[2003-02-28-CMLL] Black Tiger & Dr Wagner Jr & Universo 2000 vs Atlantis, Black Warrior & Mr Niebla

[ohtani's jacket]

Another uninspiring match between these teams. I guess I kind of take it for granted that luchadores can fall out of bed and have an awesome lead in match. Superb lead in matches clearly require a greater level of effort and intensity than was shown here. You can't accuse the workers of not trying. To a certain extent, it wasn't their fault. The match was too short and felt rushed. The comebacks and turning points carried little weight. Universo was an awkward fit and didn't jell with Niebla. Worst of all, Atlantis and Wagner looked like cartoon characters shaking their fists at each other. There was no real hatred, and no reason for the wrestlers to be incensed. It's hard enough working a brawling trios without any hatred, let alone a bout that's meant to signal an apuestas match. A low blow, or a mask getting ripped or torn off, doesn't really cut it as far as motivation goes. You need to try harder if you're going to convince us that you hate each other. It's easy to blame Wagner for being lazy, but these types of apuestas feuds aren't exactly Atlantis' forte. Wagner needed to show more of a mean streak. I don't have high hopes for their singles match at this point, which is a shame because I thought they did some really underrated stuff together in the early 00s. I'll be surprised if the mano a mano is a continuation  of those matches given the misfires in the lead in bouts; but you never know, maybe they'll work their magic together one more time. I can see it not being given a lot of time, though.