Lots of coverage of the Lucha Libre Expo this last few days. Make sure to go read Alan’s comments on the expo and the wrestling shows from Friday, as well as his pictures.
– (SuperLuchas, ESTO) Opening Inauguration included people from all sorts promotions cutting the ribbon, so you get pictures with Atlantis, Perro Jr. and Zorro in them. This may be the closest we come to the reoccurring dream of Zorro back in CMLL.
– SuperLuchas goes from booth to booth to see luchadors posing for pictures and signing autographs. (More from today.) Some, like Heavy Metal have their on booths. Over on his blog, Cesar says the best part of the expo is just that, getting to spend a moment with the luchadors, and everything else isn’t so organized.
The picture on Cesar’s entry is of the IWRG booth – where they’re selling DVDs for $6! Good deal.
More pictures: LuchandoLibre has the best shot of the first day in that first picture. If you scroll down to the last picture in the article, that sure looks like a bald Policeman in the background, exchanging tips on how to groom a hairless head with X-Fly. DJ Spectro has a ton of photos, as does WagnerMania.
– There’s also fan booths, like one for El Santo. And panels, like this one with lucha photographers. Rostro Oculto is not so hidden face in the picture.
– Promotions have their own booths: CMLL blocky monsters! IWRG masks and belt museum! PL mentions AAA’s booth has been less than accommodating to press.
– CMLL held it’s fashion show plus stripping show today. Looks like Dark Angel was only involved in the first half of that, sad. Also, looks like Euforia was involved in the second half of that, which is things I wanted never to know. More photos from the fashion show here
– At one point, Cibernetico, Mistico and Dr. Wagner Jr. were all signing autographs at the same time. Cibernetico’s line appeared to be the longest (not sure how that rudo turn is taking), though Proeccion Luchistica notes Mistico was very accessible and signing plenty of non-official CMLL merchandise without a problem.
– Super Calo announced his new promotion (again). Everyone has matching jumpsuits. Ogun is mentioned as a top star. I like Super Calo so I will end this bullet point now.
And results…
el Pancracio (FRI) 07/24 Centro Banamex, DF
1) Angelus, Chac-Mol, Jungla, Lock Man b Arana Negra, Disturbio, Espiral Negro, Maldito Jr.
2) X-Devil b Maldito Jr., Samot, Mimo, Fenix, Sobredosis, Skulman, Urko, Terror Negro, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 [torneo el pancracio]
3) Rocky Santana, Super Astro, Super Muneco, Super Pinocho b Coco Rojo, Coco Verde, Cocolores, Rambo
4) Solar I b Black Terry
PL says X-Devil won the cibernetico, there were 21 guys in it, and many were not really in condition to compete. No one knows all 21 and it’s OK. Solar got a trophy, hooray.
MD (FRI) 07/24 Centro Banamex, DF
1) Canelo Casas, Destroyer, Emperador, Flecha b Bengala, Estruendo, Guerrero Aguila, Siglo XXI
2) Bronce II, Oro, Plata b El Hijo del Diablo, Impala, Memo Arenas
3) Solar I, Super Astro, Ultraman b Black Terry, El Signo, Rey Lobo
4) Dos Caras Sr., El Halcon, Mil Mascaras b Kahoz, Mano Negra, Rambo
IWRG (FRI) 07/24 Centro Banamex, DF [SuperLuchas
1) Eragon & Exodia b Blasfemia & Carta Brava Jr.
2) Jack & Rigo b Capitan Muerte & Némesis IWRG
3) Chico Che, Trauma I, Trauma II b Fantasma de la Opera, Oficial 911, Oficial AK47
4) Angelico, Megatronik, Negro Navarro DQ Fuerza Guerrera, Juventud Guerrera, Veneno
5) Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Ricky Cruzz, Tinieblas Jr. b Hijo del Cien Caras, Mascara Ano 2000, Mascara Ano 2000 Jr.
First time Nemesis has been here since February. Also, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. Order of importance there.
Los Bravos got DQed for excessive violence on Negro Navarro.
Alan noted there were ring issues that were fixed between this show. I think it was LuchandoLibre who says they also had to set up some sponsor signage to get on TV.
Quick non-Expo link: Puntual TV had a interview with Black Abyss and local wrestlers on an upcoming Puebla show.
Lineups
CMLL (MON) 07/27 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger, Blue Center, Tigre Rojo vs Fuerza Chicana, Policeman, Toro Bill Sr.
2) Asturiano, Mini Fantasy, Ultimo Dragoncito vs Mr. Rafaga, Pequeño Warrior, Pierrothito
3) Pegasso, Rey Cometa, Stuka Jr. vs Dr. X, Skandalo, Virus
4) Blue Panther, Shocker, Toscano vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
5) Ultimo Guerrero vs Hector Garza [CMLL HEAVY]
Again, CMLL.com’s lineup includes mini versions of local wrestlers.
CMLL (TUE) 07/28 Arena Mexico
1) As Jr. & Molotov vs Cholo & Semental
2) Bam Bam, Bracito de Oro, Pequeno Olimpico vs Pequeño Damian 666, Pequeño Violencia, Pequeño Warrior
3) Metro, Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Arkangel de la Muerte, Loco Max, Vangelis
4) Amapola vs Marcela [CMLL WOMEN]
5) La Mascara, Mascara Dorada, Valiente vs Dragon Rojo Jr., Hijo del Lizmark, Sangre Azteca
6) La Sombra, Shocker, Volador Jr. vs Felino, Heavy Metal, Mr. Niebla
Will Amapola vs Marcela be better than any match on Friday? I say YES, but you knew that. (No additional matches on Friday, BTW.) I think there’s a much better title change chance here than Monday; Amapola’s is one of the few who hasn’t yet changed this year.
IWRG (THU) 07/30 Arena Naucalpan
1) Imperial vs Blasfemia
2) Eragon & Sexy Gladys vs Carta Brava Jr. & Heavy Boy
3) Chico Che & Rigo vs Bushi & Fantasma de la Opera
4) Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Trauma II vs Los Piratas
5) Negro Navarro & Trauma I vs Fuerza Guerrera & Juventud Guerrera
Not sure what exact configuration of Piratas we’re getting here.
CMLL (SUN) 08/02 Arena Coliseo
1) Bengala & Principe Valiente vs Artillero & Super Comando
2) Bam Bam, Electrico, Pequeño Olímpico vs Pequeno Nitro, Pequeño Universo 2000, Pequeño Violencia
3) Flash, Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Euforia, Nosferatu, Shigeo Okumura
4) Metro, Mictlan, Valiente vs Heavy Metal, Hijo del Lizmark, Sangre Azteca
5) La Sombra, Shocker, Volador Jr. vs Atlantis, Naito, Yujiro
Okumura, Mictlan, Metal, Naito, Yujiro, Shocker would all be making their first apperance after the cage match.
IWRG (SUN) 08/02 Arena Naucalpn
1) Guizmo & Sexy Gladys vs Comando Gama & Comando Negro
2) Chico Che, Eragon, Pendulo vs Blasfemia, Fantasma de la Opera, Heavy Boy
3) Rigo, Trauma I, Trauma II vs Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro
4) Ricky Cruz & Scorpio Jr. vs Hijo del Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 Jr.
Match seems to be missing, but it’s probably the opener and not a main event.
UWE (SUN) 08/02 Arena Lopez Mateos
1) Hormiga Atomica & Rey Cristal vs Pequeno Demonio & Space Warrior
2) Climax, Iron Lover, Super Halcon Jr. vs Epitafio, Herejia, Jose Caporal
3) Robin Maravilla, Sadico, Yakuza vs Rey Krimen, Sepulutrero, Terry 2000
4) Blue Demon Jr., Lizmark Jr., Lizmark Sr. vs LA Park, Scorpio Jr., Zumbido
Appears to be the closer-to-DF debut of the new Lizmark Jr. Right to the main event, nothing bad can happen from that.
CMLL (SUN) 08/02 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Hierro & Novato vs Acertijo & Milenio
2) Guerrero Maya Jr., Starman, Ultraman vs Arkangel de la Muerte, Loco Max, Skandalo
3) Dark Angel, Lady Apache, Zeuxis vs Hiroka, Magnifica, Princesa Sujei
4) Mascara Dorada, Maximo, Stuka Jr. vs Black Warrior, Dragon Rojo Jr., Virus
5) Hector Garza, Mistico, Toscano vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
And Maximo, Garza, Toscano, Negro, Black Warrior are here after the cage match. That leaves Terrible, Texano Jr., Blue Panther, and Ray Mendoza Jr. as unseen. Maybe the poll shouldn’t be who’s going to lose, but where they’re going to be on Sunday.
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What’s with Super Calo having his mask on?
@Tim: Honoring the original Calo, who happens to be the money mark behind this goup.
The kid in the LuchandoLibre picture was there again today and was inside the ringside area when Niebla came out for his preCMLL show show. Not sure if anything can be read into that or if the kid was just so adorable they let him and his Mom in to get a picture with Niebla.
Just to be clear, Niebla’s show did not involve fashion (other than his normal entrance gear) or stripping.
@Alan: Awesome recaps/comments/photos/everything re: the Expo Lucha. I am so attending this next May even though I’ll probably go broke since I want *everything* I’ve seen in any photos posted.
The CMLL Expo on C3 is airing right now. Top 4 only, no women (Leono/Fabian).
As for lineups…
“CMLL (MON) 07/27 Arena Puebla”
Looks like a really fun show. I’d cut the semi-main b/c the minis + locals look way too fun. Have we figured out if Stuka Jr./Virus are feuding yet?
“CMLL (TUE) 07/28 Arena Mexico”
I hate to say it but that women’s title match is getting in the way of what would have been an awesome top 4. Either way I’m still excited to catch this next Saturday. I’m with you in expecting a title change.
The only hope for Friday’s big show is since there are only 3 undercard matches they will be given plenty of time. I can’t see the cage match getting more than 15 minutes although I expect the intros to go twice that length.
Another week w/ no Freelance in IWRG rings. I saw he’s got a booking with indy guys though.:/
“CMLL (SUN) 08/02 Arena Coliseo
3) Flash, Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Euforia, Nosferatu, Shigeo Okumura”
YAY! Another chance for this crew to tear it up. Any hope this will build to a Cometa/Pegasso vs Infernales match for a shot at the Arena Coliseo Tag Titles? Didn’t think so.
Picking one person to lose and one to win on Friday with 15 guys involved seems almost impossible so I’ll do it like Cesar and rank my picks:
Most Likely to Lose:
1. Black Warrior – His hair has never looked the way it does now. Seems like he purposely grew it out to get it shaved.
2. Okumura – Been a while since he lost his hair and is probably owed some extra money for helping No Limit in their interviews and outside the ring.
3. Ray Mendoza Jr. – Name is fading from importance so this is one of his last chances to lose his hair and have it mean something.
Most Likely to Win:
1. Blue Panther – Would work to have him beat Mendoza for revenge or Warrior since they are “feuding” heading into this.
2. Negro Casas – Will need to get some sort of big win before the Anniversary Show loss.
3. Toscano – CMLL is retarded.
Turnout for the CMLL show looks good. Looks like more fans in attendance than lots of Tuesday shows @ Arena Mexico.
@Alan: Oh man I just realized you got a photo of JACK! or YACK! That is awesome! Was he just hanging out at the IWRG booth or do wrestlers set up their own stands around the building?
Okay, why do CMLL wrestlers do shows that involve stripping?! Not only did they do it at the Lucha Expo, but they also do it at other shows. I’m not sure I get why they do it, but I’m sure there are fans of it.
If there was a time to do a Mexico trip the expo is most definitely it.
(Note to self start saving up so I can go to the Lucha Expo next year.) Next weeks C3 taping awesome, great improvement from what aired last night. Any show with out Mictlan, No Limit, & Mendoza Jr.(aka Los Shit-Heads) is a vast improvement.
@Calabcd44: Add looks in between ” taping” & ” awesome”.
@Calabcd44: Los Shitheads will all be in Guadalajara that night.;)
@Kyle: I’m all for the LuchaBlog Road Trip 2010! If we let CMLL know advance I’m sure we can be the special Fans of the Week they do on TV!
Man…I was hoping L.A. Park would show up during the La Parka signing or something.
I’ll be posting Expo notes soon, but Puebla is airing, and there are local minis!
I just noticed this but instead of Rudos and Tecnicos on their result per fall screen, the locals were called Pueblanos.
Now THAT is attention to detail.
Not like this: http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/4815/fresbee.jpg
It’s the Fres Bee. He is the rarest of bees b/c you never see him any more.
in addition to minis, Shocker/Mascara/Fantasma vs Okumura/No Limit is airing. The singles matches should round out the card.
@Rob: Yack was at the IWRG booth. I would say most wrestlers signed at their promotion’s booths. Some had booths of their own (Blue Demon, the Mascaras/Caras/Sicodelicos, and amusingly Heavy Metal) and others (mostly indies but some bigger names like Sangre Azteca) signed and did photos at booths run by the magazines/website and other exhibitors.
I’m definitely going back next year if they run it before I leave Mexico. Cubs, can you get me a press pass next year? I don’t know what rights/responsibilities come with a press pass, but I assume that I could A) ask stupid questions in English and feel less self conscious about it, B) go into shows right before they start and get somewhere with a good view, and C) have access to free booze. The last one is just a guess.
@Alan: I would happily get you a press pass! But I don’t think they give credentials to the site. I need to run more favorable polls!
I believe most of the bloggers and such who get that access are doing a lot of the same coverage for the magazines. If only there was a magazine who’s vouch for me… (or maybe I’d be able to talk a newsletter into it.)
(People who know better are more than willing to let me know, and/or mock me. )
Notes from Day 3 of the Expo. Today’s pics and autographs included better pics of Perro and Sangre Azteca as well as a pic of the artist who made my new chess set. Highlight of the day was getting moved up from the sixth row to the third row (VIP area, so no chance to get it by showing up early even) because they wanted me to give up my seat. Best purchase of the day was the Poder Mexica theme CD from Sangre. He seemed somewhat surprised that I was buying it and the lady working with him had to tell him that he should sign it for me. I have no idea what is on the CD, but I think every luchador should sell a CD-R with their theme music on it. I would totally buy We Will Rock You from Ultimo, and I would finally be able to find a decent copy of whatever the hell Rey Bucanero’s theme song is.
One interesting thing that I hope we get more details on from actual reporters tomorrow. It sort of ties in with the results I will post next, but easier to break it out here. My guess is that whatever issues there are between the Perros and AAA got turned up a notch tonight. DTU’s show ran a little long. I’d guess about 15 minutes. I don’t know if this actually had anything to do with what happened the rest of the night or not, but it might have helped push things over the top. While the Perros should not have had to shorten their show at all, they could have easily cut time out by pulling some time from the annoying dance show they had at the beginning of their card. They ran a total of four matches and wound up running a little over 15 minutes past their time as well. During their last two matches, they were going out of their way to break the table at ringside which had been used by previous announce crews even while the event staff was continuously moving it back. Not sure if this was an effort to mess with AAA’s taping or just part of the show. As their main event wrapped up, the Perro and Parka were exchanging the usual post match challenges and the event staff seemed to be telling them to wrap it up and get out of the ring. It felt to me like they were killing time and dragging their feet at this point. Then, at one point, Wagner just walked through the curtain on the ramp and just stood there without a microphone or any entrance music. It seemed to take the people in the ring a little time for the Wagner chants to get their attention before Perro took the mic from Parka and (based on my limited understanding of Spanish) tell Wagner what they thought of him. At this point he walked backstage without and they went back to the angle in the ring before getting rushed out after they finished it so that AAA could set up for their taping. Its possible this was a work I guess, but parts of it seemed to come out of nowhere so I’m hoping to hear more from others tomorrow.
Results from day 3 of the Expo.
DTU
1. Talaxys wins the opener 6-Way Dance.
2. Dark Finder over BlackFire.
3. Dance Boy and Relampago over Toxico and Paranoiko. Lots of interference from Dance Boy’s valet with lots of man on woman violence resulting. Side note, but shouldn’t someone named Dance Boy have a gimmick that results in him dancing more?
4. Dinastia wins Masivo’s mask in a 7 person mask match. I can’t tell you Masivo’s name or how long he has been a luchador, but my guess is you won’t mind waiting for that information to turn up elsewhere. Match was run with new Luchadors coming in at regular time intervals and leaving when they scored a pin or submission.
5. Kaientai and Kempo Dragon beat Super Mega and Money Pack
5. AeroBoy beat Shima Xion and Ragde to become DTU champ. Missed most of this match, but that’s what the guys in front of me told me anyway.
6. Crazy Boy and Sugi San beat Jimmy Jacobs and Violento Jack.
I could say this with any number of the matches on this card, but this was much better than I expected. I only saw this because I wanted to get a decent seat for the Perros card, but this totally beat my expectations. They’ve got some good young high flyers on the lower card, I liked Jimmy Jacobs and Sugi enough that I enjoyed their work with Crazy and Jack. Also, their wasn’t a single lightbulb harmed during the entire card. Only a few chairs were used, and Jack’s staple gun was about as “extreme” as it got. Not sure if this was because of the Commission, the Expo, or the Banamex Centre staff, but it definitely allowed them to put on a better show than what I saw the one time I caught DTU on tv.
Perros
1. Nova and Konami over Xfly and Pesadilla. Match was fine and featured the one dive off the lighting stand I saw all weekend.
2. Aguilita and Halloweencito beat Celestial and Cosmico. Great to see Aguilita and Halloweencito again. Wish that Damian had been here too.
3. Mr. Aguila, Olimpico, and Scorpio beat Psicosis, Histeria, and Head Hunter. I don’t in any way want to knock Scorpio or anyone else in this match, but has anyone been hurt more by Halloween’s return than Aguila?
4. LA Park, Super Porky, and Alebrije beat Perro, Damian, and Halloween by DQ. Match was exactly what you would expect from a Perros main event. That being said, when you only get to see one card every six months and it isn’t going to make TV, it makes for an entertaining show. Everyone got in their spots, lots of referee insanity, and Perro gets DQ’d in the end for pulling off Parkas mask after the Ref counted to three without noticing it first. Poor Halloween. They were intent on breaking the table that was at ringside, but it was reinforced with 2x4s. After one attempt to put Park through it, there were three or four attempts to put Halloween through it. It finally cracked, but never really broke. Crowd was of course into the whole match and the post match shenanigans. I of course enjoyed this even while I will admit that it is no way to run a promotion.
AAA
1. Laredo, Gato, and Atomic Boy over Poder del Norte. Not surprisingly, this was a lot of fun.
2. Billy Boy and Sexi Star beat Faby and Aerostar. I enjoyed this one as well.
After this match Ciber comes to the ring to help answer the question of how he is going to wind up in the main event at Verano de Escandalo. My Spanish is horrible, but I can of course catch most of this. Ciber talks about the title, Rodan comes out and tells him that he is not the champ or the No. 1 contender, Wagner comes out and challenges him to a one on one match later in the show with Ciber having a chance to get into the title match. It might have been more suspenseful if they hadn’t already put out the card.
3. Kenzo, Sugi, and Oriental beat Rocky Romero, Crazy Boy and Ultimo Gladiator. Koslov ran in with a chair shot to Romero, followed by a top rope move by Sugi for the win. No sign of Gladiator being part of the Wagnermaniacs or being a rudo, so there is still some mystery to the Verano card.
4. Chessman and Teddy beat Charly and Jack Evans. Jack hands Charly a cheese grater, the ref takes it away and Chessman hits the spear for a win. Pretty good match, but it makes me wish they would end these feuds with a relevos suicidas (Hell Brothers vs Hart Foundation 2) instead of a 4 way.
5. Mesias, XTreme Tiger, and Octagon vs Nicho, Joe Lider and Alex Koslov. Its what you expect it to be. Tiger hit some nice moves, but was helped out while the other tecnicos celebrated. I know most are down on Koslov, but I enjoy him much more as a rudo in AAA.
6. Ciber beat Wagner to get into the title match at Verano. Watched most of this from the entrance so I could beat the rush and get a cab. Choke slam through a table did Wagner in even though he won after taking one at Triplemania. Maybe Ciber is just that much better at the chokeslam than Mesias? I didn’t stick around for the post match mic work or angle that I am sure probably happened.
Minor attendance note that I meant to include in the first post. DTU probably was 2/3s full for most of their show. Crowd basically kept growing around the main ring throughout the day. Not sure if this was out of excitement for the main events on the two preliminary shows or people showing up for AAA in order to get a seat. For the record, AAA had the same crowd around the ring as CMLL I would say in that they both filled up the area. As cubs pointed out in a previous post, a better measure, or at least the one likely to be used will be number of tickets sold for the day even though many of those people will not get in, and some of them will not try to get in to see the show itself. I’m not sure how that will turn out, but the expo area felt very full both days, even when the big shows were going on and the ring area was full.
One issue I see for the expo is that they probably need to find a bigger space to run the big shows. It got very crowded and while this can make for some decent TV shots, I assume there were people at the expo who could not get in. Tied into this is the blocking off of the first three rows for VIP seating. I understand the need for this at general admission shows and don’t really have much of a problem with it (hell, I stumbed into it for both CMLL and Perros/AAA and I am definitely not a Very Important Person). My issue with it is the number of seats this results in leaving open for most of the smaller shows. For DTU and Perros, and most of the shows on Friday (not sure about the Indy show on Saturday) these areas were largely empty. Perros and DTU actually had pretty good crowds, but the VIPs aren’t going to show up until the main show generally. BUt, DTU will look horrible on TV even though they probably had a larger crowd than at their typical show because the first three rows will be empty. Not sure what the best solution is for this, but there has to be something better than this.
And finally lots of pictures from day 3 at the Expo:
http://picasaweb.google.com/alanjulson/LuchaExpoDay3?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ2Mr_qrhofa3QE&feat=directlink
@thecubsfan: I feel like you would or at least should qualify for a press pass (I would hope that they would have some sort of standards that would prevent you from getting me a press pass though). It might take some explaining of what you do and why it counts to the organizers, but I would think you would get it. But I don’t really know how things work down here in general, never mind at the Expo specifically.
At the very least, I bet that buying a booth would convince them that you were a member of the press.
@Alan: Holy crap – I just watched the mini’s tag from the PdM show (all Expo matches are now on youtube – I love the intranet) and it was AWESOME! I saw the AAA and CMLL show and this match blew anything there away. Yes, even the AAA opener which I thought was good too. Celestial nearly died TWICE! And what an amazing finish.
@Rob: Awesome, I’m glad stuff is showing up online. Someone should track down all the fancam clips and edit them into something watchable. I’ll have to check out the minis match again. It was during that match that I got moved to a better seat so I got a little distracted.
Does anyone know when TVCDeportes is supposed to air the IWRG and DTU shows? I think those two are the only two that will air on a network outside of CMLL/AAA. Its possible TVC grabbedd the Wagner/indy show I guess since I wasn’t around for enough of it to notice if it was being taped.