Into the Modern CMLL: Soberano Jr. v Atlantis Jr! Mano a Mano!

A couple weeks ago I subscribed to the CMLL youtube channel. I'd been watching a lot of Hechicero (clearly) and that turned me onto the 2025 Blue Panther match, from there I wanted to see more late-career resurgence Panther. That got me watching a couple Panther/Atlantis tags from last year, which got me checking out Atlantis' kid while forcing me to confront my own mortality, then before you knew it I was scouring the CMLL youtube for 2020s Valiente midcard lightning matches. I'll move onto something else in a couple weeks and probably keep paying the nine dollars a month for the next year until I remember to cancel but there are worse things I've wasted money on. I assume. 

Atlantis Jr. v Soberano Jr. (CMLL, 12/22/23)

This is the best of the stuff I've watched so far. It wasn't a blood and guts mano a mano but it had plenty of personality and you could tell these two aren't exactly fond of one another. Soberano has been an absolute hoot every time I've watched him - all of four, five times? - and this was my favourite of all his performances. He was at the bullshit right away, asking for a handshake he knew full well wouldn't be received, smirking when his hand is slapped away just as expected. Atlantis had no interest in the niceties and everybody in the arena knew Soberano didn't either. The collar and elbow tie-up to start had no daylight and both guys really tried to grind their forearms across the other's ears, then within about 90 seconds Soberano is on the floor and Atlantis rockets him kidneys-first into the barricade with a tope. So many of these CMLL singles matches seem to have an early tope and it's taking some time for me to get used to that, but if nothing else they basically all look amazing. Some of these young tecnicos are bonkers, btw. He goes and tries it again like a proper lunatic, but this time Soberano counters with a high kick as Atlantis is halfway through the ropes. Soberano was pretty much awesome the whole rest of the way, whether he was working aggressively from above or backpedaling and showing ass as Atlantis had steam coming out his ears. His riling up of the crowd was 1997 Shawn Michaels obnoxious and that is a stupendously high bar for acting like a prick. He really heaves Atlantis into the barricades and stops to ask a woman in the front row for a kiss, just to reinforce that you will never be him. The finish to the fall ruled, with Soberano hitting another kick through the ropes and following up with the springboard moonsault as Atlantis was dangling between the top and middle rope. Soberano waves and blows kisses to the adoring public as the ref' counts three and being a rudo might just be the most fun job in the world, unless people actually try and stab you and to be fair it looked like a decent number wanted to do that here. The segunda starts with Soberano trying to throw Atlantis through the barricades, motioning for the fans to remain calm with the same amount of smugness as Christiano Ronaldo and if you're channelling Shawn Michaels AND Christiano Ronaldo then you've practically reached Shithead Hall of Fame territory. Soberano lifts Atlantis' head off the mat during a pin attempt, once again asking the crowd for a little decorum and you would never tire of slapping the mask off the man. He has truly captured the spirit of pro wrestling if you ask me. When the crowd do not in fact respond with calm he tries to unlace Atlantis' mask, then throws some brutal forearms to the back of the head while Atlantis is face-first in the corner and I honestly thought the referee was going to strike him. Soberano has every physical gift you could want but deep down he's driven by cruelty, which really makes him doubly dangerous. Of course you know the grandstanding will come back to haunt him and it surely does when Atlantis levels the falls. The tercera was BIG, perhaps a little TOO BIG for my own tastes, but for a modern day mano a mano bout it's hard to conclude they never knocked it out the park all the same. We got the revenge mask-tearing - or mask-unlacing, rather - and Soberano was an unbelievable craven, running into the crowd, assuring Atlantis that they could settle things within the confines of the ring, ducking back out of it again, asking the crowd for some chill because matters are well in hand. Just breathe, he says. Why are we getting so uppity all of a sudden? Zbyszko would be proud at the stalling and milking of the count here, the begging off, the general shithousery. There's an amazing moment where he was on his knees on the ramp, hands behind his back pleading innocence, even turning his head to the side offering up Atlantis a free shot. He obviously thought Atlantis would be above taking it but he absolutely wasn't, and Soberano backs up affronted, embarrassed enough to finally resume the fight. The exhaustion selling down the stretch was good and I thought they mostly nailed the pacing between the big moments. There were also some cool story points like Soberano being able to use those high kicks to get him out of trouble. By the end his proverbial mask had slipped even if his literal one hadn't and he was flipping off fans for even looking at him. After the match he slunk in the corner while Atlantis gave him a piece of his mind, then as the latter turned to leave Soberano flipped him off too. Maybe he's top 5 in the world.