taped 2012-02-24 @ Arena Mexico Dalis la Caribeña, Estrellita, Marcela vs Amapola, La Comandante, La Seductora : I’m not blaming any one person here, not even the people in this match, but CMLL’s got to cut out the surprise small package out of nonexistent leg locks. That bit needs to banned right away. Loco Max or Felino may be exempt, but the vast majority of these people who never ever even try a figure four (much less win with one!) must stop this immediately. It is not a surprise finish when it’s always happens, it’s people being dumb repeatedly. This match was in the OK range, though the strangely long first fall and short third fall probably was not the plan, and Dalis would probably like to forget this entire thing.
Diamante, Dragon Lee, Triton vs Hijo del Signo, Namajague, Shigeo Okumura : (Add Signo to the acceptable leglock people.) This one had it’s high points and not so high points. Triton looked as good as he has recently, and then the dive botch at the end happened. Namajague is a really entertaining character already (and gets along well with Hijo del Signo), but it was clear multiple times that he was not where he was supposed to be or not doing what others expected him to do. Dragon Lee had the great sequence with Namajague and then blew his headscissors. This will make a great highlight video, but looked a bit too rookie-ish in the full match.
IWRG (THU) 03/15/2012Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), Estrellas del Ring]
1) Astro de Plata & Astro Rey Jr. b Pacto Negro & Polifacético
2) Charly Madrid & Chicano b Comando Negro & The Mummy
3) Dinamic Black, Golden Magic, Suicida b Acero, Alemán, Imposible
4) Freyser, Trauma I, Trauma II b Alan Extreme, Eterno, Violento Jack Violento Jack kept making mistakes in his match, and his partners turned on him.
5) Bestia 666 b Hijo de LA Park, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Mascara Sagrada Jr., Halcon 78 Jr., Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Canek Jr., Apolo Estrada Jr., Ultramán Jr., Carta Brava Jr. [#1 Contenders, JUNIOR DE JUNIORS] It came down to Bestia 666 vs Pirata. Bestia knocked out the referee by accident, and Familia de Tijuana (Halloween, Damian, Nova, and Zumbi – so he may be out of Perros del Mal as well) ran in to attack Pirata and give Bestia a win. He faces Trauma I next week.
A backstage interview from Arena Aficion seems to confirm Zumbi is in (or at least associated with) the Famila de Tijuana group.
If Devitt is out with an injury, then CMLL has done a slightly decent job here. CMLL has a habit of occasionally listing luchadors on their lineups that they know will not actually be on the card; at least this time people know who they’re getting. It still falls short of acceptable. CMLL’s actually done a very strong job of promoting Prince Devitt the last month as special attraction, and now they’re not even acknowledging his absence. Maybe you don’t even have to say why he’s not wrestling – though acknowledging an injury would only get them sympathy – but ignoring it just needlessly aggravates your fanbase. This is not subbing Fresbee for Robin, this is the guy who’s been hyped on every single CMLL outlet for the last month, you have the address the expectations you’ve built up.
It’s disappointing not to get Devitt matches this week, but it’s much worse for him. I can not imagine how frustrating it’d be to be stuck in a country you’ve never been, with few people who speak your language, and with nothing to do but sit around and hope your calf feels better.
Tonight, as far as Devitt subs, it’ll be Shocker in CMLL’s main event. It’s something Shocker seems thrilled about on Twitter, but makes tonight’s card completely unremarkable. Marco Corleone replaces Devitt in Arena Mexico on Sunday and Guadalajara on Tuesday, and Atlantis fills in on Monday.
Other News
This week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter mentioned Panico is officially out of the CMLL programming department. He is now in charge of the beer distributorship for their arenas, which is said to be a better paying (and surely less stressful) job. Blue Panther is now in charge of the programming department, the group we would refer to as CMLL’s bookers.
I’m not sure if it’s related, but Panther has not had a match at Arena Mexico or Arena Coliseo since Dos Leyendas, which is probably about when that change was made. It’s been said Paco Alonso prefers people not be active wrestlers and programmers, which was a reason people believed Panther might lose at Dos Leyendas and disappear for a while. He did lose his hair and he may be disappearing.
taped 2012-02-17 @ Arena Mexico Ángel Azteca Jr., Dragon Lee, Rey Cometa vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Nitro, Skándalo: Dragon Lee looked unsurprisingly rusty in his turn. The big spots he could practice on his own in an empty ring and a crash pad looked good, the inbetween parts requiring timing with other people is still iffy, and his accuracy isn’t great. Somewhat back to normal! Good match between usual sides.
never trust Misterioso
Fuego, Sagrado, Sangre Azteca vs Misterioso Jr., Shigeo Okumura, Vangelis: okay match that got good in the end, despite them ignoring the rules for no particular reason. (Come to think of it, this might have been a good time to set up a double pin draw as a real finish.) Basically the same kind of match this crew always has. Vangelis is okay, but should never try a tapatía again.
