MLW Azteca Lucha Review - May 11, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Atlantis, CMLL Mexican National Middleweight Champion Guerrero Maya Jr. and Jesus Rodriguez def. Felino, Virus and Villano III Jr.

Of all the four CMLL matches on this show, this was easily the weakest of the bunch. There were way too many sloppy moments and disjointed transitions. Perhaps this is the norm with them in CMLL, but it wasn't very good at all nor was it a strong start to the show. I know Rodriguez can actually go, but it was strange seeing him look competitive here considering he's been portrayed as a lowly ring announcer in MLW.

Bade Dude Tito def. Rickey Shane Page to Win the MLW National Openweight Championship

Tito has been wrestling regularly for MLW for the last several shows but hasn't had any direction. Thus, this match came out of nowhere, but it was a quality contest while it lasted. Page wasn't doing much with the National Openweight title and The Calling feels like a dead faction at this point, so I'm in full favor of the championship changing hands as it also gives Tito more chances to shine.

CMLL World Historic Light Heavyweight Champion Atlantis Jr. def. Ultimo Guerrero (Non-Title)

Atlantis Jr. competed against Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite a few months back as part of the company's working relationship with CMLL (is that already over or just on pause?), so I was aware of what he was capable of coming into this contest. I've also seen Guerrero before in Ring of Honor. They had a well-worked match in the time they were allotted and Atlantis Jr. was once again impressive.

COZYMAX def. Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) to Win the Vacant MLW World Tag Team Championship

​Tom Lawlor's "injury" (which I'm not sure is legitimate or just a storyline) was why he and Davey Boy Smith Jr. had to vacate the titles. Satoshi Kojima winning the MLW World Heavyweight Championship all those months ago was a nice moment, but his reign has lasted way too long and honestly hasn't been all that memorable. The matches aren't terrible or anything, but past champs defended the title way more frequently than he has and now he's one-half of the tag champs for some reason. The match was solid, but I wasn't a fan of the outcome and it didn't sound like the crowd was, either.

Matt Riddle def. Josh Bishop

Is Bishop still a member of The WTF? You'd think he fill in for the "injured" Lawlor instead of them giving up the titles if he was a part of the group, but he was on his own here. The match was fine but felt like a glorified squash for Riddle. Bishop's quickly been established as a stepping stone. Post-match, Riddle briefly discussed entering the upcoming Battle Riot before being attacked by Sami Callihan. That's a feud I can get into.

Averno and CMLL Mexican National Tag Team Champion Magnus def. Star Jr. and Fuego

I remember seeing Magnus and Star Jr. in AEW earlier this year, so they stood out to me in this match. I'm not sure if these two tandems normally team up in CMLL or if they were simply paired up here to get them on the card, but either way, it was an enjoyable outing for what it was. It was certainly an improvement over the opening tag team match, probably because there was a bit more youth in this one.

MLW World Middleweight Champion Mistico def. Barbaro Cavernario

Having this headline the show was a smart call as it was easily the best bout of the night. Plus, the crowd was very much behind Mistico throughout and treated him like a star. This had a fun pace and the action was entertaining. The MLW World Heavyweight Championship has been an afterthought since Kojima won it, so the MLW World Middleweight Championship feels like the top title in the company as a result and this illustrated that.

Overall Show

MLW does a commendable job of highlighting lucha libre and making it feel as important as possible. Unfortunately, some of the stars they highlight from CMLL are either not great or are past their prime, making for subpar shows such as this one. Not giving the MLW audience any reason to care about them doesn't help, either. It's just implied everyone will know who these guys are despite them not making many (if any) prior MLW appearances. I don't know why this had to be almost two-and-a-half hours because it was very much a throwaway show outside of the two title changes.

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