CMLL 92 Aniversario Review – 09.19.25

Better late than never, right? We’re coming to you live from Arena Mexico on September 19th, 2025 for the 92nd Aniversario Show, the biggest yearly event for CMLL. I chose to purchase this through TrillerTV with the promise of English commentary, and boy oh boy, did I regret that decision. I should have gone for the top tier membership on YouTube to begin with, but you live and you learn. I will say that Veda Scott does a solid job in selling the product to more casual fans and seems like she has even a slight understanding of how to call a wrestling show, while her partners add almost nothing, and at times, actually take away from the enjoyment!

CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Championship Match:
Las Chicas Indomables (La Jarochita & Lluvia) vs. Persephone & Reyna Isis:
All four women are rudas (or so I’m being told), but it seems like the crowd is REALLY against Las Chicas Indomables. The one nugget of information on commentary is that several years ago at Aniversario 89, Jarochita defeated Reyna Isis for her mask. Persephone and Jarochita lockup into the ropes and trade off arm and leg work. Isis comes in to break up a stretch lock, leading to all four women throwing slaps. The challengers clear the ring and follow the Champions out with the synchronized tope suicida.

Back inside, Lluvia is swept off her feet and thrown face-first on a swinging cradle. Isis comes off the top with a frog splash but Lluvia gets the shoulder up before the hand comes down thrice. Persephone intercepts Jarochita as she re-enters the ring and gets knocked off the shoulders of Isis with a missile dropkick. Jarochita uses the ropes to her advantage, taking over both Persephone and Isis with arm drags, but control is quickly turned over with the challengers hitting a pair of spears, followed by Fisherman and German suplex variants for a set of near-falls.

La Chicas turn their fortunes around, knocking Persephone out of the ring and doubling up on Isis. The action spills to the ramp, with Las Chicas hitting a pair of dives off the staircase at the top of the entrance. Back inside, Reyna Isis and Lluvia meet in the middle with a double clothesline, with their partners scrambling to make the cover. We follow that with an interesting game of Chicken, with Lluvia and Isis each executing a sunset flip while fighting among themselves. Persephone snatches Lluvia off the turnbuckle and throws her across the ring with a crucifix bomb and follows with a Tower of Doom spot that benefits the challengers when the final carnage is tallied. Las Chicas surprise Persephone and Isis with dropkicks and follow with a pair of running straight kicks to retain their Championship at 11:26. Most of the work was solid, though a bit sloppy at times, but I don’t think it told much of a story. I wish the English PBP did more to sell me on this other than “wow, isn’t this great?! IT’S ONLY THE FIRST MATCH!” **½

CMLL World Tag Team Championship Match:
Los Hermanos Chavez (Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja) vs. La Escuadra (El Hijo del Villano III and Villano III Jr)
OK, we’re doing rudo vs rudo again, and it’s brothers vs brothers, so not only for the titles, but family pride as well. Los Hermanos Chavez are defending for the 25th time in 135 days of this championship reign. No respect shown at the center ring, with the crowd clearly behind the Villanos. Roja and Tercero Jr get down and dirty before trading leg sweeps and pin attempts. They go back to throwing hands until Hijo Tercero knocks Roja out of the ring. Angel de Oro enters to clear the ring. He teases a dive, but is cut off. Tercero Jr teases a dive now, and it’s Roja returning the favor. Hijo Tercero fakes a knee injury, allowing Jr to get the jump. THAT DASTARDLY VILLAIN, showing he’s perfectly fine as he throws de Oro into the guardrail!

Villanos with a combo missile dropkick and powerbomb on Roja for two. Roja gets popped with a jumping knee strike and springboard clothesline for another two-count. Angel tags in and runs wild for about 5-seconds until getting leveled with a right hook from Hijo Tercero. Angel quickly recovers, clearing the ring with head-scissors, followed by a pair of dives from the Brothers Chavez.

Back inside, de Oro with a double-pin attempt on Villanos for near-falls. He locks in a combo Gory Special and Campana, but can only hold it for so long before relinquishing. Superkicks and Destroyers get thrown around, leaving all four men down on the canvas. Villanos scoop up the advantage, literally, planting the Champions with slams and hitting a pair of moonsaults for a near-fall that had the crowd erupting. Roja and de Oro get dumped and we get a rough sequence where Hijo Tercero misses his target and Tercero Jr stumbles before hitting a senton from the top rope. Back in the ring, they miss the moonsaults, but somehow escape Campanas. Hijo Tercero gets dropped from the second rope across the chest of his brother, and the Champions get the submission with Campanas to retain at 13:51. The English PBP did a better job of painting a story, and the work here was overall much more consistent than the opener. There was the stumble on the last set of dives from the Villanos, but an enjoyable match overall. ***¼

Relevos Australianos de Ídolos; A Dos de Tres Caídas:
Mascara Dorada (Capitan), Neon, y Atlantis Jr vs. Hechicero (Capitan), Volador Jr, y Zandokan Jr:
I’m surprised to see Zandokan Jr out here. He got banged up pretty good on September 12th teaming with Difunto in an unsuccessful bid for the AEW Tag Team Titles currently held by Bandido and Brody King. Hechicero has Tengu with him, and hopefully he gets to punk out one of the tecnicos between falls. To earn a fall, you either defeat the captain of the team or both non-captains. Veda Scott thankfully tells us the rules just in case we’re new to the product (like I was about 5 days ago)

1A Caida – Neon starts with Hechicero. They spent some time on the canvas and took turns rolling around the ring trying to control an inside cradle. Neon stands up to Hechicero and gets sent to the canvas with a palm strike. Neon fires back and sends Hechicero out of the ring with a head-scissors. Zandokan drops Dorada face-first and turns him inside-out with a clothesline. Atlantis Jr runs wild and the crowd DOES NOT LIKE THIS MAN. Dorada takes out Hechicero at ringside, leaving Neon and Atlantis Jr to put away Volador and Zandokan Jr for the first fall at 3:40.

2A Caida – Volador Jr starts the fall with Atlantis Jr. All three rudos struggle and you know the crowd is LOVING that exchange. Neon continues to frustrate the opposition, flashing unbelievable athleticism. He sends Hechicero out of the ring following a double-jump spinning tijeras and has every right to spam that taunt button. There’s a LOT of hotdogging from the tecnicos, with two of them getting positive crowd responses. Dorada is out of this world in his execution, hitting his mark with complicated somersaults and taking everyone out with one picture-perfect tijeras after another. Atlantis Jr ends up in the 3-on-1 disadvantage. Neon gets wiped out with a super-kick from Volador Jr and Dorada takes a MDK brutality for the rudos to even the match at 5:24. Between falls, Tengu gets his heat on the fallen captain.

3A Caida – Zandokan drapes his Pirate flag over the head of Neon and the trio of rudos each hit a basement dropkick. Tecnicos even the odds and clear the ring, with all three connecting with their dives. Atlantis Jr catches Volador Jr off the ropes with a powerslam but Zandokan makes the save. Dorada flips through a chokeslam and hits Zandokan with a Code Red, with Hechicero breaking the cover. Hechicero spikes Dorada with a brutal guillotine tijeras, and now Neon with the save! Hechicero takes a pair of Super-Kicks but his fighting spirit is too strong and he levels Atlantis Jr and Dorada. Neon depletes the rage meter, allowing Atlantis Jr to hit a sling-blade. They take out Volador and Zandokan on the floor, leaving Dorada to finish off Hechicero with a Shooting Star Press at 4:42 for the deciding fall. Ignoring the crowd’s disdain for Atlantis Jr, you couldn’t find a flaw in anything executed by Neon or Mascara Dorada, hitting some of the most beautiful spots without losing momentum or taking you out of the action. You can tell Zandokan probably shouldn’t have been out there, but he held up well in what he could do, and wow, Volador Jr giving a crap is actually fun to watch. ****

Copa Independencia Final Match:
Templario & Titan vs. Galeon Fantasma (Difunto & Barboza):
In a change from the typical structure of the Copa Independencia, this year’s tournament was held under a tag team format, with teams qualifying by winning matches on weekly CMLL programming (for example, Templario and Titan defeated Atlantis and Blue Panther in their finale, while Galeon Fantasma defeated Los Mitologicos Dragons to earn their spots on the Aniversario card). Templario and Titan spent a good part of 2025 as rivals, but came to an understanding that they would be stronger as a team based on how hard they fought each other.

Templario and Difunto start. Lockup and Difunto controls the opening grapples, grabbing a side headlock and transitioning to the work. Whip to the ropes, Templario rolls through a sunset flip and hits a body press, followed by a shoulder block. Difunto drops down to avoid a sliding clothesline and does the zombie sit-up. They trade arm drags and throw dropkicks at the same time. Barboza, displeased with the result, wipes out Templario with a dropkick to give Difunto control of the match. Whip to the ropes, Templario slides under the ropes and Titan comes in with a springboard body press. Difunto snatches him from the apron, but Titan nips up and connects with a Pele kick. He sends Barboza to the floor and flies with a tope con hilo, but Galeon Fantasma catches the attempt and spikes him on the floor with a double Powerbomb!

Back inside, Difunto and Barboza with a double face-buster and basement dropkicks for a two-count. Templario takes a flapjack and wheelbarrow slam, followed by a combo splash and leg drop, but Titan saves. Templario trips Difunto off the top rope and Titan with a springboard tijeras to Barboza. Galeon Fantasma are planted in the drop zone and Templario comes off the top turnbuckle, hitting a splash and dropping Titan with a front suplex for a set of near-falls. Barboza sweeps Titan off the apron to break up a double-team attempt. Difunto with a spinning heel kick and Barboza with a Meteora for two. Titan gets launched with a double-team press slam for another two-count. Difunto walks the ropes but the tijeras is countered with a Powerbomb. Templario with a handspring moonsault while Titan hits a flying double stomp, and an inside-out Michinoku Driver and reverse lung blower finishes at 9:45, awarding Templario and Titan the first tag team Copa Independencia trophy! These four men didn’t waste any time, quickly going from the grapples to a barrage of tag team excellence. It should be interesting to see the “better friends than enemies” story of Templario and Titan unfold from here. ***½

Cabellera vs Cabellera:
Rey Bucanero vs. Felino:
Lucha Libre fans love their rudos, don’t they? We get some helpful exposition from Veda Scott, telling us that this is the third time they’ve met with their hair on the line, and in the previous matches, they split the series. Felino is a spry 61-year old, 43-year veteran, while Bucanero is only a 34-year veteran of the ring. Imagine the weird gate-keeping of some fans who use age as a measuring tool of someone’s worth/level of entertainment.

Felino attacks Bucanero during his entrance, hitting him with a lariat. They get in the ring for the official start, with Felino hitting a basement dropkick for a two-count. Bucanero gets sent to the corner and Felino snatches him off the top turnbuckle with a tijeras for two. Bucanero finally mounts some offense, catching Felino out of the corner with a powerslam. Bucanero with a big ol’ spear, but Felino is in the ropes for the pin attempt. The action spills to the floor, with Bucanero thrown over the guardrail and brought back to the floor with a suplex.

Back inside, Felino with a slam, but Bucanero avoids a flying senton and covers for two. They fight on the apron, with Felino sent to the floor and Bucanero following with a rolling senton. Back in the ring, Felino hits an avalanche sunset flip Powerbomb for a near-fall. Bucanero withstands a series of strikes, taking Felino down with a Northern Lights suplex. He follows up with a snap suplex and Michinoku Driver for 2.99. They go to the floor again, taking turns getting sent into the rail. Bucanero hits a splash from the top rope to the ramp (mostly). He rolls Felino back in for the cover, but Felino somehow gets a foot on the rope. Felino cuts off a trip to the top rope with a sit-out crucifix bomb for two. Low blow from Felino away from the view of the referee! NO, DON’T WIN IT LIKE THAT! Felino hits a lariat and they have a sloppy cradle spot where I still have no idea what they were going for. Both men up and they each hit a low blow, forcing the referee to call the Double Foul/Disqualification at 9:32. Wow… interesting finish. Since both men technically lose, both men are subject to having their hair cut. At least they’re honorable rulebreakers! This was OK, but clunky for the most part. They were far from an embarrassment, but it was a weak match with a few decent spots. **½

CMLL World Light-Heavyweight Championship vs. Mask Match:
MJF (w/ Jon Cruz) vs. Mistico:
You would think that this being a feud that crossed over to AEW TV means I would have more to say about it than anything else, but you’d be wrong. I remember them wrestling on Dynamite at Arena Mexico, with the match ending in a Disqualification and MJF stealing Mistico’s mask. MJF went on to successfully challenge for and win the World Light-Heavyweight Title, a prize that has eluded Mistico. MJF is the alleged American Hero, wearing Homelander gear (and the maskless Serpentico is his second). The live crowd singing along with Mistico’s music is enough to give you goosebumps. It’s always funny watching AEW trot out Mistico in an attempt to capture this same moment and it flops because it’s a VERY specific market, but that market is what makes it.

MJF attacks Mistico before the bell and rips open the mask. WHAT. A. SCUMBAG. Mistico is sent to the floor and thrown face-first into the post, and Mistico is bleeding! Back in the ring, MJF targets the cut, landing a flurry of right hands. Mistico fires off a pair of palm strikes but is caught in mid-air with a forearm. He fights out of a chin-lock and hooks a victory roll out of nowhere for two. MJF blocks a tijeras, dropping MJF across the knee and arrogantly covering with a knee across the chest for two.

MJF plays to the referee, allowing Cruz to pull Mistico to the floor and throw him into the guardrail. Templario is ringside as the second Mistico, but the damage is done. MJF busts out a fosbury flop and basks in the boos of the sold out crowd. Back inside, MJF hams it up, running the ropes until casually walking through Mistico with a crotch rub to the face. Mistico gets fired up from the ultimate form of disrespect and unloads with rights. MJF thumbs the eye and keeps playing to the crowd, allowing Mistico to catch him under the chin with a Super-Kick. Both men hit the ropes and we get a clothesline double-down.

Mistico’s blood is all over the ring. Both men to their feet, trading forearms. MJF asks for time and we all know where that one is going. Mistico with a springboard press, sending MJF rolling to the floor, and quickly follows with a corkscrew plancha. Templario gives Mistico a slight assist getting back in the ring, drawing the ire of the referee. Mistico doesn’t spend much time gathering himself, diving from the top rope to the floor with another plancha! This time Cruz helps MJF back in the ring, while Mistico struggles, losing his grip on the rope several times.

Mistico digs deep, getting back in the ring and hitting a springboard elbow for a two-count. MJF avoids a moonsault, but Mistico rolls through on the landing and hits a snap powerslam, followed by a springboard destroyer for 2.999. MJF escapes to the floor and pulls Cruz in front of a dive attempt. Mistico puts on the brakes and gets a thumb to the eyes from MJF for his troubles. MJF with a package piledriver on the apron, leaving Mistico for dead on the floor, but our hero somehow gathers himself and beats the count, much to the horror of MJF.

MJF applies the Salt of the Earth, but Mistico counters with a crucifix cradle for two. MJF blocks a spinning tijeras and spikes Mistico with a tombstone piledriver for two. Cruz hands off the Diamond ring, but Mistico goes low with the referee distracted and cradles MJF for a near-fall. Mistico’s silver tights and mask are stained from all the blood loss. MJF shakes the ropes, straddling Mistico across the turnbuckle. Mistico escapes an avalanche Tombstone attempt and sends MJF to the canvas with a tijeras. Cruz gets knocked and Mistico with LA MISTICA! MJF scrambles for the ropes, but Mistico rolls the move to the center of the ring and MJF taps out at 17:52! Mistico defends the pride of his mask and takes home the Championship for the ultimate happy ending. Fantastic match, and one of the best matches I’ve watched in 2025. They put it all on the line and put together a wonderful story with Mistico’s perseverance overcoming all of MJF’s dirty tactics, with near-falls and nail-biting drama sprinkled throughout. *****

Eliminatorio de Parejas Increibles Three-Way Match:
Dragon Rojo Jr & Barbaro Cavernario vs. Esfinge & El Valiente vs. Averno & Ultimo Guerrero:
OK, so we’ve got a three-way tag team match with elimination rules, with teams consisting of rivals, and the last team standing will face off in a one-vs-one match where hair and/or masks are on the line, depending on who makes it to that phase of the contest.

Barbaro attacks Guerrero during his entrance, smacking him over the head with his bone and unloading with blows. Barbaro with a giant swing on Averno, with Dragon Rojo hitting him mid-swing with a basement dropkick. Barbaro drops Averno face-first from a butterfly suplex and Dragon comes off the ropes with a double stomp. Ultimo Guerrero gets worked over in the corner, with Barbaro and Dragon Rojo controlling the match thus far. Guerrero fires off a series of palm strikes, but the numbers quickly catch up to him. Barbaro with a springboard splash and Dragon comes off the top with a double stomp, but Valiente saves. Barbaro looks a lot better in trunks than the singlet. Sorry, I know that was random.

Esfinge and Valiente control the ring now. Barbaro and Dragon Rojo are cleared out of the ring, and now it’s Averno and Guerrero coming back to life. They spam that taunt button for all it’s worth after taking out Valiente. Esfinge gets caught in the ropes and planted with a rocking chair slam. Barbaro springs off the ropes with a double arm drag and along with Dragon Rojo wipe out Guerrero and Averno with dives. Esfinge knocks Rojo out of the ring and Valiente with a tope suicida. Barbaro does the crazy worm to no-sell a corner spot and takes Esfinge over with a fisherman suplex. Esfinge brings up the boots to counter the springboard splash and a roundhouse kick eliminates Barbaro and Dragon Rojo Jr at 8:56. Dragon Rojo is upset and has unkind words for his partner, with them trading blows on the ramp.

Meanwhile, Averno and Ultimo Guerrero take control, sending Esfinge out of the ring with a crash landing. Valiente gets launched off the top rope with a double press slam but Esfinge makes the save on the cover. Esfinge and Valiente with a cut off, but their follow-up is countered with a pair of front suplex drops from the second turnbuckle for near-falls. Esfinge gets sent to the apron, where he’s able to recover and stun Guerrero with a step-up enzuigiri. He comes off the ropes with a splash while Valiente wipes out Averno with a modified lung blower (I don’t know what the move is called, but Valiente falls backwards while dropping the opponent across the raised) knees), and both men are pinned at 11:54, sending Valiente and Esfinge into battle for their masks! I don’t know if I should split this into two separate matches, but I’ll go with my gut and rate it as it’s own thing from the one-vs-one we’re about to see. This was a solid match with everyone getting their chance to shine, but it’s just setting us up for the big blow off, so it definitely had a ceiling. ***

Lucha de Apuestas; Mascara vs Mascara Match:
Esfinge vs. El Valiente:
We’re not wasting time getting to the action, as Esfinge surprises Valiente with a running boot, followed by a pair of spinning back breakers. Valiente avoids a splash and runs through Esfinge with a knee to the face. The action spills to the ramp, with Esfinge signaling that he’s injured his arm, but Valiente will not give him breathing room, snapping the arm across the shoulder and sending him into the post. Back in the ring, Valiente with the step-over arm bar, but Esfinge is lucky to be close to the ropes. Valiente keeps targeting the arm, with Esfinge getting to the ropes again. Esfinge surprises Valiente with a roll-up while he’s arguing with the referee and connects with a dropkick. He goes for broke with a senton from the ramp and goes SPLAT on the arena floor. Valiente slams Esfinge face-first into the apron, which sends Esfinge’s mask flying! Valiente pleads his innocence while Esfinge re-masks and wipes him out with a tope suicida once he’s recovered. Back inside, Esfinge rolls through a flying body press, but gets caught with that modified lung blower for a two-count.

Esfinge avoids a charge to the corner, hitting Valiente with the corkscrew kick for two. Valiente sweeps Esfinge off the apron and lays him out with an Asai Moonsault. Back in the ring, Esfinge avoids a flying senton and covers for two. They start trading bombs until smacking heads for a double-down. Both men selling the exhaustion setting in, with both men digging deep for that one big move. Esfinge with a step-up enzuigiri to cut off Valiente’s climb of the ropes and takes him down with a super-plex for two. Valiente with a powerbomb and stack-up cover (with a failed attempt to use the ropes for leverage) for two. Esfinge sends Valiente flying across the ring with a pair of monkey-flips and hits a springboard splash for two. Esfinge with a roll-over leg lock into a bridge and that keeps Valiente’s shoulders down for three at 16:10 (though they definitely didn’t look down, but they used a camera angle that hid that fact). Valiente does the honors of unmasking and hands Esfinge his trophy, but HAHA, he’s not losing so honorably, laying Esfinge out before leaving in the ultimate show of poor sportsmanship. I think they went a little too long with them hitting a few near-fall spots too many for my taste, but I enjoyed Valiente’s aggressive work on the injured arm and Esfinge mostly getting offense out of defense before getting it going late and clearly being the better man. ***½

Final Thoughts: With Mistico vs MJF as a legit MOTY contender and a solid mix of action across the board, including the show-closing mask vs mask match between Valiente and Esfinge, the trios tag of Sky Team and Atlantis Jr vs Hechicero, Volador Jr and Zandokan Jr, and the finals of the Copa Independencia, you’re more than getting your value. There’s not so much negative to say about the card, though the opener and hair vs hair matches definitely didn’t do much for me, but the biggest issue was the English PBP. Avoid that at all costs, and you’ll end up having a much better time.