Day: July 17, 2008

After saying the Summer Scandal show was taking place in August on their TV show, AAA’s website now says the show will be in September in Guadalajara. Maybe the Madero show is start of “Road to Verano”? Maybe they changed their mind during the week? Maybe everyone’s not on the same page? I dunno.

Putting this together, it clicked that there’s a definite rule this year: only first time novatos allowed. All the veterans have competed before, but none of the young guys have. While the ages vary (mostly unknown with one big outlier), the experience in the tournament is uniform.

– Villano V & El Brujo
Villano V teamed with Super Comando last year in his only recorded Gran Alternativa appearance, and lost to Ultimo Guerrero & Euforia in the first round. He’s clearly here to wrestle Blue Panther somewhere along the way.

El Brujo, expected to be Monterrey area wrestler Caifan Rockero I with a new look, is not actually wrestling here. He suffered an injury last Sunday, and el Brujo did not make his match this past Tuesday. Nosferatu and Artillero are both undercard rudos who have yet to be in this tournament, but no name has been announced.

Update: Villano V is now scheduled to team with Puma Kid. Puma is one of Felino’s two sons who’s wrestling. He’s a little shorter and maybe a little bigger than Tiger Kid, who’s had more CMLL experience.

– Mr. Niebla & Bronco

Niebla first competed in the November 1996 tournament, and won his block in the only known year with group play. Niebla teamed with Hector Garza in the tournament itself, and lost in the finals to Emilio Charles Jr. and Rey Bucanero. Niebla wrestled as a veteran in 1999 tournament, teaming with Atlantico, and once again lost in the finals. This time, it was Blue Panther & Ultimo Guerrero who got him. Mr. Niebla’s most recent appearance was in 2001, teaming with Alan Stone but losing in the first round.

This Bronco, 18 years olds, is making his GA tournament debut, but he’s also the third different one to compete. The Monterrey Bronco teamed with Dos Caras in the June 1996 tournament. Silver King Bronco paired with Texano Jr. in the 2005 tournament. No Bronco has made it to the second round.

– Atlantis & Skandalo

Atlantis is a past winner of the Gran Alternativa, teaming with La Mascara to take the crowd in 2005. Atlantis has participated in several other iterations. In 1995, he teamed with Atlantico and lost in the second round. They teamed up again in 96, in both tournaments held that year. In June, they made it to the finals but lost to Bestia Salvaje and Chicago Express. In November, they lost in the first round. Atlantis did not return to the Gran Atlernativa again until 2001, where he made it to the second round with Volador Jr. They’d team up again in 2004, and again lose in the second round. This year is the first time Atlantis has been in the tournament since he won it.

Skandalo, 26, has never been in this tournament. He’d been wrestled on spots shows for CMLL before going back to 2005, and was working indy shows back in 2004 (or at least someone with that name was.) He’s a member of the Guerrero Tuareg, which has gotten new gear but little else since forming. Skandalo seems to have taken Apocalipis’ spot from the Guerrero Pandilla lineup. More importantly, he’s the son of Juan Manual Mar, the CMLL director of programming.

– Hector Garza & Astro Boy

Hector Garza is the first known novato winner. He’s one of a few who could join Mistico as the only to win as a novato and a veteran. Hector and Negro Casas won the tournament in 1994, beating Satanico and Arkangel in the final. Garza teamed with Niebla in November ’96, but lost in the final. 2 years ago, Hector teamed with Hombre Sin Nombre (Ephesto), winning his first round match but opting to turn on his partner in the second round to help their opponents (Perro Jr. and Misterioso II) advance.

Despite being young and low on the card for the last few years, Astro Boy has never been in this tournament. No previous Astro Boy is recorded as competing under that name, but his (unacknowledged) brother Mistico is a former two time winner.

– Shocker & Angel Azteca Jr.

Shocker is another former novato winner, taking the crown back in 1995 while teaming with Silver King. (The previous year, he and El Dandy lost in the second round.) Since then, he’s competed a few times as a veteran but hasn’t quite won it. Shocker teamed with Astro Rey Jr. (not yet Mephisto) in 1999 and Alan Stone in 2004, busting out in the second round both times. Shocker was listed as participating last year as Valiente’s partner, but was replaced by Dos Caras Jr.

Angel Azteca is 28. Angel Azteca Sr. is not known to have participated. Junior first appeared under that name in 2006, and didn’t start regularly working with CMLL until the death of his father. Azteca Jr. debuted in the same with with Angel Aztea II (who hasn’t been seen much since), teaming with Angel Azteca Sr. That’s usually a sign the original (Sr.) is selling rights to use the names as quick as possible. CMLL’s treated Azteca Jr. like he’s Senior’s actual son and there’s nothing else to cast doubt on the relationship.

– Blue Panther & Axxel

Blue Panther is a former veteran winner, winning the April 1999 tournament with Ultimo Guerrero. If he wins again this year, he ties Emilio Charles Jr. as the only 2 time winners as veterans. Panther advanced to the second round in 2001 with Virus, but has not participated since.

Axxel is 37, way too old to be in this, but that’s now they’re positioning him. This is his first appearance as well. Hijo del Santo is a former winner (with Mistico in 2004.)

– Dos Caras Jr. & Metalik

Dos Caras Jr. never appeared in this tournament as a novato, but has wrestled the last two as a veteran. He and Volador lost in the first round in ’06, and Dos and Valiente made it no farther than the second round in 2007.

Metalik is also making his tournament debut. He wrestled under that name in Guadaljara going back to March of 2007, and that may have been when he started wrestling. He briefly used the Plata II name in the same area. Metalik is a hard guy to bet to win this, because that’d require confidence he could get thru all three matches without hurting himself.

– Ultimo Guerrero & Diamante Negro

As mentioned previously, Ultimo Guerrero is a former winner, taking the April 1999 tournament with Blue Panther. If not for that win, Ultimo Guerrero would be the Buffalo Bills of this tournament. He’s lost in the finals three times: with Dr. X in 2004 (crushed by the silver wave of Santo & Mistico), with Nitro in 2006 (mauled by Perro & Misterioso) and with Euforia in 2007 (overshadowed by Mistico & Sombra.) He’s also lost in the second round with Sangre Azteca in 2005. UG has a good shot of at least a third straight finals loss here.

Diamante Negro, 25, is the most successful rudo of the bunch here. He’s already finished as a runner up in the Gen75 cibernetico, had the (unresolved) feud with Fabian el Gitano, and won his division of the bodybuilding contest last year.

Update: It appears Diamante Negro will now be wrestling as Dragon Rojo Jr. This is keeping in recent practice of CMLL changing the names of young wrestlers (to something CMLL can claim ownership of?) The story is Diamante is the grandson of Dragon Rojo, who wrestled on the 45th Anniversary show. (That’d be 1978, which happens to the best the most recent Anniversary show with no details on the luchawiki.)

Ranking the teams by their chances:
– Ultimo Guerrero & Diamante Negro/Dragon Rojo (Jr.)
– Blue Panther & Axxel
– Hector Garza & Astro Boy
– Dos Caras Jr. & Metalik
– Shocker & Angel Azteca Jr.
– Atlantis & Skandalo
– Mr. Niebla & Bronco
– Villano V & Puma King

(AAA’s RSS feeds still do not work right. Somehow, this bugs me more than everything else.)

CMLL (MON) 07/14 Arena Puebla [KrisZ, sololuchas]
1) Cerebro Negro, Mr. Rafaga, Negro Navarro b Asturiano, Legionario, Tigre Rojo
2) Dark Angel & Lady Apache b Amapola & Hiroka
3) Centella de Oro, Máximo, Stuka Jr. b Nitro, Policeman, Skandalo
4) Heavy Metal, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas b Héctor Garza, Hijo del Fantasma, La Máscara
5) Dr. Wagner Jr. & Místico DQ el Hijo del Perro Aguayo & Terrible

Perro yanked Mistico’s mask for the DQ. Pesta Negra wants a shot at the trios champs. Centella de Oro and Policeman agreed to a hair match next week.

CMLL (TUE) 07/15 Arena Mexico [CMLL]
1) Fire & Pequeno Universo 2000 b Nino de Acero & Pequeno Ninja
2) La Nazi, Medussa, Rosa Negra b Dark Angel, India Sioux, Sahori
3) Satanico, Vangelis, Virus b Fabián el Gitano, Máscara Púrpura, Mictlán
4) Blue Panther, La Sombra, Sagrado b Euforia, Nosferatu, Rey Bucanero
5) Héctor Garza, Hijo del Fantasma, La Máscara b Averno, Mephisto, Misterioso II

The idea is the trios champs proved they should be by winning the non-title match. Panther got Bucanero to win the semimain.

Intocable tells Sololuchas that he’s gone independent, but would be willing to work for AAA or any company on occasion. He’s got a website up at vaqueroinntocable.com – warning, music plays constantly.

What’s the best PR way to counter lists of (mostly inconsequential) people leaving AAA? Have guys give interviews about how they’re not leaving. Box Y Lucha and Histeria, Ozz, and Spiritu.. Of course, Histeria says “I’m here today”, which doesn’t say much for tomorrow. Espiritu says the Sect was approached by “other companies, because we’re so great”, which is the smart thing to say right now. note to self: make up someone interested in stealing me away to increase my value.

AAA updated the 07/20 AAA Lineup. Joe Lider takes Karia La Momia’s place in the main event, plus the two announced mystery wrestlers. Zorro is still listed despite being hurt, and may still be the favorite. In the undercard, Oriental is out and Angel is in versus the Clowns.

SuperLuchas and Luchando Libre mention a CMLL press conference today. They’re hyping the participants of the Gran Prix (maybe we’ll be suer of the TNA guys), and debuting yet another wrestler.

Newly Banned from Tijuana: Terrible, Texano Jr., Marco Corelone, and Shocker can not work there for a year. They all were involved in trunk pull down spots and Tijuna’s commission has taken a hard line on them. Four of them in one show can’t be a coincidence.

Mr. Niebla says Mistico & Garza won a battle but not a war. Yet, he’s not interested in winning Mistico’s’ mask, he just wants to elevate the name of Pesta Negra.

Averno & Rey Bucanero talk about winning the X-Cup. Rey emphasized it was a team record (and Volador shouldn’t get credit for everything.) Averno knows the TNA guys are coming to Mexico revenge, but wants to keep the victory in Mexico. Rey hope whomever is in the Gran Prix (doesn’t sound like he expects to be) keeps CMLL’s international win streak rolling.

In Ovaciones, Alex Koslov talks about wrestling in TNA and wanting another match with Averno. Koslov says he’s in the Gran Prix, which is no surprise. Alex was on Figure Four Daily yesterday and was really good.

I haven’t seen Arturo Rivera’s column in a week.

(Reforma via Jazzo) Blue Panther hopes to run in to Villano V during the Gran Alternativa, so he can beat him and force him – and CMLL – to finally set their mask match for the Anniversary. Panther is fine with other people getting involved as long as he gets Villano 5 with his mask on the line. Panther sounds more frustrated with CMLL for not doing anything with the fued than he does with V5.

To confirm the note in the comments, the July 21st Wrestling Observer does say AAA is in talks with Chris Masters about coming in August. Perhaps he’s the random US strong man for the completely pointless but always booked Mexico vs the World trios match. The WON also says the US Best of TripleMania PPV exists because AAA couldn’t get Verano de Escandalo on PPV this time around.

Axel wants to be his own man, and not just emulate the style of his grandfather Santo. Riiiiiiiight.

Barrio Boy Ricky revealed! He’s the son of Vicky Carranza and Cobarde Jr. – Vicky was his first wrestling teacher.

The European promoter says the CMLL tour will cost $800,000 to run. That seems high, but then it’s in US dollars. Future tours suggested here include Turkey, Finland, Russia, Germany and France.

indy (FRI) 07/18 Rodeo Texcoco [MT]
1) Brian el Stripeer, Kung Fu Jr., Ogun vs Gosth Rider, Macabro Jr., Super Calo
2) Dos Caras Sr., Huracan Ramiez, Principe de la Noche vs Enfermero Jr., Gran Markus Jr., Hijo de Gran Markus
3) El Hijo del Solitario, Groon XXX, LA Park vs ?, El Dandy, Shu el Guerrero

The article says this will be taped for AYM Deportes.

Mistico is listed as working a show in Tempe, Arizona on July 27. Outside the picture, there’s no other information about Mistico, so I’m thinking this might turn out to be Incognito.

Noroeste profiles local 22 year vet Serpiente Marina.

Ari Romero Sr. and Ari Romero Jr. will be appearing on an EWF show on July 25 in Covina, CA.

Hijo del Sicodelico will be signing autographs this Sunday at the Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop in San Diego.