Day: October 13, 2011

Puebla, Heroes Inmortales notes

thecubsfan 8 Comments

CMLL (MON) 10/10/2011 Arena Puebla [Porra Fresa]
1) Centella de Oro & Milenium b Akron & Espiritu Maligno
Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Bronco, Hooligan, Nitro b Ángel Azteca Jr., Ángel de Plata, Molotov
rudos took 1/3.
3) Delta, Metro, Sagrado b Shigeo Okumura, Vangelis, Yoshihashi
Tecnicos took 1/3. Vangelis hurt his ribs during the match and was taken out before the finish.
4) Blue Panther, Hijo del Fantasma, Valiente DQ Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Mr. Niebla
Straight falls. Felino fouled Panther for the DQ.
5) Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Texano b Atlantis, Jushin Lyger, Shocker
Crowd was not in to this match as much as the earlier ones. Lyger took the pin.

Other News

Some clean up about Heroes Inmortales:

There is no doubt it was the actual Octagon and actual La Parka who turned on Wagner. Same size guys as usual. Octagon did look more active and aggressive than any point since the last Pentagon was around, but it was clearly him. They could always back out of it later, but it wasn’t meant to be an impostor. WON says both guys have been told not to do interviews this week. We’re probably waiting until next Friday’s taping in Xalapa to get any sort of explanation. Can’t wait for that.

Parka & Octagon turning rudo is supposed to reinvigorate their career. This is annoyingly consistent with AAA’s usual tactics; they really need new people at the top, and they continue the shuffle around the same people around to do the same set of main event feuds. LA Park has been moving towards the tecnico side over the last few months, but the Bizarros must be joining the tecnico side too to keep the Cibernetico/Parka stuff going (and the Parka/Dark Family stuff is likely dead.)

Recent Notable Attendances
CMLL 09/30: 8,600 (source: WON)
AAA 10/09: 8,000 (source: WON)
WWE in MTY 10/12: 5,00o (source: Dorian Roldan News Network) or “officially 10,000” (source: LuchaMania board.)

Well, that’s no helpful.  The wrestling business is doomed. DOOMED. (Or things are just weird and one number shouldn’t be considered as all the evidence you need.) WWE is going to do much better elsewhere, but that’s still a shockingly low number. I wonder what number the Santo/indy show is going to do in MTY. Also, how well the LyC four way title matches show did; that looked like a full Arena Coliseo Monterrey.

The WON also says Casandro and AAA haven’t actually agreed on a deal yet. AAA wanted Mesias to beat Sting, but either Sting said no or TNA said no, so we got whatever finish that was. Despite that match being very poorly received, AAA wants to bring back Sting to team with Mesias. (Which would seem to indicate it’s not Sting who said no.)

Luchadors continue to look for better social security thru the Mexican government. A big press conference took place Wednesday, led by Daniel Aceves (last seen in CMLL presenting Copa Bobby Bonales) and attended by various CMLL luchadors (Atlantis, Garza, Bucanero, Niebla, Panther, Volador), Canek, politicians, and athletes from other second tier sports. All the sports want more support from the government, similar to Primera Division futbol. They’re specifically looking for tax deductions, help with medical expenses, more facilities, and more money spent into helping improve sports at grass roots level to keep Mexican sports strong. This follows politicians previously visiting Arena Mexico proposing the same ideas, so there may be some actual movement. Like a lot of lucha going on this week, it’s probably no coincidence they’re making this push the same time WWE is around.

Fuerza Guerrera will replace Dr. X on the upcoming IWL shows. CMLL is now listing Raziel as working Sunday’s Arena Mexico in Dr. X’s place; that was likely the plan all along.

Selected tickets for tomorrow’s Arena Mexico show are half off on this Groupon like site.

Lucha Libre In Japan

AJPW 10/13: Ozz [O] & Cuervo b Kenzo Suzuki & Kaz Hayashi [X]

Links

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 10/18/2011 Arena Mexico
1) Aereo, Fantasy, Pequeño Halcón vs Mercurio, Pequeño Universo 2000, Pequeño Warrior
2) Dragon Lee, Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Loco Max, Skándalo
3) Ray vs Silueta [CMLL REINA IJ]
4) Ángel de Oro, Black Warrior, Delta vs Misterioso Jr., Rey Escorpion, Vangelis
5) La Sombra, Rush, Super Porky vs Averno, Dragón Rojo Jr., Mr. Niebla

The segunda is the first match for any Tuareg member since Dr. X’s passing.

I expect Ray to win, but this should be an interesting measure of where Silueta is at.

CMLL (TUE) 10/18/2011 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Virgo vs Javier Cruz Jr.
2) León Blanco & Magnum vs Gran Kenut & Infierno
3) Apocalipsis & Bobby Zavala vs Evola & Ráfaga
4) Diamante, Guerrero Maya Jr., Sagrado vs Pólvora, Shigeo Okumura, Yoshihashi
5) Héctor Garza, Hijo del Fantasma, Toscano vs Mr. Águila, Terrible, Texano

Zavala & Evola were teammates this past Tuesday. No results, but things must’ve not gone well!

MV (FRI) 10/28/2011 Auditorio el Tijuana
1) Fishman Jr. vs Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Jaque Mate Jr., Hijo de LA Park, El Hijo de Rey Misterio, Gallo Tapado Jr., Ultramán Jr., Kung Fu Jr. [ruleta de la muerte]

It has to be Jaque Mate Jr., right? The one thing you can say about Rey Misterio Sr. taking over as commissioner here is they’re running far more shows in Tijuana of late. Might be other factors, but it’s good to see.

Friendly Advice To Luchadors About To Have Secret Tryouts For WWE

thecubsfan 14 Comments

HOLA! Big week, isn’t it?

Don’t fret. I am not going to reveal who you are. I may or may not know who you are, but I do definitely know you’re in big trouble if you get found out. Like how your promotion has already warned you that you will not be booked for the rest of the year if they so much as spot you in the crowd at a WWE show. I don’t want to happen, I (probably) like watching you have lucha libre matches and I want nothing but success for you, that’s why I’m trying to help. You signing with WWE might cause grave damage to the promotion you leave behind, but I’ve read the newsletters and it seems we’re all hopelessly doomed as it is. Might as well get out while the money’s still good.

(I do wonder how they’re going to spot you as a fan at the show. I bet they spent some good money on tickets for the show. It’s nice to see someone in Mexico doing that. Wish they could get people to do that for their own companies, so this tryout wouldn’t be happening.)

Anyway, I’m going to keep this short, because you’ve surely got a lot to remember about and now’s not the time to forget to bring the generic gear. Let me give you three important points.

1) Speak English! If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably doing okay with this. If you’re acting like myself, and using Google Translate far too often, you’re in a world of trouble and you need a plan quick.

Yes, I know Sin Cara doesn’t speak English, and he would probably be doing fine if he wasn’t such a head case (and I know you’re thrilled about him being exposed as one.) You don’t get the same pass; they already have one guy who doesn’t do promos, they will not need another. You’ve got to give WWE something they don’t already have in Mistico if you want be working with him.

If you’ve been secretly hiding away your English proficiency all along to keep your spot, now’s the time to break it out. If the only English you’ve learned is from your favorite rap albums, go buy an “Ingles sin Barreras” set and make sure people see that you’re taking the initiative to learn.

2) Ask for advice. WWE likes to employ people who know what they’re doing. WWE loves to employ people who know what they’re doing but will be sure to ask them if what they’re doing is what they want to be done. I know that sentence makes it feel like you’ve failed to read English, but it’s real and accurate.

WWE will tell you how great you are at everything before you sign with them. They will start telling you everything you do is wrong once the ink dries. They will keep telling you that until you start doing things exactly how they want to be done. Once you finally feel you have a grasp on the ‘right way of doing things’, they will resume telling you how wrong you are. This is something you must learn to handle.

There is a time where they actually want you to push back. That is absolutely not the tryout. After you’re out of the ring, the most benefit you can do for your chances is to ask everyone what you’ve done wrong, and what you can do to improve. Start with anyone standing outside the ring who looks over 30 and doesn’t look like they’re going in the ring. Make sure they believe you’re taking their advice to heart, and honestly appreciate what they have to say. Even if it’s bad advice. ESPECIALLY if it’s bad advice.

3) Shake everyone’s hands. I know this is not idea people are as eager to do in Mexico after the pig flu, but I’m fairly certain this is the most important point on this list.

I can’t repeat this enough. Shake everyone’s hands. Shake hands from the moment you step in the building to the moment you slip out a side exit to avoid being seen by fans. Shake the important people’s hands. Shake the people’s hands who may not seem important, because some of those people are actually super important. Shake the unimportant people’s hands just to be safe. Shake each other’s hand if you’re trying out. Shake your own hand. And, for god’s sake, if you see a five time world champion, shake his hand. If I spend the next week decoding angry tweets about luchadors who failed to shake hands, I’m going to shake my fist at the lot of you.

This is where it might be helpful to work on the buddy system, so you can compare lists and make sure you got the same people. It’s bizarre, but if you don’t shake their hands, the WWE people feel like you’re slapping them in the face with that hands. If you want to work in their company, you have to obey their bizarre rules.

That’s it! Demonstrate the ability to speak English, use that English to ask to ask for advice, and shake the advice givers (and everyone else’s!) hands. Those are really the important things. Wrestling is largely unimportant, because you do lucha libre and they’ll want to break you of that anyway, and you know well enough to look good without failing their drug tests; I can tell you’ve been preparing for that.

Good luck! I look forward to buying your mask at 5 times it costs in Mexico.