Day: May 27, 2013

Not a lot going on today. Everyone’s only talking about Hector Garza. KrisZ has the best obit I’ve seen.

His service will take place tonight in Monterrey. Info7 has an interview with his brother Humberto Garza.

Every promotion and every luchador I can think of has expressed their condolences on Twitter. AAA, CMLL and NJPW all have mentions of his passing on their websites. WWE hasn’t posted anything I’ve seen, though many of their wrestlers have expressed their sadness and it wouldn’t be surprise to see Alberto del Rio or Sin Cara sneak a tribute on air tonight. There will be a moment of applause for him tonight in Arena Puebla, and probably on many other shows this week. NJPW will probably have Titan hold up a picture of Garza tomorrow as part of their usual tribute, but I wonder if it’s actually Alex Koslov or Rocky Romero who might have known him better. Hector will surely be honored as part of AAA’s annual church mass before TripleMania, and I’m sure Perro Jr. will have his own tribute to his friend on that show.

IWRG (SUN) 05/26/2013 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), IWRG on LAS]
2) Chico Che, Dr. Cerebro, Golden Magic b Alan Extreme, Apolo Estrada Jr., Imposible
Tecnicos took falls 1/3, with Golden Magic landing knees first on Apolo Estrada when trying his 450 splash.
3) Dinamic Black, Fenix (AAA), Trauma II b Black Terry, Fresero Jr., Pentagón Jr.
Terry & Fresero replaced Carta Brava & Eterno (Fusion taping). Tecnicos took 1/3. TV missed the finish while showing replays, but Fenix did a springboard (450?) plancha on Pentagon Jr.
4) Negro Navarro & Trauma I b Hijo de Pirata Morgan & Pirata Morgan [IWRG IC TAG]
Navarro & Trauma are champs. Seventh defense, first against the team they beat for the titles. Navarros took 1/3 to keep the titles. Pirata & Negro pinned each other in the third, then Trauma I defeated Hijo del Pirata after a few minutes.
5) Monster Clown, Murder Clown, Psycho Clown b Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Último Gladiador, X-Fly
Clowns, supporting the Cruz Azul team, took 2/3 to win. Ultimo Gladiador wrestled without his mask.

Attendance was up. Fenix mentioned on Twitter that Pentagon Jr. & Fresero Jr. had challenged him for title shots, but that wasn’t shown on TV. Similarly, it looked like the Navarros might be about to ask the Morgans for a shot at the trios titles (either of ’em), but they cut away from that. Still a lot of dead time on an easy to edit show.

The latest LuchaWorld podcast is up. It was taped before the Garza news broke, one covering is taping soon.

The poster for this year’s Dragonmania is out, though no matches are announced. No matches are announced, but a “Mascarita Dorada II” is on the card. It’s not quite being the new Mistico, but that’s another gimmick which is near impossible to pull off. The list of wrestlers also includes SUWA, who I believe is out of action in NOAH due to injury (being replaced by a masked guy who people believe may be our old friend Ohara.)

CMLL Gaceta previews tomorrow’s Arena Mexico card. Rey Bucanero & Diamante Azul are feuding both here and in Arena Puebla. Since Puebla is already agreed to be mask vs hair, Bucanero may defend finally his title in Arena Mexico in the next week or two.

Felino wants to be on the 8oth Anniversary show, admits he may not be the fastest luchador in the world anymore.

Lineups

CMLL (SUN) 06/02/2013 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Ídolo & Javier Cruz Jr. vs El Tapatío & Thunder Boy
2) Azteca de Oro, El Divino, Sky Kid vs Acertijo, Demonio Rojo, Sádico
3) Black Metal, El Hippie, Esfinge vs Demonio Maya, Espectrum, Exterminador
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa, Smaker vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Puma, Tiger
5) Rey Escorpión vs Gallo [CMLL LH]
Rey Escorpion is champion. Second defense.

Escorpion is always good.

AAA FULL (SAT) 05/25/2013 Plaza de la Constitucion, Distrito Federal [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), Estrellas del Ring, R de Rudo]
1) Ángel Del Amor, Charly Madrid, Maiden, Nemesis AAA b Maldito Jr., Matrix, Raider, Súper Bufón
Maiden – who is not Raider – replaced Marabunta Jr.
2) Canek Jr., Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Pirata Morgan Jr., Scorpio Jr. b Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Máscara Sagrada, Oriental, Villano V
Match changed around, with Octagon missing.
3) Axel, Huracan Ramirez, Octagón, Tinieblas Jr. DQ Cien Caras Jr., El Hijo del Medico Asesino, El Hijo del Solitario, Pirata Morgan
Octagon replaced Mil Mascaras, who appeared in gear but did not wrestle. Tecnicos took the first, rudos took the second. In the third, the lights went out, a bunch of mystery men in black attacked everyone, and Mil Mascaras, Blue Demon and Tinieblas made the save.

Show in the Mexico City Zocalo, put on in part by the government. It rained, but crowd was said to still be good. Every time someone gets permission to run a show there, I remark how great it looked and how neat it would to have a TV taping in that location. It’s still true; BT’s pictures look amazing. Tinieblas, Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras were recognized on the show, and it was announced another show would take place there on September 15 (which is the Sunday before what might be the Anniversary show.)

Terra wrote an article about the show – or rather, about Hijo del Santo not being on the show. He was pictured in the advertising, never was actually asked to appear, and there was the usual bit of everyone blaming everyone else for the mix up.

CMLL (SUN) 05/26/2013 Arena Coliseo [CMLL on Terra]
1) Höruz & Robin b Apocalipsis & Zayco
Tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Disturbio & Raziel b Leono & Soberano Jr.
Straight falls. Soberano landed on his head hard after a powerbomb to end the first fall and was clearly shaken up in the second. Match might have ended a fall early due to it, but he was in more pain after the powerbomb to beat him in the second.
3) Demus 3:16 b Eléctrico, Shockercito, Bam Bam, Aéreo, Fantasy, Pequeño Violencia, Mercurio, Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Warrior [cibernetico]
Tecnicos vs rudos. Match went about 24 minutes and was pretty good. Eliminations went Merucrio (Aero spanish fly), Fantasy (Warrior chokeslam), Aereo (Nitro’s usual wheelbarrow frontcracker), Electrico (Violencia with a leglock that didn’t look good), Warrior (Shockercito reinera), Nitro (Bam Bam powerbomb), Violencia & Shockercito (Violencia tapatia to double pin), and Bam Bam (Demus sunset flip roll thru and ropes grab.) Bam Bam, who looked back in form, complained after the match. The celebrating mini rudos all attacked him, with the tecnicos rushing out from the back to make the save. Hasty challenges were made and accepted for a cage match next week.
4) Diamante Azul, Guerrero Maya Jr., Thunder b Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja
Tecnicos took 1/3 in a below average match due to poor performances from the usual people.
5) Máscara Dorada, Mistico, Valiente b Averno, Felino, Negro Casas
Tecnicos took Dorada won three weeks in a row, so Negro agreed to a title match next Sunday.

Stream didn’t show the opening match or the first fall of the second match. I thought I was recording the show. It turned out to be a, uh, learning experience. Maybe Terra will post it.

Still, there’s a good chance for everything of merit to just air on 52MX, because only the cibernetico and the main event worth worthwhile. Semimain in particular was problematic. Minis cibernetico was really good, helped by Bam Bam being back in great form but everyone really having a good night. This sudden set up to cage match is very similar to what CMLL did in Guadalajara last October/November, where Pequeno Warrior beat Shockercito using the ropes in a cibernetico the first week, then Warrior lost his hair to Shockercito the following week. I don’t know that Demus is necessarily losing – with the big three of Olimpico, Pierrothito and Ultimo Dragoncito conspicuously not included in this match, it’s really not that big of a stretch for anyone to lose their hair or mask given how they’re used.

Nice of Negro to give Dorada credit for the win last week. I know CHIKARA has one of their semiannual iPPVs next Sunday, starting a hour before CMLL’s show but likely finishing up at about the same time, and that’s also a show I’d really like to see, but Mascara Dorada vs Negro Casas should be outstanding and the cage match should include people doing crazy things. Get two screens, or find a way to block spoilers one of them.

This was absurdly short show; CMLL was done in under two hours. It might have just worked out that way because the second match went short, but the main event felt hurried. It might have been because of the LigaMX final (starting an hour later); it was close enough already to hurt the attendance. There was also weirdly an earthquake drill in Arena Coliseo right after the show ended; maybe someone said they had to have it have a drill at 7, and they didn’t want it to happen during the show? It seems flimsy, but this was an odd one.

CMLL (SUN) 05/26/2013 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [@acogdl]
2) Azteca de Oro & Virgo DQ Demonio Rojo & Magnum
Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Bárbaro Cavernario b Metatrón, Esfinge, Black Metal, Halcón de Plata, El Hippie, Maléfico, Espectrum, Leo, Exterminador, Demonio Maya, Mr. Trueno [cibernetico]
Teams were determined by battle royal: Esfinge, Black Metal, Extreminador, Demonio Maya, Halcon de Plata, Metatron vs Malefico, Leo, Barbaro Cavernario, Metatron, Hippie, Mr. Trueno. Eliminations: Halcon de Plata (Malefico), Metatron (Exterminador), Demonio Maya (Leo), Malefico (Exterminador), Espectrum (Leo), Hippie (Extreminador), Exterminador (DQ for fouling Leo), Leo (Black Metal), Black Metal (Barbaro faked a knee injury, fouled Black Metal, won.)
4) Delta, Gallo, La Sombra b Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora, Rey Escorpión
Rudos took 1/3, Gallo pinning Rey Escorpion and challenging for a title shot.

Title match seems on for Sunday. Rey Escorpion having a great match with Gallo would only help his WOTY candidacy.

AAA results will follow in their own post.

No results from the DTU show, but DTU did say Ciclope won their vacant title. That’s a very surprising result, a winner who’s not a name from elsewhere and is not a big guy. Ciclope has bled as much as anyone for this group.

Even IWRG didn’t seem to post results from their early show today, but LAS did air the regular show. It was later than usual, but one of the smoother broadcast. Maybe that’s show was just already done and not live; I’d definitely trade getting a 3 or 7 day delayed IWRG broadcast for a more reliable one. Attendance also seemed much better than normal standards, so moving it up earlier in the day to avoid the LigaMX final worked. Navarros kept the IWRG IC Tag belts over the Piratas in a match that came down to Hijo del Pirata and Trauma I after the other two had drawn. I only saw a little bit of Fenix/Dinamic Black/Trauma II vs Fresero/Black Terry/Pentagon Jr. (Eterno & Carta Brava scheduled but working Fusion instead) but it looked like it was very good. Ultimo Gladiador wrestled unmasked; not sure if that was a commission thing or what. No Elisa, and the interview area broke down into a fight by the end of the night. Black Terry Jr. already has pictures up.

Titan lost in his first BOSJ match with Baretta. That seems like a poor sign for his prospects, but someone who struggles early always makes a run. His next match is Tuesday against novato Hiromu Takahashi; Titan should win that, or there’s some serious problems.

Rob has highlights of 11/04/94 AAA.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

CMLL is heading to Cancun.

Alushe dancing.

The Mexico City lucha libre commission held a licensing test. It turns out there’s only 30 people in all of Mexico City who want to be a luchador and are unlicensed.