Month: July 2013

IWRG (THU) 07/18/2013 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), IWRG]
1) Power Bull b Kiuby
Tiny Kiuby’s less than successful return. One fall.
2) Alan Extreme & Bugambilia b Freelance & Mr. Leo
3) Imposible, Picudo Jr., Spartan b Black Terry, Golden Magic, Saruman
Straight falls when Saruman turned on his partners again and feuded with Golden Magic.
4) Apolo Estrada Jr., Danny Casas, Heddi Karaoui b Emo Extreme, Extreme Tiger, Veneno
Emo and Veneno had problems and turned on each other by the end of the match. Danny Casas appears to have Radioactivo’s pants.
5) Eterno, Súper Nova, X-Fly b Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II
FdT took 2/3, Nova sneaking in a foul on Trauma II and X-Fly & Eterno beating Trauma I.

Tonight is CMLL’s Infierno en el Ring, a show built around a 10 man cage match. There are possibly good matches on the undercard, and they’ll push at least one feud to get people interested in shows going forward, but it’s largely about the cage match and the outcome.

Shocker, Negro Casas, Blue Panther, Averno, and Rush are completely safe. They all can be brought back again down the road for much bigger singles matches. Rey Bucanero is unlikely to lose; my impression is the apuesta match Diamante Azul & Bucanero teased for Arena Puebla was them trying to make something happen, but not a plan that got pushed off. It’s too quick into the Revolucionarios for Rey Escorpion to suffer a major loss, so he seems safe as well. That leaves three decent possibilities:

Maximo:  if CMLL wanted to turn Rush 100% rudo, the best way is betraying the last man left defending him. Rush could leave Maximo behind in the cage to lose, or he could beat himself and walk off a rudo. Maximo’s also noticeably grown out his hair, still the easiest way to spot a hair match loser. Still, this would require a lot of guys changing sides or opinions on the rudo side; it’s something that would be easier done in a promotion built around singles matches. A rudo Maximo teaming with a rudo Rush might be better for both of them.

Brazo de Plata: is Brazo de Plata. He has been in cage matches, he has escaped from cage matches. It’s usually early, with many people helping him escape, and they’d likely do the same deal tonight. It’s actually been two years years Brazo de Plata last lost his hair in CMLL, a long stretch for him. CMLL’s been less eager to put him in apuesta matches this decade.

Mr. Aguila: pretty clearly was going to lose his hair to Shocker this past April before whatever happened happened. Super  Porky has the rep as an apuesta match loser, but has a better CMLL winning percentage than Mr. Aguila. Aguila’s had three apuesta results in Arena Mexico – mask loss to Ultimo Guerrero, hair loss with Damian to Bucanero & Tarzan Boy, hair loss again to Rey Bucanero. Aguila is billed as an international star and is good when motivated, but he’s not really treated any more of the star than the other Invasors.

I still lean towards Aguila, though I’m less certain about who’s going to beat him. Maximo and Aguila would be the finish with the most possible drama, so it’s the best possible outcome I can root for.

I have no great feel for the turnout out today. CMLL’s hyped the cage match as strong as they’ve hyped any of the cage matches (and generally seem to be building up Friday night big matches a lot stronger than in years past.) The cage match in Arena Puebla did surprisingly well, but the most recent cage match in Arena Mexico did nothing special.  Ticketmaster says the first ring (the closest rows) are all sold out, and you’re way back in the fourth ring if you want to get to buy four tickets. I will guess 9,000 only because I feel I’ve got to make a guess, but I put no weight on it.

CMLL Gaceta has their preview of the show. No lineup change mentioned this time. Rush says Shocker and Negro Casas have targeted him because the only way they can revive their careers is facing Rush. Rush is against everyone (including Maximo) and everyone is against Rush. There will be a Chica Vuelta, Vuelta dance performance. Or maybe two.

Mistico, Averno, Mephisto and Super Porky are also scheduled to be working a Tinieblas FULL show in Mexico City tonight. That show starts at 8pm. If I was CMLL, I would want the guys in the main event cage match in their building way ahead of time. Mephisto is in the CMLL tercera and the FULL tercera, so I’m not sure it’s even possible for him to work both with leaving early from one or arriving late for another.

AAA also is busy tonight, taping TV in Arena Xalapa. The DF taping in two weeks seems like the next major happening show, but that leaves room for good matches on this show. The main event is another Cibernetico versus Perro trios match, with Mesias & Parka on the tecnico side and Texano & Chessman on the rudo side. The mixed tag team titles are in play; given Halloween’s erratic appearance schedule with AAA and his romance with Mary Apache being ignored for months, there’s a decent chance of Faby Apache & Drago winning the titles tonight. The semimain is Jack, Angelico and Fenix vs Steve Pain, Parka Negra and Pentagon, and could be really good if Parka Negra keeps up with the other give guys. Eita makes his AAA TV debut in the tercera, teaming with the Perros del Mal against the Secta, and the Atomic Boy/Apache feud continues on in the opener.

I’m planning on doing live results and a chat for these shows, though there is a chance I may not be able to start on time. The coverage will hopefully start around 8:30 with the CMLL show, but keep an eye on Twitter for updates. AAA in Xalapa is listed as starting 15 minutes later. We’ll attempt to cover both shows and talk about whatever.

Sombra’s IWGP IC title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura will take place before the next time I write one of these posts. The NJPW iPPV starts at 3AM CT, and the title match should be around 5AM. Nakamura remains the heavy favorite to win the title back for NJPW, especially since Sombra’s not in the G1 and Nakamura can’t get the win in that tournament. It’s not impossible for Sombra to win, and Sombra keeping the title in Mexico would open up interesting possibilities (Sombra vs Rush), but this is another Sombra match where the outcome of the match is less important than the performance he puts in. If Sombra can hang with a top NJPW guy in a big match on a NJPW show, then he may get more of those opportunities down the line.

I had wanted to watch this live, but I’ve got too much going on. I have to choose either watching it or getting decent sleep. I like Sombra, but I like sleep better. It is weird/amusing/sad I’m willing to pay $25 USD to watch a show on my computer (mostly) only to see one CMLL luchador, and CMLL still isn’t offering a way to watch all their luchadors for any amount of money unless I come to the building.

AAA did some clean up on their roster page yesterday. Konnan’s profile, removed when he was storyline fired back in February, is back up and the latest Mascarita Sagrada has gotten his own page. The profiles for long gone Teddy Hart and recently gone LA Park are removed. Dr. Wagner Jr., who was just announced as back on TripleMania, is also gone. A recent WON mentioned Wagner’s status is back up in the air. Wagner’s not any upcoming TV tapings and has only worked one spot show for AAA (last Wednesday in SLP), but he hasn’t worked a lot of shows since TripleMania and hasn’t made any public comments about his status this time around. That’s probably going to change in the next few days – Wagner’s on a LEGEND show tomorrow in Arena Lopez Mateos and a mid-week AAA spot show in Arena Neza.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are introducing a luchador mascot named “D-Backs Luchador.” La Mascara thinks that’s a generic name. There’s lucha promotions around Arizona, and the bio page mentions him wrestling for one of them, so he’s an actual luchador and not an actor in a mask.

Rob has highlights of 12/04/12 CMLL.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

Links

• A 22 year old lucha libre promoter in McAllen, Texas putting on free shows for children.
• Rompe Huesos looks back at El Santo.
• Porra Fresa likes the Infierno en el Ring cage match build.
• La Catedral says angry luchadors beating up poor luchadors to get rid of them is a bad idea.
• Bio of Ludark Shaitan.
• Lucha libre press conference looks like a lucha libre press conference.

Lucha Libre in Japan

07/19 NOAH: nothing interesting in results (except maybe for ex-AAA Black Buffalo being in a match with Pesadilla), but they did announce Ricky Marvin would defend the XNL (Chile) World Championship versus Pesadilla on 07/24.

Lineups

Still no lineup for next Tuesday at Arena Mexico.

IWRG (SUN) 07/28/2013 Arena Naucalpan
1) Sky Ángel vs Fulgore II
2) Centvrión, Freelance, Golden Magic vs Alan Extreme, Dragón Celestial, Imposible
3) Extreme Tiger, Trauma I, Trauma II vs Cerebro Negro, Heddi Karaoui, Saruman
4) Dinamic Black vs Oficial 911 [WWS WELTER]
Dinamic Black is champion. First defense.
5) Black Terry, Pasion Kristal, Veneno vs Bugambilia, Fuerza Guerrera, Oficial AK47 [lumberjack strap]
6) Devil Rocker, Machine Rocker, Soul Rocker vs Eterno, Máscara Año 2000 Jr., Súper Nova

Some good matches here (and, on the other side, that lumberjack strap match.) Hope the second match airs but unsure what AYM will do with a six match show.

IWRG also announced the 08/11 show would be the annual Festival de las Mascaras, where older luchadors wear their masks for one night. They plan to honor Pierroth.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

The coverage of El Hijo del Santo’s press conference mostly skips over the announcer of next weekend’s card to hype Hijo del Santo vs Dr. Wagner vs LA Park possible match for 09/01. Santo told a story that he and Park’s grudge goes back to 1988, when they had a fight in a locker room and had to be pulled part. Santo says he told Park he had no grudge against him, jut wanted to be treated with respects but figures LA Park must’ve held a grudge for 25 years and just waited for the moment to strike. Santo also explains the martinete is banned in Mexico because the rings are so harder in other places, making the move even more devastating. Santo says he will retire from lucha libre if he doesn’t feel he can return in good condition, he doesn’t want to risk his life! Santo also said he would’ve been in the semimain if he had not been hurt, and Rayman is taking his spot. That’s the hardest part to believe.

Santo was very careful to say the three way mask match could happen, suggesting the date could change or the match could fall apart. Still, he’s going to need something to blame if it doesn’t work out. Perhaps his injury recover will take too long to return for such a match if it looks like the match won’t happen?

Santo and Emiliano Cruz, listed as the legal representative of TxT, say the Lady Apache vs Esther Moreno vs Rossy Moreno match in July could lead to an apuesta match between the three headlining an August show. Santo is not high on the idea of cage matches, but something else could be figured out.

I’m with Santo, I am not particularly enthusiastic about cage matches. I really like some of the rivalries going into this. Rush is good versus everyone for different reasons, but Rush versus  Negro Casas (where Negro might not be able to trick his way out of this one) is great, and the interplay with Maximo as Rush’s last defender is good. Blue Panther versus cowardly Averno is fun too, and I’d love to see them in the singles match they’ve thrown out. A cage match just isn’t that – it’s teasers of the possible exciting matches (which are often dropped with no explanation as soon as the cage match is over), and guys wandering around brawling with each other. There will definitely be a minute or two of really fun action between those guys, but not a lot, and not more than you might get in a trios match or you saw in the cibernetico this past week. Cage matches are suited to doing some big spots – everyone’s going to attack Rush at some point, and Mr. Aguila or someone is jumping off the top of the cage early on – but they’re not great for the long battles I’d like to see, and they’re going to be compromised by everyone bumping into each other unless the feuds make it to the end.

And that’s sort of the deal with the cage matches: there’s a lot of feuds you’d like to see settled, and you’re never going to actually see them settled. This cage match isn’t that different. There are guys and issues who have been built up, and there are people who just seem assigned to make up the numbers. Rey Escorpion isn’t really feuding with anyone here (Rush has made that clear repeatedly), but he’s vaguely not getting along with people. Mr. Aguila is a bit more of a stretch. Rey Bucanero seems to be in this match only because they forgot Terrible was headed to Japan this month. There’s plenty of history (Shocker, Aguila) to explain why Bucanero should want to be in this match, but there’s no effort have been made. I can’t think of a reason why Porky is here at all. All those guys are in the match, and all of them are the most likely losers.

This is better than the usual CMLL cage match where names are pulled out of hat, given one week build, and thrown in a cage as if it’s supposed to be an impressive things. (See: the minis cage match one month ago.) CMLL either tried to create some compelling issues, or just stumbled into them when they throw good luchadors at each other. It still doesn’t change that they all end in a cage, and everyone has struggled to make a cage match interesting once they all get inside.

Blue Panther says he got in the cage match to get to Averno, so he’d prefer to take his hair, but would be okay with Rey Escorpion or Negro Casas.

Fusion aired this afternoon with Argenis & Super Fly vs Dizzy & Argos & Perros vs Mirreyes from Ecatepec. Everything else should end up on Sin Limite and UTDN. This week’s Tercera Caida is also up, where Espiritu Maligno is maybe angry with me and you for doubting him. Probably mostly me. (I haven’t seen it yet.) There’s also a behind the scenes video interview with Porky and Villano V and Jose visits to Arena Puebla and interview with the cage match participants.

CMLL on Galavision is again moved to 4pm CT this week.

La Catedral theorizes Vangelis won En Busca de Un Idolo because most of the people who voted are people who watch the cable shows where he’s got a stronger presence.  He also credits Vangelis being the one strong rudo in the group while tecnicos split their votes.

Rob has highlights of 06/14/13 CMLL.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

• Links
• Great lucha libre photography.
• Cibernetico & Electroshock beat Perro Aguayo Jr. & Silver King in Arena Aficion, in a three fall full of fouls.
• Hijo del Santo’s column is mostly a reprint of an old Box Y Lucha interview with the original Espectro.
• Hijo del Fantamsa is still in CMLL. You remain allowed to talk to whoever you’d like on Twitter.

Lucha Libre in Japan
07/18 NOAH: Pesdailla [O] & Dual Force b Genba Hirayanagi & Maybach SUWA Jr. [X]

Surprised the Pesadilla/Dual Force team got a win in this tournament. They’re 1-1 in this very slow progressing tour. Their next match is on 07/20 versus the Mexitosos.

Lineups

IWRG (SUN) 07/21/2013 Arena Naucalpan
1) Cristal, Seiya, Sky Ángel vs Araña de Plata, Fulgor I, Kimera
2) Astro Rey Jr., Golden Magic, Miss Gaviota vs Dagora, Imposible, Saruman
3) Chico Che, Emo Extreme, Hijo de Pirata Morgan vs Eterno, Súper Nova, X-Fly
4) Black Terry, Extreme Tiger, Veneno vs Fuerza Guerrera, Máscara Año 2000 Jr., Scorpio Jr.
5) Dinamic Black vs Decnnis [IWRG Rey del Ring]
Dinamic Black’s first defense

Main event should be fun.

Dagora was on the June FILL show. Kimera is a new name.