Day: January 15, 2014

FantasticaMania day 2, Atlantis/Niebla, Super Porky

thecubsfan
photo by Miguel Reducindo

CMLL (MON) 01/13/2014 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Comunicate Digital, El Popular (cover), Plantilla Deportiva, Porra Fresa]
1) Disturbio & Inquisidor b Black Tiger & Meyer
2) Canelo Casas, Espiritu Negro, Fuerza Chicana b Camaleón, Flyer, Tigre Rojo Jr.
3) Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr., Tritón DQ Misterioso Jr., Puma, Tiger
Rudos fouled Triton. Puma and Tirantes had an animated argument after the DQ, which is becoming a pattern.
4) Dragón Rojo Jr., Pierroth, Pólvora b Blue Panther, Super Porky, Valiente
Porky was stretchered after a second fall move – it sounds like something where Polvora and Pierroth were supposed to catch Super Porky, but Pierroth didn’t realize it, Polvora couldn’t hold up Porky himself, and Porky fell on his head. The doctor on scene said he should rest for 15 days. Rudos won 1/3.
5) Atlantis, La Máscara, Shocker b Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
(Valiente was mistakenly listed as replacing Terrible.) Bucanero’s first match here since 06/03. Rudos took 1/3, only losing the second by excessive violence. Bucanero used the ropes to pin Shocker in the third, which sets up a singles match next week.

It would be nice if Pierroth hurting someone meant this was the end of Pierroth. If that’s not the breaking point, there probably isn’t one.

I have no idea how we ended up with five reports on a Puebla show. Maybe CMLL Miguel is covering them ongoing now?

CMLL NJPW (WED) 01/15/2014 KBS Hall, Kyoto, Japan [Keeping the Spirit Alive, NJPW, Strong Style Spirit]
***CMLL NJPW FantasticaMania 2014***
Attendance: 1000
1) Bushiroad & Titán b Gedo & Jado
8:55. Titan pinned Gedo with Titanics.
2) Fuego, Rey Cometa, Stuka Jr. b Rey Escorpión, Shigeo Okumura, Vangellys
7:33. Fuego beat Vangelis (with La Flashina?)
3) Taichi & Taka Michinoku b Jushin Liger & Máximo
9:51. Taichi beat Maximo with a Gedo clutch + testicular claw
4) Máscara Dorada & Naito b Kushida & Volador Jr.
11:32. Swapped partners from yesterday. Naito goes 2-0 as Dorada beats Volador.
5) Mistico & Rush b Mephisto & Shinsuke Nakamura
12:13. Rush and Mistico wore half/half masks to the ring. Mistica on Mephisto. Nakamura & Rush fought after the match.
6) El Desperado, Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Sombra b Niebla Roja, Okada, Último Guerrero
11:40. Desperado beat Niebla Roja. Ultimo Guerrero and Sombra faced off post match and Sombra talked about making their singles match into a title match.

The tour takes a break until Friday, the ‘All CMLL’ show with Volador versus Sombra.

photo by Alexis Salazar

CMLL (TUE) 01/14/2014 Arena Mexico [CMLL, Yahoo! Deportes]
1) Leono & Magnus b Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Oro Jr., Robin, Stigma b Espanto Jr., Herodes Jr., Inquisidor
Oro replaced Soberano on Monday. Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Cancerbero, Guerrero Negro Jr., Raziel b Hombre Bala Jr., Sagrado, Súper Halcón Jr.
Rudos took 1/3.
4) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Sangre Azteca [lightning]
Maya won with the Sacrifica.
5) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Cachorro b Negro Casas, Puma, Tiger
Divino Laguneros took 2/3. Blue Panther used the ropes to beat Negro Casas, who was enraged someone would cheat to defeat him.
6) Delta, Super Porky, Valiente b Boby Zavala, Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora
Brazo de Plata wrestled despite his injury. Delta pinned Dragon Rojo.

Luchadors are tough (and take silly risks.) Still, someone in charge should be giving Brazo de Plata the night off.

CMLL (TUE) 01/14/2014 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [@acogdl]
1) Ráfaga b Leo
2) El Rebelde, Hechicero, Hooligan b Dragon Lee, Star Jr., Starman
Rudos took 1/3, Hechicero beating Dragon Lee in the third.
3) Dark Angel, Estrellita, Silueta b Amapola, Princesa Blanca, Tiffany
Tecnicos took 2/3.
4) Gallo, Smaker, Tritón b Felino, Gran Guerrero, Virus
Rudos took 1/3, Felino beating Triton.
5) Atlantis, Diamante Azul, Shocker DQ Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
Tecnicos took 2/3, the last with Niebla taking Atlantis mask in the third. This sets up a singles match between the two next week.

That’s two Niebla/Atlantis matches in three days. Hechicero beats Dragon Lee!

Mae Young passed away yesterday.  CMLL has a note on her passing. Her career stretched so long, she wrestled in the building that proceeded Arena Coliseo in 1942. She returned in 1945 in the new Arena Coliseo, main eventing and selling out those shows.

A(nother) lucha libre expo (“Esto si es Lucha Libre”) is coming to Mexico City on April 2nd, and they’re announcing an adjunct Hall of Fame. Silvia Gomez and Ray Mendoza are listed as organizers. They’ve announced the initial class: Salvador Luttertoth, Francisco Flores, Antonio Peña, Tarzán López, Cavernario Galindo, Rayo de Jalisco, Ray Mendoza, El Faraón, Villano III, Ringo Mendoza, El Solitario, Dos Caras, Rito Romero, Blue Demon, Alfonso Dantes, Irma González, Estela Molina, Babe Face and Gory Guerrero.

I don’t care how annoying Hijo del Santo or Hijo del Santo’s wife are – if you’re doing a lucha libre Hall of Fame without El Santo, you are making yourself look dumb. (The criteria is “those who dignified lucha libre”, which makes it a nice change of pace Pena made it.) Maybe that was explained somewhere outside of this press article? Huracan Ramirez, Mil Mascaras and Black Shadow should also be on any list, and there are names on that list that I wouldn’t have considered as the first 24 people in a hall of fame.

The 80 Years of Lucha Libre exhibition will now be kept on Paseo de la Reforma for an extra month, thru February 26. It’ll move to the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in March, then to San Luis Potosi in May.

Rey Hechicero talks about his CMLL stint with Fuego en el Ring; he only found out about the chance for the first match on 12/26 and immediately said yes.

ChilangaMask announced Dr. Cerebro & Eterno versus Tijuana’s Xtorm & Zarco for their 03/23 show. The TJ guys get good reviews from people who go those those shows. Eterno should continue attending shows with a crutch even when he’s healthy, just so Super Nova & X-Fly can keep hitting people with them.

Rob has highlights of 10/29/13 CMLL.

Marco Corleone writes about Rocky Romero’s lucha libre career.

The Gladiatores interviews Espartaco, who turns out to be from Colombia. (This is why we have the ? category!)

WWL talks more about their plans for Mexico, hopes to work with AAA and other companies.

Segunda Caida reviews Gringos VIP vs DocCerebro/Terry/Bombero.

CMLL Gaceta recaps the recent feuds and debuts.

Lineups

CMLL (MON) 01/20/2014 Arena Puebla
1) Águila Egipcia & Asturiano vs Artillero & Súper Comando
2) Metálico & Metatrón vs Espíritu Maligno & Hijo del Signo
3) Dark Angel, Estrellita, Goya Kong vs Dalys, Princesa Blanca, Princesa Sugheit
4) Blue Panther, Super Porky, Valiente vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Pierroth, Pólvora
5) Atlantis, Diamante Azul, La Máscara vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
6) Shocker vs Rey Bucanero

Shocker took Bucanero’s mask, fifteen years ago. We’re all getting old.

No FantasticaMania luchadors (which is probably for their best.) Super Porky keeps on working.

AAA RCH (SAT) 02/15/2014 Canchas de Futbol Colonia El Zapote
1) Araña de Plata & Látigo vs Atomik Star & Electro Boy
2) Anubis Black, Freelance, Golden Magic vs Arez, Comando Negro, Impulso
3) Ludxor & Niño Hamburguesa vs Carta Brava Jr. & Steve Pain
4) Faby Apache & Lolita vs Sexy Lady & Taya Valkyrie
5) Monsther Clown, Murder Clown, Psycho Clown vs Hijo del Fantasma, Máscara Año 2000 Jr., Texano Jr.

Part of an RCH tour (though I realize I don’t exactly know where this show is located.)

top six stories of the last two weeks

thecubsfan
  1. AAA was a major topic at an El Rey press conference. The show itself was announced for the third or fourth time, now with the Voice’s Mark Burnett being added as an executive producer. The start date was pushed back again, to a nebulous “second half of 2014”, but it’s been confirmed it’ll be taped in Los Angeles. There’s also talk of TV specials and PPVs.
  2. Negro Casas defeated Titan to win the 2013(ish) Leyenda de Plata tournament, then defeated Volador Jr. the next week. Both matches were fun, though Volador’s tecnico turn doesn’t seem to be quite working. Negro is meanwhile feuding with Blue Panther and his recently debuted sons, and CMLL still occasionally brings up his signed but never resolved hair match with Rush. (Negro getting those big wins might have been a build up for that hair match, but it also might have just been CMLL randomness.)
  3. CMLL/NJPW’s FantasticaMania tour kicked off. The opening show from Osaka on uStream iPPV without problems (besides the music muting) and sold out the building. There was talk abotu coming back to Osaka in a bigger building in 2015. The tour builds to weekend shows in Korakuen Hall, one of which will be on iPPV. Mistico is the favorite to beat Mephisto in one title match on the Saturday iPPV, while the Mascara Dorada & Voaldor Sunday title match (not iPPV) is more a toss up.
  4. AAA hasn’t taped TV this year yet (that’ll happen Friday), but announced three TV tapings for late January and early February. Those include a previously unannounced show in the retown of Guerrero Negro, where the local big business is sponsring the show. All three shows include first round four way matches for this year’s Rey de Reyes matches. The lineups suggest Texano versus Mesias may be the next AAA mega title match, but not much is for sure.
  5. Sin Cara’s contract ran out? Maybe? No one’s saying anything, though he was said to visit backstage at a recent CMLL show. Sin Cara has only announced he’s running a lucha show to celebrate the first anniversary of his gym.
  6. CMLL’s debuted many new luchadors to start 2014. Black Panther, Cachorro, Dragon Lee, El Rebelde, Espiritu Negro, are all brothers or sons of current CMLL wrestlers. Star Jr. (son of indy wrestler Starboy) and Rey Hechicero (Monterrey luchador) have also been added to lineups. CMLL’s also now promoting it’s Tuesday Arena Mexico shows as Nuevo Valores Martes, focused on new stars.
  • Super Porky suffered a neck injury that should keep him out 15 days. He’s working anyway. Zacarias the parrot separately a head injury and is actually out for a couple weeks, and Astral is out after suffering a leg injury to end this year’s Pequeno Reyes del Aire (which was won by Electrico.)
  • Santo Jr. (the son of Hijo del Santo) said he plans on returning to Japan this summer and debuting in Mexico as Tempestad later this year.
  • In Guadalajara Leo & Xavier Cruz Jr. took Disturbio & Acertijo’s hair. Mini Rock Spirit lost his hair in an IWRG cage match.
  • Titan kept his title over Averno in Guadalajara, and Mephisto kept his over Atlantis in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara.