Slow day as far as results, though there is a little bit of news.
CMLL announced a press conference for Thursday to announce it’s partnership with TNA. While I’m not sure if anything good will come off this, this is at least better than the usual level of uncertainty. The latest Observer says TNA was rebuffed on requests for Mistico (“already booked thru August”) and Perro Jr.
I firmly do not believe there’s big cross over between the CMLL audience and the TNA audience, at least in the US where it might make some finical difference for TNA, and it’s silly to think TNA can suddenly reach that audience when they have so much trouble reaching their own audience. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: they should just bring in four midcard flyers (let’s say Trios Champs + Valiente), let them do show off what they can do, and they’ll get over all on their own.
Knowing TNA, the team will include Mr. Aguila and Shocker, since they’ve worked there before. I don’t want to slight either guy as a wrestler, but I think you’re better off going with guys the audience doesn’t know than people they better recall, in Aguila’s case, as a WWE cast off.
The Observer also says TNA will be giving Dark Angel a tryout sometime soon. She’s definitely good enough to make their roster, so I bet it’ll come down to a money/availability thing and probably will help her get her name elsewhere.
ROH posted a note saying Jack Evans was taking a leave of absence to work internationally. This would appear to mean he’s going to be a regular in AAA, who had offered Evans and Teddy Hart an apartment if they were willing to move down their full time. Hopefully next year, Bryan Alvarez has Jack on for lucha week instead of me.
Noticias Oaxaca has an interview with KeMonito. They talk about his career as Alushe as well.
AAA moves to Arena Solidaridad starting next Sunday.
Ovaciones’s sole lucha libre coverage is a picture of Mini Damian win the Dragonmania hair match.
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It’s not very related with this topic, only a bit…
TNA is going to start TV transmissions in Spain, on a private, big channel; always according to Spain Wrestling News (http://spainwrestlingnews.blogcindario.com/2008/05/00022-tna-estara-en-la-television-en-espana.html).
Un saludo desde Almería (España)!
Strong rumor in Mexico that WWE is trying to clear Televisa and SKY for PPV. With more than 2 million Televisa PPV subs, and another 2 million on CableMas and Megacable, a clearance in Mexico would help WWE International buy rates.
I think TNA should tour Mexico in CMLL’s venues. Why not? CMLL already rents to other promotions at times. Tour DF, Puebla, GDL, and maybe one or two non-CMLL venues like Domo Leon.
“”””
Why not?
“”””
Paco’s deals never last.
we need a translation of that KeMonito article ASAP.
The only ppvs they would order in Mexico is the big four and I heavily doubt that since the prices are insane.
The CMLL and TNA relationship is just a paper saying they are partners. I expect absolute nothing out this relationship because CMLL have no use for TNA crapfest.
It’s funny how TNA ended their deal with AAA but AAA still books TNA wrestlers (Scott Steiner and if you count Bobby Lashley who’s rumored to join TNA).
The only reason I see TNA and CMLL forming a relationship is to keep the WWE from Getting Mistico and Perro Jr, but the downside is, well, TNA wants them too. I agree that TNA should run some shows in CMLL arenas and have some of the lesser name stars in CMLL come in and establish themselves (Sagrado, Maximo, Volador Jr., La Mascara, Purpura, Valliente and even some of the rudos like Ephesto, Virus, Sangre Azteca, Dr X) just to intorduce them to the crowd and show off what they can do before you bring in the big guns like Shocker, Alex Koslov, Dos Caras, the Guerreros, the Perro’s and Mistico.
Hell, I wonder will Wagner call off his feud with CMLL just to be in TNA?
i dont know where you heard that Bobby Lashley is going to AAA, but i really doubt he is. he also isnt going to TNA yet and may not at all. he stated himself on a radio show a few days ago that he’s fighting MMA for a company that’s not UFC. it’s also been strongly rumored that his first fight will be against Kimbo Slice and regardless of who he fights he’s having an MMA fight in August or September. so he is not wrestling until at least after that fight. he said that if he likes MMA he’s sticking with it, and if he doesnt he’s most likely coming back to wrestling, which will of coarse be for TNA.
Slice vs. Lashley in Lashley’s first fight? How racist. Slice is growing in legend, so they have to get another black back to cut him down.
I think CMLL will send some midcarders, and see how it goes with TNA. Then they’ll think about sending Mistico. Based on how Mexicans have been treated in the past in the US, CMLL should be wary of sending top stars.
>i dont know where you heard
>that Bobby Lashley is going
>to AAA
How about “on this website”? Though I was pretty dismissive about it at the time, he was mentioned on the post about the leaked TripleMania card, and the Observer mentioned the possibility prior to that.
and most of that card has already been proven to be incorrect by the second leaked card. the observer and leaked card mentioned it prior to his appearance on the radio program. he himself said that he isnt wrestling before his first MMA fight. so unless that changed between 2 days ago and right now, i dont see Lashley wrestling at Triplemania. and i really dont see AAA shelling out a boatload of money to bring in a guy to wrestle in a 4 man tag match and then be done with the promotion. and with only 3 weeks until Triplemania, i’d think they’d already be hyping him up if he was coming in. remember when they brought in Jarrett to face Latin Lover a few years back, it was hyped up like there was no tomorrow. even before Scott Steiner came down the first time he was cutting all those promos with Konnan. and on top of all of that bringing Bobby Lashley in is not going to sell more tickets. i dont think too many AAA fans in Mexico that are on the fence about buying a Triplemania ticket would buy a ticket because Lashley is on the card. he’s not an international star, he’s an american former star, and was only a top guy for about 8 months of his career. he’s a great wrestler and athlete, but there’s better ways to spend that money that will sell. give the money to Dr. Wagner Jr. and let him work the one show. Wagner would sell a whole lot more than Lashley would. and there are probaly 20 other guys that would work for cheaper than Lashley that would be better to bring in.
I’ve got to figure out how to make this box wider.
I’m not sure that “most of the card” has been proven false. I still don’t know what’s going on with the Abismo Negro cage mask match, and there’s different lineups for the three way trios match, but everything else is as printed in AAA’s magazine, including the two mystery spots in the tag match/
“dont think too many AAA fans in Mexico that are on the fence about buying a Triplemania ticket would buy a ticket because Lashley is
on the card. he’s not an international star, he’s an american former
star, and was only a top guy for about 8 months of his career.”
Yea, I think everyone outside of AAA agrees that Lashely would has no star power in Mexico at this power and doesn’t do anything except cost more money than a guy on the AAA roster would for the same spot. It wouldn’t be smart to bring him in…
..but they brought in Teddy and Jack with no real introduction and they didn’t do much of anything to introduce Chavo Guerrero before his appearance at Rey de Reyes. AAA’s office is obviously fans of US wrestling and currently has a bad habit of assuming all it’s fans watch the same stuff they do and care about the same guys. It doesn’t make sense to bring in Lashley as an unadvertised surprise for big money (in a match where he barely gets touched as to not hurt his MMA career), but it didn’t really make sense to bring in Rikishi last year to do the same bit. It’s a big blind spot for AAA right now.
Just think back last year’s Triplemania and how Laredo Kid/Super Fly/Gran Apache/Super Calo busted their butts to have the best match on the show. I bet those four combined didn’t get paid as much as the guy that did the pirate gimmick whose name I can’t even remember and how many extra tickets did he sell? Konnan is treating a lot of Mexicans on the roster worse than WCW treated them which is something Konnan has ranted about for years.
I don’t think that’s fair. Look at the propose top 3 matches on the show(give Vampiro and Mesias a pass) and the top storylines in AAA. Mexicans getting treated pretty good,some guys just not been treated as good as others.
It’s no different from WWE bringing in Mayweather or Trump for ONE SHOW. Lashley and Danielson might not be draws to the Mexican audience but am pretty sure they can draw interest when Triplemania airs on US Galavision(probably not but you get the point). The internet smarks might tune in to watch the Triplemania episode for Danielson and Marvin. Casual fans might be somewhat interested in Lashley. I just one match for one show.
“I don’t think that’s fair. Look at the propose top 3 matches on the show(give Vampiro and Mesias a pass)”
… I’ll try but I really do hate that match.:) History is doomed to repeat itself and Vampiro should never be put in a position where he means anything b/c he is destined to get fired, quit or just plain disapear within months. He means nothing to the wrestling business any more unless he’s willing to take someone who has all the ability and charisma but just needs the rub from a top guy (like say… Billy Boy) to take that next step. However we all know Vampiro isn’t interested in anyone but himself and anything but the money. He isn’t the only one… this is wrestling after all.
Is this a good time to say I loved Chris Jericho’s book?
“and the top storylines in AAA. Mexicans getting treated pretty good,some guys just not been treated as good as others.”
The problem is that the Mexicans being treated good are all Konnan’s buddies. AAA is become far too “kliq” orientated much like WCW was.
“It’s no different from WWE bringing in Mayweather or Trump for ONE SHOW. Lashley and Danielson might not be draws to the Mexican audience but am pretty sure they can draw interest when Triplemania airs on US Galavision(probably not but you get the point). The internet smarks might tune in to watch the Triplemania episode for Danielson and Marvin. Casual fans might be somewhat interested in Lashley. I just one match for one show.”
What does US Galavision mean to AAA right now? Nothing. They don’t give them money and as long as AAA doesn’t run shows in the United States, US Galavision doesn’t help them at all. Konnan can go on for years about “AAA is on it’s way to the U.S.” but until they have actually run a show and drawn a crowd, US Galavision is meaningless.
I’m not shitting over what you are saying b/c I respect what you say and I understand what you’re saying completely. I also have no problem with certain guys being brought in for one show if they create some publicity and draw fans’ attention to the product. My problem is just the way they will be used and who they will go over. Your examples are:
(keep in mind my WWE knowledge is VERY limited)
Trump – Feuded with Vince McMahon who isn’t a wrestler. Was never treated as a guy who could take out any of the regular roster at any point and was just a sideshow attraction.
Mayweather – Used trickery to get over on Big Show at first, then had to cheat to beat him a second time and during the match wasn’t treated as being on Big Show’s level.
Now you look at the recent history of guys AAA has brought in:
Scott Steiner: Jobbed for Cibernetico at Rey De Reyes which meant NOTHING because nobody knew who he was and he blew the finish. In the process got to kill Chessman and Charly Manson.
Teddy Hart/Jack Evans: Unknown guys brought in and put over as being better flyers than all the Mexicans. Will work out fine if it leads to the Mexicans going over in the end but time will tell. I don’t see Konnan killing these guys off before Teddy pulls a stunt and leaves without jobbing.
Sabu: Was the one foreigner brought in that the crowd actually knew but it’s now more than 12 years past his prime and he disapointed everyone. Never did a job to put over any Mexicans as the future of hardcore wrestling.
Really the only two foreigners that have worked have been Killings and Waltman and they’ve been working regularly.
These “1 time deals”/”only for big shows” don’t seem to work out in AAA’s favor.
You forgot Kenzo.
I understand where you coming from and I prefer for the shows to feature mostly AAA guys as well but it’s not that bad. It’s only one show,they will get over it. It’s not like CMLL is any better in pushing guys based on talent.
I think the goal is for Evans and Teddy to become regulars like Kenzo. I think Konnan want to brand them as AAA guys.
With no shows in the US, and Televisa owning the programming, I don’t think AAA makes one cent from what airs on Galavision in the US. (Same reasons why I don’t think CMLL cares particularly much if their main show isn’t in the US.)
Theoretically, AAA could claim of building future good will based on people watching the shows now, but they don’t make any sort of effort to get that information out. There really should be no need for me to update a lucha times page weekly if they were decent at selling their TV product to the un-initiated.
and for some reason I left that in my browser for 20 minute so Rob already said most of what I said.
the only guy that they’ve brought in for one shots that did things right was Jeff Jarrett. he came in for that tag match at Verano de Escandalo and did a good job of putting over El Zorro in that match, and he got the pinfall loss in the match. he then put the NWA title on the line against Latin Lover when he did the world tour where he defended the title in every country that had wrestling in order to bring prestige back to the title and make sure that everyone knew that it was a true world title, and it was also to take a shot at WWE. and the title match was truly hyped, and i doubt he sold any extra tickets, as Latin Lover was one of the top draws at that time, but it might have generated a little bit more of business due to the title match. but you guys are right, no one else they bring in does things right, and it seems to me to be a complete waste of money and a waste of a match.
There are so many changes taking place in Spanish tv, and I wonder if Televisa will own the rights to CMLL on an international basis much longer. Televisa owns the name AAA, so that won’t change.
The new trend is to sign with Televisa in Mexico and Telemundo in the US, as a result of the relationship between the two. Chivas just did this for five years. Televisa is buying Cablemas, airing Telemundo shows on Canal 9, and moved their court date against Univision back to July.
I give you that Rob. And believe me I understand where you are coming from and what you are saying, you left one off the list a few actually:
Scott Hall-one word, Why?
Rhino-jobbed for somebody in Rey De Reyes and did some tag matches for the Legion.
Abyss-participated in some tag matches and Rey De Reyes, if memory served me they were trying to build up Gronda/Abyss but never happened.
Norman Smiley-Wrestled for the Legion, never seen again.
Matt Bentley-did a tag match with Latin Lover.
I think Teddy and Jack can be liked if marketed right, and if you got them away from Konnan, they could be big time players in AAA. The only downside to Ron Killings, Waltman and AAA, WWE took him back and Waltman’s in rehab.
Norman Smiley makes sense though, he wrestled alot of his career in Mexico as Black Magic. he’s well known there too. and he was in more than one match when they used him. they do bring in people alot that make no sense (Black Buffalo, Nate Webb, and Josh Abercrombie). and Abyss was bad for the promotion. he interfered in any american’s match and he basically ruined the Jarrett/Latin Lover match. but for the most part they make bad choices as to who they bring in. they did bring in Takeshi Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji though, which was a good thing, even though it was just NOAH returning the favor for the SEM show.
Scott Hall was a nice big surprise for the Pena Memorial but he had an AWFUL match with Charly Manson which almost killed all of Manson’s heat during the gauntlet. I’m sure Konnan would still bring him back.
It all boils down to Konnan seeing Mexican wrestling as inferior. I’m not sure why he thinks that way but it’s obvious he does. If you told Konnan the following:
He could only promote in Mexico and keep drawing crowds for TV tapings that ROH couldn’t draw for 10 combined shows while saving costs on bringing any foreigners in…
OR
… he could run one TV taping per month in the States drawing MAYBE 1,000-2,000 fans which would put it on ROH’s level but would be a guaranteed money loser with travel expenses.
I *guarantee* he would take the latter. Konnan was different back from ’92 – ’95… he looked at AAA as a company that had taken over Mexico and wanted to expand it. Now for whatever reason he looks at AAA as a minor league company in Mexico that for some reason needs to be established in the U.S. and have U.S. names to mean anything.
Hey Rob, ROH drew 2300 in New York for a show, I think they are starting to grow a little. I really feel they will be what ECW still wish they were.
It’s funny you say Konnan views mexican wrestling as inferior especially when he of all people was one of their top draws, before he came back home (he was born in California) and got a big head, LOL!
I read 2300 was a bit of an exaggeration but they still drew a larger than normal crowd. Even at 2300 though, that’d be considered a HUGE BOMB for an AAA TV Taping. Call me when ROH is drawing 2000 regularly though.:)
It turns out that earlier today at the CMLL press conference the TNA announcement was pulled until next when supposedly Hector Guerrero would be in Mexico to make it official.
MCMG vs Satanico and Vangelis – make it happen!
^ I predict the Arena Mexico crowd would break into a “this is awesome” chant five minutes into the match. Mark my words. :)
You know how much I rant about AAA fans not knowing any of the ex-WWE guys and indy guys that are brought in? Well… can you even imagine the Arena Mexico fans’ reactions when guys like Tomko and Rhyno show up? Was that a pin I just heard drop?
Not that I think this “alliance” will last or mean anything. I really think Jarrett believes he can have the success he did in AAA only this time in CMLL. That’ll be quite the rude surprise for him.
Jarrett doesnt wrestle anymore. he came back last year for one match to put over Robert Roode and give his push an extra nudge.
Shows you what I know about TNA.:/ I try to catch any MCMG matches and that’s about it. I get seizures from their constant camera angle switching.
lol. yeah, Jarrett is the head booker and helps Dixie Carter run things, but i doubt he’ll wrestle again. he was looking to do more than the one match and wanted to put over a few other guys, but then his wife died and he hasnt appeared on camera since. it’s a shame too, because he definitely had alot more years left. maybe he’ll get back into wrestling again at some point, but it’s gotta be tough to lose your wife at such a young age.