CMLL (WED) 01/22/2014 Arena Queretaro [Arena Quereatro]
1) Ultimo Soldado b Power Man
2) Silver Dragon & Super Gallo b Neurosis & Star Tron
3) Drabek I & Drabek II b Robin & Stigma
Robin replaced Soberano. Local vets beat DF rookies.
4) Rey Cometa & Stuka Jr. b Dragón Rojo Jr. & Rey Escorpión
Tecnicos took 1/3. Escorpion challenged Cometa to a hair match.
5) Mr. Niebla & Negro Casas DQ Rush & Shocker
Rudos took 2/3, the last when Rush fouled Negro Casas. Rush had problems with Shocker post match.
Don’t think they’re actually doing Escorpion/Cometa but it’d be interesting to see how many people it’d be if they did. Soberano may be hurt, because this is a few shows he’s missed.
Sin Cara (the name we’re using for the original Mistico going forward) was never really a great lucha libre promo, but he was notorious for off screen agitated rants to the press in his last few years in Mexico. Sin Cara’s back in Mexico and so is his style of being unafraid to say whatever it is on his mind. Sin Cara’s appearance on Tercera Caida was the first part in a process to rehab his star power in Mexico. He blamed WWE for his failure in that promotion and portrayed independence as his own preference, not one imposed on him.
Alfredo has the best recap you’re going to read of the show. The rest of this is me writing about what I could understand and what he wrote.
The name issue is not settled. Sin Cara said he owns that name and said he is not afraid of WWE suing him about it. This seems absurd. (He also claimed to own the Mistico name at times, then later said Hunico came up with it first and CMLL registered it.) Los Coliseinos has his spin on the legal situation around the Mistico & Sin Cara names; the short version is Sin Cara is lying about just about everything. Cesar says CMLL lost it’s petition to own Sin Cara name Mexico, but WWE owns the name (and CMLL owns the Mistico name, which Sin Cara claimed he created and owned.) I think he’s generally right – those names have long been trademarked by those corporations, not the luchador. WWE also would absolutely not continue to use the name if they did not believe they legally owned it.
Sin Cara may get away with using the names on non-TV shows due the complexity of dealing with the Mexican legal system, but AAA or anyone else is not going to make the mistake of getting into a legal dispute with WWE by putting him on TV with that name. It’s in Sin Cara’s best interest to really own his own name going forward. Maybe he’s just reestablishing himself as the true Mistico/Sin Cara before he goes onto the next name.
Sin Cara blames WWE for his problems there. He specifically said there were moves he was told he was no longer allowed to do, including not being told to do certain moves right before he went out for his debut. He defended his decision not to learn English by saying wrestling is a universal language and he had no problem not knowing Japanese when he wrestled in Japan, so the wrestlers in WWE should’ve had no problem working with him. Sin Cara said he didn’t know English, didn’t want to learn English, didn’t understand the point of learning English. He repeatedly claimed WWE never supported him, and his bad performances were because he was mentally beat down by WWE.
Sin Cara had paradoxical things to say about Mistico II. On TV, he tried to take some credit for him and Rush (claimed to be their padrino, which didn’t actually happen) and said he had no problem with him. Later, he wasn’t really happy with Mistico and claimed CMLL makes Mistico’s partners tone down their act not to over shadow him. Sin Cara spoke highly of Paco Alonso and low of the programming department, which is not a change from when he was in CMLL.
Sin Cara’s 02/01 show will be a free show (the ring will be set up on the street in front of the gym.) They’ll easily draw a crowd; they drew a big crowd just by standing around and talking in TVC reception area for twenty minutes. Sin Cara’s last three years did not go the way anyone wanted and he’s been damaged, but he’s also still a star.
Sin Cara’s greater plan for the moment is to cash in on being an ex-WWE star and an ex-Mistico. He probably won’t be going to all the big companies he mentioned, but he’ll be working every small company that’ll pay him what he wants. Sin Cara is still going to AAA, but it’ll be like Blue Demon Jr.’s current deal with AAA – appear on the big shows when they want him, irregularly on regular TV, and working around his outside schedule. (Even if there were no other issues, and there are many other issues, that sort of schedule would not work as well in CMLL.) I’d expect WWL to make a run for him for as soon as those March shows, and the success of FantasticaMania might inspire one of the smaller Japanese promotions to bring him in for an appearance.
Sin Cara mentioning wanting to finishing his feuds with Dr. Wagner & Ultimo Guerrero. He didn’t mention Perro Aguayo Jr., which would be his most popular feud, but I think he was just throwing names out.
MedioTiempo has their recap of the show, as does R de Rudo.
CMLL preview of tonight’s how pushes the main event as a team up between new friends Volador & Mistico. Also, Mascara Dorada will be there. They’ll face Ultimo Guerrero, Niebla Roja and Reapper. There’s been no mention in Mexico of Mistico’s injury on the final FantasticaMania show; it seems like they’ve settled into a routine of it just popping out of his arms at times, but not taking much time off. CMLL pushes the semimain as a return of Negro Casas/Shocker/Rush issue, out of Shocker/Sombra/Rush vs Casas/Averno/Mephisto. That hair match, or even part of that hair match, ought to take place at Dos Leyendas if it’s happening any time soon. Dos Leyendas is eight Fridays from tonight, so CMLL should start moving in that direction.
The Terra show has some good matches, with Diamante Azul/Euforia as the internet TV main event.
Eric R reviews 01/18 Lucha Azteca.
Alfredo recaps this year’s lucha winners in the WON and a recap of last week’s TerceraCaida. Dandy vs Atlantis should main event a Nuevo Valores show some week.
This card is promoting Axel as Nieto del Santo, which may cause some legal issues.
Titan calls Virus one of the best luchadors in CMLL, but he never backs down from a challenge. Very excited for that match; Virus is going to test Titan in a different way than Negro Casas & Averno.
Rey Hechicero & Arkangel de la Muerte vs Solar & Negro Navarro has been added to the ChilangaMask show.
DJ Spectro looks back at La Sombra (the one before this one) vs Supremo II and Dos Caras vs Mazambula.
Zeuxis is off the WWL poster now. They’ll have a press conference for the show next Wednesday.