Month: January 2015

AULL (SUN) 01/18/2015 Arena Lopez Mateos [Estrellas del Ring]
1) Almagor & Rey Profeta b Palacio Maya & Prehispniac
2) Sky Fly & Vuelo Espacial b Oberón & Pakal
3) Dante, Euro, Filder b Pegazuz, Shibata, Spider Boy
Shibata was hurt in the first fall and left the match. Rudos won straight falls.
4) Chucho el Roto b Iron Love ©, Trauma II, Herejía [AULL HEAVY]
Eliminations went Herejia, Trauma II and Iron Love, with Chucho el Roto winning the title from his friend. Chucho el Roto’s Central American Heavyweight championship might have also been on the line (and the recap phrases this like it was a three way #1 contenders match and then a separate singles match.) Iron Love announced prior to the match that he was going to retire at the end, and later said he was content with losing to his friend in his last match.
5) Hijo de Pirata Morgan & Pirata Morgan vs Negro Navarro & Trauma I
Navarros took 2/3, the last when Trauma II snuck in and fouled Hijo del Pirata. Piratas want a rematch.

Iron Love had been around Arena Lopez Mateos for the better part of a decade. Retirements, especially sudden ones, are rarely forever.

IWRG (SUN) 01/18/2015 Arena Naucalpan[Estrellas del Ring, The Gladiatores]
1) Anubis Black & Atomic Star b Galaxy & Vampiro Metálico
2) Leo, Mike, Rafy, Teelo b Araña de Plata, Dowki, Hip Hop Man, Imposible
Leo beat Impossible and asked for a title shot.
3) Emperador Azteca, Metaleón, Relámpago bApolo Estrada Jr., Avisman, El Hijo del Diablo
Tecnicos took 2/3.
4) Golden Magic, Pantera I, Veneno b Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Rayan
Rayan and the Oficials had problems leading to their loss. Rayan declared the truce been the Oficials and Comando Elite over and demanded a trios match.
5) Chicano, Danny Casas, Hijo De Dos Caras, Súper Nova b Canis Lupus, Eterno, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Universo 2000 Jr.
Appeared to be a four way tag on the poster, but it also said it was an atomicos. Turned into a bloody street fight by the second fall. Straight falls, with Chicano & Danny besting Canis & Eterno and demanding a tag title match. This turned into them having a mask/hair vs hair/hair if Chicano & Casas lost the title match.

Does Leo have to weigh in with his turtle shell? Because clearly there’s going to be weigh-ins for this title match. I had no idea about the Oficials/Comando Elite true and these are all skits I’d like to see.

In a post match interview from the FantasticaMania show, Mascara Dorada said he’d want to challenge Sombra (for the mask) again in a year “when I return.” That sounds like a guy who may not be working much in CMLL even between tours. KUSHIDA mentions that when everyone was leaving the show, the CMLL guys got on the bus to go back to their hotel and Mascara Dorada got on the NJPW bus to go to the dojo. That makes me sad, sending a kid off to college sad.

Working backwards, it looks like this agreement must’ve been made at the mid October NJPW visit to the CMLL office.  Both CMLL and NJPW teased there was more to talked about than FantasticaMania and this had to be the more. The Welterweight championship was vacated a few weeks later and appears to be part of the package. Dorada had the CMLL Welterweight Championship with him in the main event and is taking it with him to NJPW. (He’ll be back in CMLL at least for the Universal tournament if he holds on to it until then.)

 

It’s strange they had Mistico say he wanted a shot at the winner when they knew that wouldn’t be happening, but that’s just a thing you say when you give up a title. The Mascara Dorada loss to Mephisto in Guadalajara which made no sense at the time makes at least a little sense now.

Dorada winning the welterweight title had to be part of whatever agreement has been made here.

(The strange Mephisto beating Dorada result in Guadalajara from a few weeks ago now at least has an explanation if not a great justification.)

Voices of Wrestling has their recap of today’s show.

RobViper uploaded an official AAA 1992 music video of their wrestlers.

CMLL posted highlights from Friday’s show. Top 3 are shown, which seems to have less and less to do with what airs.

Segunda Caida reviews Maximo vs Negro Casas.

A lucha libre political ad for a race in Nuevo Leon.

Lineups

CMLL (FRI) 01/23/2015 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Frezzer vs Furia Roja
2) Javier Cruz Jr. & Metatrón vs Jocker & Sádico
3) Sky Kid & Smaker vs Exterminador & Maléfico
4) Esfinge & Gallo vs Pitbull I & Pitbull II [#1 Contenders, tournament, OCCIDENTE TAG]
5) Estrellita, Goya Kong, Silueta vs La Comandante, La Seductora, Zeuxis
6) Atlantis, Blue Panther Jr., Súper Halcón Jr. vs Mephisto, Mr. Niebla, Niebla Roja

Women’s match being fifth is higher than usual. That would be Silueta’s first match since September; it appears she’s been out with an unspecified injury.

No details on this tag team tournament, other than the Pitbulls appear to be Friday regulars at this point. Sky Kid and Smaker, the champions, are not as important as this tournament and probably should not be expecting to hold the belts long term. I forgot: Olimpico and Boby Zavala are the champions! They’re having a tournament to see who gets a match with Olimpico. I like the tournament winner’s odds.

CMLL (SAT) 01/24/2015 Arena Coliseo
1) Bengala vs Cholo
2) Angelito vs Mercurio
3) Star Jr. vs Disturbio
4) Starman vs Canelo Casas
5) Estrellita vs Amapola
6) Delta & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Pierroth & Sagrado
7) Atlantis, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas

The Arena Coliseo tag feud we thought was happening still does kind of continue in the 6th match. Peste Negra teams up in the main event. I’d expect it to take a few days for any changes based on FantasticaMania injuries or disappearing acts to show up (if they’re announced at all.)

CMLL (SUN) 01/25/2015 Arena México
1) Leono & Robin vs Apocalipsis & Inquisidor
2) Goya Kong, La Vaquerita, Lluvia vs La Comandante, La Seductora, Zeuxis
3) Dragon Lee, Hombre Bala Jr., Súper Halcón Jr. vs Cancerbero, Puma, Raziel
4) Rey Cometa vs Tiger [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Dragón Rojo Jr., Super Porky vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja
6) Atlantis, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Ephesto, Kráneo, Mephisto

A better card than the last few weeks. Puma seems wasted being in the tercera but that match could be lots of fun (and the semimain does not need him) so that’ll work out fine. Cometa seems questionable for the lightning match.

ALL ELITE (SUN) 02/08/2015 Arena México
1) Marco Corleone, Máximo, Valiente vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Shocker, Terrible
2) Atlantis & Extreme Tiger vs Super Crazy & Último Guerrero
Super Crazy is replacing Chavo Guerrero in the tournament.
3) Fuerza Guerrera vs Negro Casas
4) Dr. Wagner Jr. & La Sombra vs LA Park & Volador Jr.

More matches to be announced, but there’s four of them so I’ll at least keep track of them. Matches 2/4 are part of the tournament they were doing last time around. Tickets go on sale tomorrow via Ticketmaster; they haven’t announced the price range, but it’s 50pesos on the cheap side.

CHILANGA MASK (SAT) 01/17/2015 Arena Coliseo San Ramón, Puebla, Puebla [Tercera Caida Facebook]
1) Orion DQ Keira
Keira hit the ref for the DQ.
2) Asturiano b Judas el Traidor
3) Arez, Belial, Impulso b Rey Dragon, Rey Fenix, Tonak
Good match, money thrown in.
4) Trauma I & Trauma II b Tigre Rojo Jr. & Toro Bill Jr.
5) Black Terry & Negro Navarro b Tigre Rojo & Toro Bill Sr.

Porra Fresa said it was a pretty good show. It looks like a pretty full building, so maybe they’ll be back. Clips should turn up on +LuchaTV.

CMLL (SAT) 01/17/2015 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Leono b Camorra
Leono plancha to win.
2) Sensei b Hijo del Signo
Signo missed a plancha and Sensei armbared him.
3) Astral b Pequeño Nitro
Astral submitted Nitro.
4) Virus b Star Jr.
Crowd liked Virus, he won with a motocicleta.
5) Zeuxis b Princesa Sugehit
Zeuxis goes into her title match on Monday on a winning streak, winning over Sugehit with the Caballete
6) Niebla Roja & Rey Bucanero b Blue Panther & Blue Panther Jr.
First team of Panther & Panther as a pair. Rudos took 2/3, Bucanero helping Niebla Roja beat Panther Jr. after he was already been eliminated.
7) Misterioso Jr., Negro Casas, Sagrado b Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr., La Máscara
Mascara did not get along with his partners. Negro pulled Mascara’s mask and pinned him.

so much for the Arena Coliseo Tag Team feud? Virus & Star Jr. was said to be a bueno lucha by a mostly bored onlooker.

CMLL (SUN) 01/18/2015 Arena México [@therealfredo, CMLL]
1) Bengala & Metatrón b El Rebelde & Espanto Jr.
below average bout.
2) Hombre Bala Jr., Robin, Súper Halcón Jr. b Akuma, Artillero, Súper Comando
Tecnicos took 1/3. Said to be good. Robin replaced Molotov, who does not appear to exist but continues to be booked on shows.
3) Cancerbero b Pegasso [lightning]
Cancerbero submitted Pegasso to a motocicleta in 8:42. OK.
4) Delta, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. b Boby Zavala, Sangre Azteca, Virus
Rudos took 2/3. OK. Strange match with a near 15 minute first fall, with Fuego & Sangre Azteca especially going a long way in the opener – seemingly killing time rather than building towards something, then ending with moves the rudos don’t normally use as finishes. Rest of the falls were more normal.
5) Blue Panther, Máximo, Valiente b Ephesto, Hechicero, Niebla Roja
Tecnico took 1/3. Said to be good.
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Marco Corleone, Super Porky b Kráneo, Olímpico, Rey Bucanero
Tecnicos took 2/3 in a heavy comedy main event.

There were no stories coming in or out of this show. Some good TV matches but nothing must see. The fourth match is going to look good based on the time and those involved, but it really was not. I don’t know what was going on but it was clear something was off the rails for quite a while. This show went almost as long as last week’s with no dance numbers or other extra material.

The news from the show was actually the announcers (both on commentary and the ring announcer) heavily pushing the All Elite show. They treated it with the same amount of promotional push they’d give for a Dos Leyendas or a Sin Piedad major CMLL show, and repeatedly mentioned the outsider names (LA Park, Dr. Wagner, Fuerza Guerrera) who wouldn’t be part of any CMLL show. Again, I’m not sure what’s going on here but it’s clear something is going on here. Either All Elite is backing up the truck to pay off CMLL for this promotion, or people in CMLL are weirdly using the All Elite group as a front to book people “CMLL” can’t book. It’s a pretty big leap to get the latter idea, but it’s a weird situation for CMLL to be treating it like it’s own show even when it’s not. Presumably, Toryumon/Dragon’s sponsors pay a fair bit for Arena Mexico every year, but this is not something CMLL does for him.

The advertisements gave the impression this would be the regular 02/08 show – really, they gave the impression this was a CMLL special show subtitled “All Elite” – so it now leans towards it airing on Terra. We probably won’t know until lineups come out for that week, but this is very strange.

I had all sorts of trouble recording the show – long story short, what they’ve done means it’s unlikely the feed will die completely, but means sometimes they’re not even offering the higher quality feeds, which is a problem when you’re trying to record those feeds – so the video links won’t be live until later and will be in lesser video quality than usual. They went way long like last week, only this time it automatically flipped over into another feed instead of losing the show entirely like last week. 7:18 local appeared to be cut off time, for whatever reason.

They’d announced they’d be back in Arena Mexico next week. They’re usually back in Arena Coliseo on in January, but maybe Sabados Retros have changed things.

LI (SUN) 01/18/2015 Auditorio de Santo Tomas Chiconautla, Ecatepec, Estado de México

2) La Hielera & Miss Janeth b Xena & Yuca La Potranquita
Xena replaced Lady Apache.
3) Corsario Negro Jr., Magnifico, Ojo de Tigre Jr. b Brujo Maya, Hijo De Villano III, Villano III Jr.
4) Aguila Solitaria, El Hijo de Aníbal, Solar I b Histeria II, Perro Del Ring, Rambo
Solar challenged Rambo to a singles match.
5) Canek, Heavy Metal, Villano III b Máscara Año 2000, Mr. Jack, Shu el Guerrero
Villano III replaced Fantasma. Mascara brawled with Heavy Metal post match. Heavy demanded a hair match.

The Leyendas Inmortales show is now being produced by the Tercera Caida/+LuchaTV crew. They started with the Arena Aficion show this past week. It’s easy to tell the difference; the show looks much better, the interviews are tighter and better produced, and the matches get some time.  I’m so far behind that I haven’t posted recaps of some of the other shows, but the previous versions of the show was not entertaining or effective (I really did not like them); if you’re like me, it’s probably worth your time to give the show another chance.

The last FantasticaMania show is in a few hours, airing live on NJPW World. It’s the best show of the tour on paper. Rey Cometa should be good to go against Barbaro Cavernario and Sombra/Dorada will either be one of the best matches of the year or there are going to be a lot of fantastic matches this year.

There’s no official update on Mr. Niebla’s situation. NJPW’s recap mentioned Rey Cometa’s knee injury when he was out, but did not give a reason for Niebla. I’d like to give Niebla the benefit of the doubt, but his history is not good. NJPW evidently made the decision to take Niebla off both shows before the Korakuen Hall show; Yujiro becoming quick friends with Mephisto was a setup for changes on the upcoming card. Mephisto & Yujiro (instead of Gran Guerrero) now face Stigma & Angel de Oro, while Gran Guerrero moves up to take Niebla place in the semimain atomicos.

(It doesn’t really matter, but Mephisto splitting from Ephesto going with TRT would actually work fine with me. Ephesto and Hombre Sin Nombre can either find another third partner and move down the card, or just become auxiliary Guerreros.)

NJPW photos and report on their annual autograph party with some of the tecnicos

 

There’s no match announced yet, but Goya Kong and Muneca de Plata are pictured on the 02/15 REINA show so they’re heading back to Japan at some point.

Enrique & Oscar preview AAA’s taping in Naucalpan this Friday.

Cronicas y Leyendas looks back at Mil Mascaras vs TNT.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update and the latest edition of the LuchaWorld podcast, where Kurt has actually watched a lot of lucha libre.

Segunda Caida recaps some random CMLL, including the Dragon Lee/Kamaitachi match which kicked off their feud.

SuperLuchas looks back at El Dandy vs Blue Panther in a 1992 title match and an El Torero show from 1982. Somehow I have 12 shows from that day, but that not that or the Arena Naucalpan show that Teddy found. (Bad picture taking, probably.)

Bobby Lee talks about his career and his new book.

Guerrero Maya Jr. says he’s not scared of Hechicero.