the big story: The Mistico/Black Warrior split didn’t go completely down during February – the turn actually happened in March – but this was the month where it got going and the most of the action took place.
This really sort of started as part of a continuing story in 2005, where Negro Casas was teaming up with random people to get a shot at the tag team titles. Averno & Mephisto, the champs, turned back challenges from Negro/Metal, Negro/Felino, and somewhat miraculously, Averno & Mephisto stopped Negro & El Hijo del Santo as well. Negro, Mistico and Black Warrior worked as a trio against Averno, Mephisto, and assorted rudos, and the tecnicos spent a few vignettes on TV debating among themselves which combination should try next. Of course, it ended up being Mistico/Warrior.
Going back a bit farther, Black Warrior had outright requested CMLL turn him rudo in the pages of Box Y Lucha; he’d been floating a bit aimlessly on the tecnico side, and it seemed like the promotion was going to okay it (but for a price.) Warrior even turned on a Toryumon Dragon show at one point, which was quickly ignored, but seemed like a good sign that a permanent change was coming soon. His team with Mistico was an easy explanation of how it’d happen, and everyone was kinda just waiting for when.
Mistico & Warrior got their shots on 02/17. Both sides talked up the match in Box Y Lucha, and I figured the turn would go down right away. Averno & Mephisto retained, but the turn was only hinted at here.
Mistico & Warrior quickly earned a rematch, only two weeks after the original match. This time, I thought they’d just continue to tease out the turn, but it actually went down, while Averno & Mephisto kept the titles once again. CMLL wasted no time in pushing the new Mistico/Warrior feud by immediately shifting Warrior over to the rudo side, and Warrior came up with a plan to end Hulkamania Mistico forever.
LA Park beats Black Tiger for his mask: It’d been originally scheduled for ’05, but it was pushed back after Black Tiger broke his nose. As most knew, Black Tiger III turned on to be Silver King. King first wrestled around the country as Black Tiger, getting his mask pulled off early in matches to do the big reveal, and then later worked under “Dr. Wagner II/Hermano de Dr. Wagner” gimmicks, sometimes even masked.
Silver King losing the gimmick outside of CMLL – where he’d wrestled with it for years – was a bit of a story; partially because NJPW had asked Silver King to stop using the gimmick (they were handing it off to someone new), but there had to be something a bit more than that, because CMLL never brought Silver King back after he lost the gimmick except when he was clearly marked as an independent guy only in for one show. The mask match was promoted under the Wagner name, and I had some thought of it being a test run for the Wagner’s to feel out how much money might possibly be made if the Doctor were to lose his mask on his own promoted show, and certainly the setup allowed Silver King to make a bigger cut that he would’ve done if he lost it on an Arena Mexico show.
LA Park taking Silver King’s mask would be the starting point for the Dr. Wagner/LA Park feud, which get more attention later in the year.
AAA: lots of little things, no overwhelming big story here
– Scorpio Jr. debuted as a new member of the Guapos. His bookings had dried up from CMLL, but he was IWRG Trios’ champion at the time. Scorpio would take over the group once Shocker jumped back to CMLL
– Zorro and Electroshock were tecnico trios partners who just stopped getting along, fighting with each other multiple times at taping before Zorro finally put up the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship at the end of the month. Zorro won, with a little unexpected help.
– Chessman, Cibernetico, La Parka Jr., and Octagon had a small challenge and defense for the Mexican tag team titles, proving those titles actually exist.
– Miss Janeth won the Reina de Reinas tournament. This was treated like a huge moment for her on this particular TV show – and then she appeared just three more times on TV the rest of the year. I don’t know if she got hurt or she was on the outs or what (we never got a story), but that was just plain weird.
– AAA’s website returned. A happy day for all. Now if they only updated a bit more often.
Arena Coliseo Guadalajara on fire? In a literal sense, yea. As it turned out, it was just exterior and minor damage, and the show went on. In the artificial attendance/quality/interest sense, not so much, which would become an issue later on.
you’ve got the wrong Asian: Tajiri, who wrestled in Mexico seemingly a decade ago, works a tag match with Ultimo Dragon in Arena Queretaro. As a free agent, it seems like this might be the start of another run in Mexico – he’s never back. Meanwhile, Kenzo Suzuki announces he’s coming to Mexico, and he’s stuck around for quite a while.
Speaking of Japan, both Atlantis and Arkangel had tours there.
Other: Mascara Ano 2000 suffered a shoulder injury…Santo chatted on Box Y Lucha.
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