ending. I just didn't think it was consistently intense enough along the way.

 

***1/2

Emotions are running high tonight on CMLL RAW. Which of these four men will walk out of a sold-out Arena Mexico with their head unshaven? This was pretty much what you'd expect from these four guys brawling inside a cage. The escape rules slowed things down at times but they tried to add some pep to things with Los Capos attacking Perro after he'd escaped and Pierroth turning on Mascara Ano 2000 (there's no honor among thieves in the first place), but the match was inescapably long (BOOM! How's your boy's puns?!) and ultimately it wasn't much of a payoff to the Villano/Pierroth beef. The finish saw a one-armed Villano with a cut arm beat a distracted M2K who was stewing over Pierroth's turn. Villano got a big apuesta win at Arena Mexico five months after dropping his mask and I liked the subtle acting from M2K at the end. I especially liked the part where he pointed at Pierroth before the Capos beatdown. Can't wait for that feud going forward. Cien Caras' mustache was awesome as well.

This is one bloody match. As usual, Perro bleeds just by walking into the ring cage. Liked the capos attacking Perro after he escapes in their coats. Once this turns into Villano vs Mascara, it gets a little long and boring till the finish. Villano bleeds a gusher on his arm. Finish was nice as the crowd goes crazy. I also liked the random explosions during the match. The first one scares the guys.