Day: February 10, 2014

CMLL on Fox Sports (Mexico): 2014-01-04

thecubsfan

 

almost but not quite

recap

taped 2013-12-27 @ Arena Mexico
Blue Panther vs Guerrero Maya Jr., Valiente, Fuego, Máximo, Pegasso, Negro Casas, Rey Escorpión, Mephisto, Pólvora, Reaper, Puma in a Leyenda de Plata Tournament semifinal match: has some good moments, but also had more flawed more and the inexplicable Negro Casas turn an elimination too early. The pinfall breaking up and unexplained fighting guys on the same team spots hurt elimination matches for me, because of how little sense they make. Last week’s one was better, though this was pretty good at getting Negro over as a técnico (to face Titan? And then Volador? Huh.) Escorpion and Negro were good against each other in the end. It was nice to see Valiente last so long, but he and Mephisto have been far smoother than they were for his elimination. Unfortunate moment for Pegasso before his end too.

Pegasso needs new horseshoes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guerrero Maya Jr. meets the front row

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRT teamwork

Atlantis, Super Porky, Volador Jr. vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys: Anticlimatic paint by numbers main event trios match. There must be some (finical? union?) reasons they do these trios matches after much more interesting ciberneticos, but this did not feel like the bigger match at all. Volador is now doing the stage dive in meaningless trios matches with Vangelis. I wish that wasn’t being dulled as a special spot. I liked him better here in his third fall run than I did in other matches, though he’s still not showing much emotion.

CMLL singles match head to head records

thecubsfan

Negro Casas and Atlantis have been together in CMLL for over 20 years, usually on opposite sides and usually around the top of the card. They’ve faced each other in trios matches countless times. It wasn’t until last month that they had their first ever singles match last month in Puebla last month, as best I can figure.

Atlantis hasn’t had singles match with Rey Escorpion, Rush or Terrible. Averno has never faces Valiente. Valiente hasn’t gotten a lot of singles chances. Sombra hasn’t faced Rey Escorpion. La Mascara hasn’t faced Negro Casas. Blue Panther hasn’t faced Mephisto. And on and on.

CMLL is a tag/trios promotion where singles matches are the gimmick match at the end of feuds, and CMLL doesn’t like to overuse gimmick matches. CMLL does not openly promote matches as different weight group, but it typically only does feuds between wrestlers between similar sizes. Luchadors may be in the same promotion but be quietly classified into separate groups. It’s possible to be in the same company a long time without having a singles match. That’s the complete opposite of US promotions and quite different from Japan groups (where the annual league tournaments causes at least the top guys to face off.) The only major group who probably runs less singles matches is AAA, who run a less feuds in number and a lot less shows.

Rob suggested a while back to put together a list of CMLL wrestlers to see how people had done each other against and which matches had actually happened. He suggested to pick 10 names. Somehow, I came up with 22. These things happen.

We’ve seen CMLL change style a little bit in the last few months, and maybe more singles matches are coming. Right now, this is where they’re at:

cmllsingle

(click to enlarge)

Records are thru 02/07 and never complete. The U number indicated matches which were announced but no results were ever found. Tournament matches are not included unless they’re finals. Singles matches in any location are included.

My big takeaway is Valiente needs to get a singles title and just start defending it against everyone. He’s had some singles matches, but not many against the top guys included here. I knew Marco had not had a lot of singles matches, but I was surprised to see that for him.

It’s also amazing to realize Rush is 0-3 against Rey Bucanero. One of the teased (but not really delivered) El Luchador storylines was Bucanero trying to hold off the young guys coming after him – young guys like Rush. Guess he did that! Rush really doesn’t have the strong W/L record you’d expect – he’s beaten Terrible a bunch but is 50/50 against everyone else.

It’s worth remembering that these numbers are interesting but totally irrelevant to anything they program or even how they hype the matches they program. I knew Dorada had lost to Volador before their FantasticaMania match, but I didn’t realize he had never beaten Volador until I saw this list. It’s going to be a long time before he gets another chance to get that first W too.

02/21 AAA TV Lineup (DF) – last Rey de Reyes group (mostly)

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AAA (FRI) 02/21/2014 Gimnasio Juan De La Barrera
1) Dinastía, Mascarita Sagrada, Mini Drago vs Mini Abismo Negro, Mini Charly Manson, Mini Histeria
2) Drago, Faby Apache, Jennifer Blake vs Pentagón Jr., Sexy Star, Taya Valkyrie
3) Angélico, Australian Suicide, Zumbi vs Demon Rocker, Machine Rocker, Soul Rocker
4) Crazy Boy, Fénix, Joe Lider vs Daga, Juventud Guerrera, Steve Pain
5) Psycho Clown vs ?, Texano Jr., Psicosis [Rey de Reyes]
Group 4
6) Cibernético, Electroshock, Jack Evans, La Parka vs Chessman, el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Jeff Jarrett, Zorro

Air Date: 03/01 and probably 03/08.

Clearly, the big surprise is MINI DRAGO. If he does the same nunchucks bit and brings them to the ring, there’s a 99% chance Abismo and Histeria will accidentally knock themselves out. And it will be great!

So…if the Rey de Reyes champion is meant to face the mega champion at TripleMania, why is the mega champion in this tournament? If Texano wins, would he just have his dancers perform for 20 minutes? He’s not going to win. Psycho’s probably not going to win either because than AAA’s done from 2 matches teased for Rey de Reyes to 1. Psicosis doesn’t really make sense in a final, which leaves the mystery person. AAA loves to make big news on shows in Mexico City in front of the Mexico City press. Their last two TV tapings here have had Heavy Metal jump from CMLL in 2010 and La Secta causing the Cibernetico/Perro Aguayo. Someone jumping from CMLL and immediately getting a meaningful win like Fantasma did last year would work as a possibility and they are teasing a big surprise. I dunno who.

(No, Sin Cara and Sombra don’t make sense. I believe Sombra when he says he’s happy in CMLL and you’d advertise Sin Cara if he had match because that’s going to sell tickets.)

At this point, the only thing we know for sure is the Rey de Reyes final is on Rey de Reyes. Texano/Psycho still seems likely, and something along the lines of the main event (a big tag match with Jarrett involved) is probably also on the card. The rest of the show is still fuzzy. The Fenix/Fantasma feud isn’t picked up here; Fenix and Daga are thrown into the Mexican Powers/Anarquia feud. Mexican Powers and Anarquia keep facing each other, which probably means a Rey de Reyes match of some sort with them, but they already did the street fight so I’m not sure what else. AAA has basically has three gimmick matches – street fight, (multiman) ladder, and (multiman) cage. Neither of those teams have a belt, but maybe another team or singles champion gets brought in? Or maybe it’s a cage just because they like to use the cage a few times a year? These guys seem more like a ladder guys than cage guys.

There’s probably something with Faby Apache on Rey de Reyes, but previous shows pointed towards a mixed tag match and this segunda seems to be setting up a Reina de Reinas match instead. That’s 5 anyway, which might be enough. Tercera looks like it’ll be good and is a chance to get the tecnicos (Angelico in particular) in front of the DF crowd. It doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere, but we’re going to get an unexpected match somewhere.

Zumbi’s a regular in this building (where he’s normally a rudo), but with TxT. He switched from AAA to TxT back in June and now is back. Zumbi’s not a debilitating blow by any means*, but it’s a good moment to note it’s February and there hasn’t been any talk about a Santo-less TxT in months. Santo loudly went to the press last time AAA ran this building (because he was planning on running it) and hasn’t said much this time. It could just be that Santo’s in his bubble and doesn’t know.

I hope, someday, AAA gives Pentagon Jr. something to do. Facing Drago is something good to do until then.

* except for my ability to reference obscure AAA luchadors who haven’t popped up in a while – where is Saturno? (And is there a plan for this rotating spot for the guys on the fringes of AAA’s roster? It’s a nice deal.)

Next taping is 03/03 in Irapuato.

Familia de Tijuana breakup?, Arkangel/Gallo

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IWRG (SUN) 02/09/2014 Arena Naucalpan [The Gladiatores]
1) Hijo De La Bestia & Power Bull b Vampiro Metálico & Zumba
Main show debuts for Zumba (who is different than Zumbi) and Vampiro Metalico (who appears to be a new Vampiro Metalico.)
2) Fulgor I & Fulgor II b Hip Hop Man & Látigo
Straight falls.
3) Dragón Celestial, Emperador Azteca, Sky Ángel b Atomic Star, Douki, Electro Boy
Dragon submitted Douki
4) Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, X-Fly b Alan Extreme, Golden Magic, Relámpago
Rudos took 2/3, 911 sneaking a foul in on Veneno. Oficials want a tag title shot.
5) Hijo De Dos Caras, Máscara Púrpura, Vampiro Canadiense b Cien Caras Jr., Eterno, Súper Nova
Super Nova had the chance to beat Vampiro in the first fall, kept pulling him up, and ended up beat. Eterno was not happy about this. Eterno accidentally kicked Super Nova in the second, leading to Vampiro beating Nova again. Straight fall loss. Eterno & Nova argued more. X-Fly tried to calm them down, but Nova shoved down X-Fly. Eterno, X-Fly and Cien turned on Nova and pulled of his mask.

El Protector drove Eterno & Super Nova apart! Those tournaments can be dangerous; I bet the real story about Sombra’s vacation is just depression over losing the block final to Volador & Soberano.

IWRG did seem to be teasing a Purpura/Nova match which doesn’t seem like it’s going to be happening at this point, but this might mean the (well overdue) end of the Familia de Tijuana name as a group here.

Arkangel told Fuego en el Ring how it was totally unfair he lost the FULL title. (Photo is good for Gallo playing keep away with the belt.) Arkangel explains he was just trying to keep the belt from getting dusty by defending it and gives Gallo credit for being good, but he claiming the referee was totally unfair for allowing Gallo’s second (Pollito) to interfere and disqualifying him when Isis just got caught up in the heat of the battle and wanted to support him. Arkangel also explains he also only lost the non-title rematch because of a referee fast count. (That’s not quite the way it aired.) Arkangel thinks, despite losing twice, Gallo should still give him another shot.

This week’s Supre Libre had interviews with Diamante Azul, Silueta and Shocker.

El Coreano, a luchador from the 50-70s who says he was part of the Televiciento promotion, was honored for his 84th birthday at a lucha show this weekend.

Rob has highlights of 05/31/13 CMLL.

Lineup

IWRG (SUN) 02/16/2014 Arena Naucalpan
1) Ángel Del Amor & Dragón Celestial vs Fulgor I & Power Bull
2) Chico Che, Diva Salvaje, Miss Gaviota vs Rayan, Spartaco, Tupac Amaru Jr.
3) Alan Extreme & Veneno vs Oficial 911 & Oficial AK47 [super libre]
4) Golden Magic, Máscara Púrpura, Relámpago vs Eterno, Tony Rivera, Trauma II
5) Hijo De Dos Caras vs Lizmark Jr., Trauma I, Súper Nova, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Hijo del Fishman, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Fresero Jr. [La Rebelión de Los Juniors]
Winner gets a shot at Trauma II for his IWRG Junior de Juniors title.

Hijo de Pirata might be a rudo now and I dunno about Lizmark Jr., so it could be Hijo de Dos versus 7 rudos. Hijo de Dos might still win.

Rayan hasn’t been here since September. His usual partner is Spartan, Spartaco is an indy luchador who could possibly turn up here, so I’m unsure if it’s a typo or not.

IWRG (WED) 02/19/2014 Arena Naucalpan
1) Galaxy vs Matrix Jr.
2) Dragoncito De Oro & Mini Multifacetico vs Mini Black Abyss & Mini Rockerito
3) Cristal, Emperador Azteca, Maiden vs Amazona, La Sádica, Zurdog
4) Alfa, Dragón Celestial, Fulgor I, Imposible, Omega, Power Bull, Seiya, Sky Ángel vs Aztlan, Cheyene, Destino, Jorge Kebrada, Kanon, Onix, Prodigio, Vertize
5) Máscara Púrpura, Relámpago, Súper Nova vs Eterno, Fuerza Guerrera, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000

The return to Wednesday is a lot of a FILL show with an actual main event. (It is a real IWRG show, so Blue Monsther doesn’t make the cut.) It’s not too far off from the normal shows, but I wouldn’t read the return of Wednesday shows as return of sponsorship quite yet. Maybe we’ll have a better idea on next Wednesday.

Super Nova is a tecnico now too, I guess.

02/09 AAA TV Results (Ecatepec) – Perro Jr. advances in Rey de Reyes

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AAA TV (SUN) 02/09/2014 Centro Civico Nueva Aragon, Ecatepec, Estado de Mexico [AAA]
1) Carta Brava Jr., Fresero Jr., Súper Fly b Jinzo, Ludxor, Venum
Super Fly was the mystery luchador and got the win for the rudos with a powerbomb on Jizno.
2) Aerostar, Faby Apache, Jennifer Blake b El Apache, Sexy Star, Taya Valkyrie
Aerostar beat Apache. Super Fly attacked him after, with Ludxor and Venom making the save.
3) Crazy Boy & Joe Lider b Juventud Guerrera & Steve Pain
Street fight. Nino Hamburguesa will be with the Mexican Powers. Crazy put Pain thru a table to win.
4) Chessman, Daga, Pentagón Jr. b Angélico, Australian Suicide, Jack Evans
Pentagon beat Suicide.
5) el Hijo del Perro Aguayo b Cibernético, El Elegido, Electroshock [Rey de Reyes, semifinal]
listed as Group 3. Elegido (by Electroshock) was out first, followed by Electroshock (by Cibernetico). Taya, Sexy and Daga all distracted Cibernetico and Perro fouled him for the win.
6) Fénix, La Parka, Monsther Clown, Psycho Clown b Jeff Jarrett, Parka Negra, Texano, Zorro
Monster Clown replaced Mesias, still out with an arm injury. Psycho Clown beat Texano with a Canadian Destroyer. The Jarretts got into it with Marisela again and get a drink thrown in their face again. La Sociedad celebrated their loss (well, celebrated and ignored their loss) until the tecnicos ran them off.

Air Date: 02/15 and 02/22

AAA reported a sell out, and said they’ve sold out every show so far. (One was a free taping.) It’s another small-ish building, but better selling out than not. Gimansio Juan de la Barrera will be the biggest building they’ve run so far.

Doesn’t seem like there was much advancement on this show. Psycho and Texano are still circling each other, and the Super Fly/Aerostar is continuing. (Seems like Super Fly needs his own guys to combat Aerostar’s guys.)

Perro advancing to the Rey de Reyes final is the biggest news, because it’ll mean he and Cibernetico won’t be linked on a major show for the first time in a year. If the plan is still for the winner of Rey de Reyes to get a title shot at TripleMania, Perro may not be a favorite – neither Perro vs Texano nor Perro vs Psycho seem to make much sense. Zorro vs Psycho is the best I can come up with who’s advanced, but it also may mean the winner is coming out of the yet to be announced fourth block.

I’d guess Cibernetico is getting swept into a Jeff Jarrett-ish trios or atomicos match for Rey de Reyes; there’s a fair bit of guys who have nothing going for them at the moment. That attention reads like it’s going to the Marisela/Karen feud.

Next taping is 02/22 in Gimnasio Olimpico Juan de la Barrera. It’s probably the last taping before they start hyping the Rey de Reyes top matches, it’s in Mexico City, and it’s subtitled “El Regreso A Casa Con Una Gran Sorpresa” (The Return Home With a Great Surprise.” Everything points towards stuff happening on that show, and possibly some important stuff. This was just the prelude to that.

CMLL on CadenaTres: 2014-01-04

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Raziel Driver

recap

taped 2014-01-01 @ Arena Mexico
Pegasso, Sagrado, Sensei vs Puma, Raziel, Sangre Azteca: Though the first fall and half of this was pretty good, but it lost it’s momentum with the second fall DQ (a very quick 10 count for too many rudos in the ring for too long) and the third fall was more ordinary. Puma was over the top in his protest of the DQ and seemed to annoy Tirantes something fierce, but played to the crowd well the rest of the match.

 

bulletman tope

Hombre Bala Jr. vs Súper Halcón Jr., Dragon Lee, Oro Jr., Stigma, Robin, Guerrero Negro Jr., Canelo Casas, Black Panther, Hijo del Signo, Cachorro, Herodes Jr. in  La Copa Junior: Good cibernetico given the guys involved. Black Panther and Cachorro seem to have potential but both also seem still very green. Dragon Lee wasn’t in long enough to really tell. Canelo Casas did fine for his biggest match yet. It didn’t feel like Hombre Bala got to do much here. Halcón appeared to need to lift someone onto his shoulder to do any move; he probably could use a bit more variety. Last bunch of eliminations were super quick; just one move and eliminated until they gave the final two a little time.

 

Zacarias defies physics

La Máscara, Máximo, Valiente vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas: Standard Peste Negra match for the holiday crowd. It was total formula and keeping it easy – no Valiente dive, many Mascara superkicks, Máximo comedy – plus some interacting with the crowd. Puma cheering on his dad was fun.

 

Atlantis gets crushed

Mephisto vs Atlantis for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship: Good match, better than I thought it would be. Action was slow early and Mephisto didn’t seem to have the same cardio as his much older rival, but they got it to feel dramatic by the third. Atlantis doesn’t do a lot but what he does still looks good, and he took that finish like a champ.