[2000-10-13-CMLL] Atlantis & Mr NIebla & Tarzan Boy vs Shocker & Bestia Salvaje & Universo 2000

[soup23]

Tarzan Boy was born to be a rudo. He delivers easily his strongest performance of the year being a selfish prick that only cares about himself throughout the match. Shocker is great being right there with him as the devil on his shoulder inviting him to the darkside of rudoism. Overall, this was note perfect with Atlantis and Niebla being attacked by all three rudos and Tarzan just standing on the apron half looking for a tag. Once he gets in, he holds the ropes open and Atlantis spills to the outside. The sequences between Shocker and Boy in the ring are impressive as you can feel the appreciation that Boy is gaining for Shocker. Tarzan gets the pin and is happy about himself. His trunks say 69 so you know TB is a douche now. Bestia and Shocker go in for the hug on the apron and TB is receptive so this is the turn and was done so well. ***1/2 (7.1)

[ohtani's jacket]

So Tarzan Boy is turning rudo, huh? I'm sure if that is such a good idea. He was starting to improve after working in Monterrey and it's not as though there's a ton of good tecnicos running around. A decent tecnico is worth their weight in gold. But he was never fully embraced by the Arena Mexico crowd so perhaps this move makes sense. In any event, he seems fit for the role. I couldn't believe him stripping off his jorts.

 

The match was really just an angle but it was pretty good storyline progression. I never tire of watching Bestia slap the shit out of people. It's one of those little things that remind me I'm watching lucha. I also liked the tecnicos' work in the second caida. In fact, I thought it was one of Atlantis' better performances in a while. The second half of his year has really suffered from the typical CMLL booking practice of pushing a worker back down the card after a big program. They didn't do it with Villano III but there was definitely a cooling off period for Atlantis. Perhaps this feud with Tarzan Boy will give him some fresh material. It's too bad that spot where he fell through the ropes looked like a blatant dive but I guess it was a hard spot to execute, And CMLL camerawork is never the best.

 

Perhaps the highlight of the match was the crowd reaction when it seemed like Tarzan Boy would turn. The bemusement and puzzled looks were fun to watch. Shocker taunting the fans on the ramp was beyond awesome. What a stud he's been all year long. His in-ring work with Tarzan Boy was awesome as well. Those two have great chemistry. It's a shame that they didn't milk more from it prior to the turn. It seems like Monterrey got more out of the pairing than CMLL did. Anyway, time to sit back and see where it's al heading.