1999 Coahuila/Durango lineups added

I really didn’t expect to have this done so quick (and didn’t really, last week’s post was scheduled in advance.) I did figure out where the Advanced Search and found the date search. It’s a lot of easier to find missing shows when you’re going thru them in order! I probably got all of the 2000 lineups, I’m certain I got all of the 1999 ones. It will be a longer time before I have the 1998 ones (assuming I remember to do them next.)

Since that took less time, I did some other stuff. In addition to the HTML export, I’ve got a text only. The text one has ID codes for the wrestlers I’m tracking inside {} brackets. (The first number is the key for the person, the second is for the identities – Disck Jocker and Cesar Andrade are distinct identities, for instance.) I don’t know if this is helpful for anyone, but it’ll be nice for me when my database inevitably blows up and I try to put it back together.

I don’t have as many notes on this bunch.

– Brillante remains strange. He’s retired as the year starts, but comes out of retirement in January. Brillante is Durango Welterweight and Laguna Welterweight champion despite being officially retired, but maybe he’s back to drop the titles? No, the opposite – he beats Mestizo to win the DF Welterweight championship too. Brillante comes out of retirement again in March, this time on a benefit show for Espanto Jr./Pentagon, and puts all three titles on the line versus Mestizo’s hair. It’s not clear what happens, but Mestizo is back next week for a referee’s hair match (which suggests a screwy finish or maybe even a draw.)

– Espanto Jr. is listed as promoted for Arena Olimpico Laguna de Gomez Palacio for a little while, then the shows disappear, then someone else is running them. I’m not sure what’s happened, but it’s unusual for the papers to mention the promoters at all. (That might be a word limit issue.)

– Despite Brillante winning all the titles, titles don’t seem to mean much. They’re rarely defended and there’s no steady chain of custody. Either titles (there are Durango, Coachula and Laguna belts local belts listed) are mistaken for each other, or they’re switched without a match even being announced. The shows are built around personal issues leading to hair and mask matches, if they’re built to anything at all.

– This is Ultimo Rebelde’s first full year back in Laguna after Promo Azteca fell apart (and he lost his hair), and he’s main eventing all over the place. The future Hooligan won the year end Rudo of the Year award, but actually spends a least some of the year as a tecnico. Black Warrior back home for a couple weeks, a Rebelde/Warrior team ended with them challenging each other, and Rebelde took the NWA Light Heavyweight champion to a draw in the blowoff match. Rebelde has hair matches against El Vandalo, against possibly against “La Mascara II”.

– Ultimo Rebelde’s most interesting match might have not happened. He was supposed to team up with Ultimo Guerrero (around for a few matches, mostly fawned over for going to Japan) on 11/04 against Pimpinela Escarlata & Sexy Guerrero. That would seem to be the first time the two teamed up since UG left Promo Azteca and Rebelde lost his mask on his own. The main event on that show is supposed to be Hijo del Santo defending the WWA Welterweight Title against Hijo del Espanto. Except, six weeks later, it’s mentioned Ultimo Guerrero somehow ended up as the challenger again, and it turned out to be the best match in the area all year. Ultimo Guerrero was made a star in 2000 by the Infernals break up with Satanico and by facing El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas in tag matches, so you’ve got to think having a great match with Santo a year before help convince everyone he was worth the effort.

– Hijo del Santo wrestles more often in small arenas in La Laguna in 1999 then he has anywhere in the last five years combined. Hijo del Santo pre-veto is a different guy with a totally different strategy (and the indies really miss the old Santo.)

– Ultimo Guerrero also faced AAA’s Duro (Mascara Sagrada Jr.) and Directo (La Parka Jr.) in a trios match which will never be repeated. Again, the AAA TV taping gets no more attention than any other show.

– Arana 2000 (future Misterioso) disappears for a few months, with the paper saying he was starting in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara. Our results from that period of time in ACG are about non existent.

– There are less shows this year. The Friday night show Arena Gerrado shows aren’t happening in 2000. It gets busier as the year goes on, and they seem to be running the bigger buildings more often, but the volume is less than the following year.

– April 4th show in Auditorio Municipal Torreon has to be the strangest show of the year. Old rivals Stuka I and Jerry Estrada have a great singles match and then it goes off the rails. A Herodes/Valente Fernandez supre libre match somehow end in a DQ, never a good sign. The main event was a heavily promoted Tinieblas (Sr.) vs Medico Asesino mask match. Not only the luchadors had their masks on the line, but the mascots (Alushe & Enfermerito) also had their masks on the line. Tinieblas won, of course, but Medico just walked off without ever unmasking. There was no follow up. Show was promoted by long time Monterrey promoter Carlos Elizondo, so it wasn’t just a fly by night promoter (though that was the last of his shows in the area.) Fradulant shows aren’t new or novel.