Month: June 2016

CMLL (FRI) 06/24/2016 Arena México [@therealfredo, +LuchaTV, CMLL, Kronosport, Notimex]
1) Mercurio & Pierrothito b Shockercito & Stukita
2) Bobby Z, Puma, Tiger b Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr., Titán
Great match.
3) Zeuxis © b Princesa Sugehit [MEX WOMEN]
Zeuxis took 2/3, the last with a Spanish Fly.. Great match, money thrown in. Zeuxis 5thh known defense (fifth was in Japan for REINA).
4) Rey Cometa, Súper Porky, Valiente b Cavernario, Felino, Mr. Niebla
straight falls, quick match to build up to next week’s title match.
5) Kushida, Marco Corleone, Mistico DQ La Máscara, Shocker, Terrible
Kushida’s CMLL debut. Mascara unmasked Mistico for the DQ.
6) Sam Adonis, Tama Tonga, Tangaroa b Atlantis, Diamante Azul, Volador Jr.
Tanga Roa & Sam Adonis’ debut in Arena Mexico with a win.

Didn’t see more than a few seconds of this show. I read the feed had lots of trouble during the first few matches, which were the best matches. (I did record it, but have no idea what I got. I don’t expect it to be much.) Zeuxis/Sugehit was strong but maybe a few minutes too long and the second match was the expected fun. Zeuxis talked about her win. The Foreign Legion promised to win next week, as did Rey Cometa.

Before the show, all 16 people in the Gran Prix were presented in the ring for a short press conference. CMLL announced Addias was sponsoring the tournament and supplying the warmup gear. On Twitter, Sexy Star wondered aloud if the luchadors would actually be able to use the gear, or would charged by the company if they lose them, implying that’s the situation with the AAA/Everlast deal.

Cara Lucha (FRI) 06/24/2016 Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México [+LuchaTV, Black Terry Jr. (Flickr), KronoSport]
1) ? b ??
rudos won, no names listed
2) Keira & Lady Maravilla b La Jarochita & La Magnifica
3) Toro Negro II, Toro Negro III, Toro Negro Jr. b Andy Boy, Danger, Guerrero Mixtico
Neza Kings want a rematch in super libre.
4) Templario & Wasson b Centvrión & Látigo and Mike Segura & Pantera I and Fly Star & Toxin
Names not confirmed for the losing teams (and looked like there may have been subs.) Wasson & Templario are supposed to be full time guys after their win.
5) Trauma I & Trauma II b Puma (CMLL) & Tiger
Controversial finish. Cats want a mask match with the Traumas.
6) El Bandido & Volador Jr. b Flamita & Fly Warrior
Match started very late, waiting for Volador to get there. Volador’s team won in an excellent match, then challenged Flamita to a hair vs mask match

The mentions about the main event finish came out around midnight (though I’m totally confused about timezones at the moment.) I’m not sure if the show actually went that long, but it does sound like they held it up to do that main event. Main event sounds like it went great, didn’t get many notes on the rest of the show. Those challenges are “believe it when you see it” territory. Turnout seemed about as usual on Saturday, maybe a little better than recently, which is good for a day change.

Today’s AAA show will be an airing of the Lucha World Cup. That means all the other airdates we have need to be pushed back one week.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

An Chile article about Alejandro Saez being in the CWC. The guys from the smaller wrestling countries who got to participate in this will be able to live off the association for years.

Segunda Caida reviews Pierroth, Rey Escorpion, and Rush vs La Mascara, Shocker and Terrible and Avisman vs Virus.

After he takes Cavernario’s hair, Rey Cometa wants to go after Mephisto’s CMLL Welterweight Championship next.

LigerFever has a recap of the most recent Podcast Boom.

Lineup

ELITE (SAT) 06/25/2016 Arena México
1) Emperador Azteca & Metaleón vs Euforia & Gran Guerrero
2) Sabú vs Bram [Elite Internacional, quarterfinal]
3) Michael Elgin vs Lio Rush [Elite Internacional, quarterfinal]
4) DJZ vs Kushida [Elite Internacional, quarterfinal]
5) Volador Jr. vs Tama Tonga [Elite Internacional, quarterfinal]
6) (Sabu/Bram vs Elgin/Lio) [Elite Internacional, semifinal]
7) (DJZ/Kushida vs Volador/Tama) [Elite Internacional, semifinal]
8) ? vs ?? [Elite Internacional, final]

This should be a really good show! Everything should be weird/interesting. My guess still is Volador gets to the final but loses to Elgin.

Opener rudos were Puma & Tiger this morning, then switched to Euforia & Gran Guerrero later. Should still be good.

CMLL (FRI) 07/01/2016 Arena México
1) Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., The Panther vs Felino, Puma, Tiger
2) Atlantis, Mistico, Stuka Jr. vs Euforia, Mr. Niebla, Terrible
3) Rey Cometa vs Cavernario [hair]
4) Diamante Azul, La Máscara, Máximo Sexy, Rey Escorpión, Rush, Shocker, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. vs Johnny Idol, Kushida, Marco Corleone, Michael Elgin, Okumura, Sam Adonis, Tama Tonga, Tangaroa [Gran Prix]

Full lineup for the iPPV. As RobViper noted, the last Gran Prix show was 4 match and this one follows. The top two matches are why you’re going to the show, but the Panthers/Cats opener is always nice. Maybe the second match there so Niebla can get his wish and start feuding with Atlantis, but probably it’s there so Mistico can do some big dive onto Euforia.

Just a reminder – this is $15USD on cleeng, but only $10 on Playstation Live Event Viewer if you have that option.

ELITE (THU) 06/23/2016 Arena México [+LuchaTV, CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, SuperLuchas, Yahoo! Deportes]
1) Karonte Jr., Magnus, Okumura b El Bandido, Hijo del Pantera, Magia Blanca
2) PJ Black & Volador Jr. b Lio Rush, Kushida, Bram, Camacho, David Tita, Jinder Mahal, Tama Tonga, Veneno, Heddi Karaoui, Sabú, Michael Elgin, DJZ [seeding battle royal]
2) Bram b Zumbi [Elite Internacional, 8f]
4) Lio Rush b David Tita [Elite Internacional, 8f]
5) DJZ b Hip Hop Man [Elite Internacional, 8f]
6) Tama Tonga b Chicano [Elite Internacional, 8f]
7) Sabú b Veneno [Elite Internacional, 8f]
8) Michael Elgin b Jinder Mahal [Elite Internacional, 8f]
9) Kushida b Heddi Karaoui [Elite Internacional, 8f]
10) Volador Jr. b PJ Black [Elite Internacional, 8f]

This was another Elite event where the attendance felt like the biggest story. Last week’s show was one of the bigger turnouts Elite’s had for a midweek show. This looked like one of the worst, for a pretty expensive show. It looked dire early, worse than the depths of a dead Tuesday show. It looks more filled in in later pictures, though some of that may be people being allowed to move down (usually not permitted at lucha shows.) The concept, at least as presented, did not seem to be a draw.

And that’s too bad, because the show sounded weird and occasionally good, as you hope for with these international tournaments. DJZ/Hip Hop Man and Volador & PJ Black sound like they went well. Black Terry Jr. posted video of that first match and Veneno/Sabu. Sabu was one of the most over guys, which suggests the people who showed up were mostly long time hardcore fans, since you’d have to really dig for tapes back in the day to see Sabu in Mexico.

Zumbi was on this show, happening at the same time as the Cruiserweight Classic tournament he was originally scheduled for. PWInsider reported he didn’t make weight. I do not believe that is correct, and I do not think anyone who’s seen Zumbi would believe that is the reason. He looked like the same small skinny guy as always last night. “Not making weight” might be the public story to cover up something else. (I’m not even sure if he even ever made to the building; he and Jinzo weren’t getting there until Wednesday, and I’ve not yet seen a photo of Zumbi in the performance center.) As far as I can find, no one’s posted an interview with Zumbi explaining the situation yet, but it may be coming.

NJPW mentions the wins for their wrestlers, which suggests they expect this tournament to go well for them. (It’s also weird that, since neither CMLL nor Elite posts a recap of their show, the only ‘official’ recap we get is when NJPW is involved.) As best we can figure, this is how the bracket goes – they changed the order of the matches from the elimination order in the battle royal, moving the bigger names to last. The semifinals will be the winner of Bram/Sabu vs the winner Lio/Elgin and the winner of DJ Z/Kushida vs the winner Tonga/Volador. My guess is Sabu vs Elgin and Kushida vs Volador, then Elgin beating Volador in the final. One of the NJPW guys has to take a loss, and the Volador win could set up the Volador/Kushida match I’ve been expecting. Volador’s already talking about that match in his post match interview.

I’m skeptical all of this will air. This was a normal length show, if maybe even longer. I would expect the top three or four matches will air tonight on Lucha Azteca 7, and the rest are cut down to highlights.

Magia Blanca & El Bandido teaming up is notable, since Blanca is Magnifico I and Bandido is presumed to be Magnifico II. That may be an acknowledgement of their relationship, since Magia Blanca is almost never otherwise used right now.

It’s a unclear if any of the losing foreigners are sticking around. PJ’s surely heading to LA, but not sure about the others.

Mas Luchas had good interviews with Michael Elgin & DJ Z from Wednesday. I assume those interviews are why Informa was pre-empted, but it seems more loosely organized than normal Elite press conferences. It works out for us because Mas Lucha got some good time with both guys, but the promoting of the show was shaky at best. After this show, PJ Black talked about wanting to come back for a rematch, even coming back for a month if Elite’s interested. He’s acted point blank about Lucha Underground and, while he doesn’t discuss details, says he’s in trouble for working with Elite.

Tonight’s CMLL show is a preview for the Gran Prix. Tanga Roa (or Tanga Loa) debuts, teaming with his brother Tama Tonga and Sam Adonis against Atlantis, Volador, and Diamante Azul. Everyone but Atlantis is in the Gran Prix next week. CMLL’s been calling the rudo trio “legión extranjera”, which is the name AAA used for years for their own evil foreigner unit. (I don’t think it’s a reference, just a common phrase.) Semimain has Kushida, Mistico and Marco versus Mascara, Shocker and Terrible; the preview notes Kushida trained under Arturo Beristain for at ime 10 years ago. The fourth match Rey Cometa, Super Porky, Valiente versus Cavernario, Felino, and Mr. Niebla in a preview match.

The one singles match on the show was Zeuxis defending her title against Princesa Sugehit, which CMLL’s teased as the start of a mask/mask match. It’s more credible than usual, since most of CMLL’s women end up unmasked, but I still expect Zeuxis to remain champion. The best match of the show might be the Fuego, Maya, titan versus Puma, Tiger, Bobby Z match, though they’ll be limited by being in the segunda. Opener is Shockercito & Stukita vs Mercurio & Pierrothio.

The show will start at 8:30 pm and air on ClaroSports as normal. Unless my plane gets delayed, I won’t be able to record it, but other people probably will. I didn’t plan it this way, but it seems generally a safe show to skip, with most things being held for next week and the women’s title match the only storyline that might progress on this show.

Tickets for the Gran Prix are on sale, and run from 997 MXP ($53 USD) to 185 MXP ($10), though they’re only selling the lower areas online. That seems like the lower side for a CMLL major show. By comparison, Saturday’s Elite show are currently going for 720 down to 180.

RobViper has highlights of 05/25 & 06/01/10 CMLL.

Letra Roja has a good column talking about the recent history of governmental officials holding press conferences promising better medical assistance for luchadors, and how it never quite turns out as promised.

A Bleacher Report article on Lucha Underground includes comments on what they look for in casting luchadoras.

Lucha Libre elsewhere

Last night was the first taping for the Cruiserweight Classic. They taped four weeks of TV with all the opening round matches (4 per show.) If I’m not going to post Lucha Underground spoilers, it doesn’t make sense to be posting spoilers for that show either, but they’re pretty easy to find. (Start with this Twitter account.)

There are some useful not result details. Photos showed them listing Mascara Dorada’s name on the screen. I imagine it was a deal similar to Prince Devitt/Finn Balor, where they showed both to make sure everyone understood the guy’s other identity. Assuming they air the matches as taped, Mascara Dorada/Gran Metalik will appear on the July 13th show. Jinzo/Raul Mendoza will appear on the July 20th show.

I am told the order of the matches don’t necessarily set up the second round matches (the winner of the first match may not face the winner of the second match.) They’ll run a tournament preview show on the WWE Network on July 6th, and that may be when the entire bracket is revealed.

Lineups

DTU (FRI) 07/01/2016 Arena Femenil, Monterrey, Nuevo León
1) Licántropo vs Drolux
2) Fly Danger, La Maligna, Tiburón vs Jimmy, Kevin (DTU), Zuzu Divine and Destello, Krystal, Niño De Cobre
3) El Gio & El Jr. vs Kastigador & Vengador
4) Black Fire © vs Moria, X-Zafiro, Lokillo, Tony Iron [DTU AI]
5) Drastik Boy & Ronnie Mendoza vs Pesadilla & Rocky Lobo
6) Cíclope (DTU) © vs Sharlie Rockstar, Miedo Extremo, Ángel o Demonio, Ovett [DTU]

First of a run of DTU shows in northern Mexico, but this is the one with all the title matches so it’s slightly more interesting. Sharlie is also DTU Consgrado champion, so he could end up with both titles. The semimain is essentially a #1 contenders match for the tag titles; Titan & Triton are champs but not on these shows, and these are two teams that have been chasing them. This is Black Fire’s first title defense since returning from Germany.

AAA AULL (SAT) 07/02/2016 Arena Lopez Mateos
1) Dinastía & Octagoncito vs Mini Histeria & Mini Psicosis
2) Heddi Karaoui, Johnny Idol, Toscano vs American Sweetness, Trauma I, Trauma II
3) Drago & Fénix vs Daga & Joe Lider
4) Texano vs Dr. Wagner Jr., El Mesías

Notable for the oddness of the new CMLL foreigners working on an otherwise AAA show.

MDA (SUN) 07/03/2016 Arena Coliseo Monterrey
1) Azul & El Arkángel vs Elder & Sol Azteca
2) Extreme Boy & Último Sombra vs Gallardo & Gato Fantasma
3) Epydemius & Lince vs Obsesión & Tormento [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Metaleón & Último Ninja vs Golden & Ninja Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Hijo de LA Park & Laredo Kid vs Delta & Galactar
6) LA Park vs Volador Jr. vs Rush vs Caifan

Main event should be crazy. The middle two matches are the Monterrey vs Outsiders feud from the Elite shows and the usual lucha bit of teaming up people who’ve been feuding for two weeks.

CMLL (TUE) 06/21/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Martes de Glamour]
1) Linterna & Mr. Apolo b Capitán Cobra & Johnny Dinamo
Rudos took 2/3.
2) Oro Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Metálico, Sangre Azteca, Skándalo
Tecnicos took 1/3. Oro beat Metalico, who seemed to have the match won.
3) Furia Roja, Hechicero, Sagrado b Ángel de Oro, Esfinge, Tritón
Rudos took 2/3, Furia Roja unmasking Esfinge and pinning him for the win. This sets up a mask match next week.
4) Diamante Azul, Rush, Titán DQ La Máscara, Rey Bucanero, Vangellys
Tecnicos took 2/3. Rush fouled Mascara, Mascara fouled Rush, ref caught only the second.
5) Atlantis, Máximo Sexy, Mistico b Ephesto, Luciferno, Mr. Niebla
Scheduled to a Mexican Trios title defense, but Mephisto (injury) was replaced by Mr. Niebla and no title match was held. Tecnicos took 1/3.

This means Mephisto didn’t get on the bus to Guadalajara, so they likely knew he wasn’t going to be on the Gran Prix show when they were doing Informa talking about the Gran Prix. It just didn’t come up. (They also could’ve just announced the title match being off on Informa to let people in Guadalajara know. But nah.)

The official CMLL story is Mephisto strained his groin worked on Sunday in Naucalpan. I’d believe he made it worse there, but Mephisto was obviously hurting before that point. Mephisto will be out 2-3 weeks, with La Mascara taking his place on the Mexico Gran Prix team. That confirms Pierroth/La Mascara won’t be happening on 07/01, which seemed to be the case as soon as the announced Cavernario/Cometa.

I still don’t believe they’re saving Mascara/Pierroth for the Anniversary show.

IWRG FILL (WED) 06/22/2016 Arena Naucalpan [The Gladiatores]
1) Araña de Plata, Lilith Dark, Skanda b Chica Pantera, Magic Dragón, Voltar
2) Discordia, Enigma, Guerrero 2000 b Pequeño Dragón, Pumita, Rey Destello
3) Águila Oriental, Keiser Dragón, Omega b Adrenalina, Keshin Black, Osiris
4) Blue Monsther, Geo, Mike b Acero, Hip Hop Man, Picudo Jr.
Acero and Hip Hop Man argued over who in charge, which spelled their defeat.
5) Aramis, Dragón Fly, Fireman, Galaxy, Hijo del Alebrije, Kanon, Shadow Boy, Zatura b Ángel Guerrero, Ares I, Ares II, Camaleón I, Camaleón II, Fight Panther, Guerrero Azteca, the Tiger (Tamaulipas) [Copa Higher Power]
Gym FILL (Black Terry) vs Gym Promciones del Norte (Apolo Estrada Jr.) Camaleon II, Guerrero Azteca, The Tiger replaced Angel Dorado I, Pirata Negra, Rey Nocturno. Match came down to Shadow Boy and Tiger, with Apolo helping his guy to win.

Hip Hop Man is working as an extra coordinator (and occasional luchador) on the upcoming Blue Demon series and very much enjoyed the most recent Mexico soccer game, according to his Twitter.

Zumbi appears to no longer be in the Cruiserweight Classic. His profile is no longer on the website, replaced by Chicago area wrestler (and occasional GALLI luchador) Mustafa Ali. There’s been no other acknowledgement or explanation of what’s going on. The rumor, and I’m emphasizing rumor because a) I haven’t heard it first hand and b) I suspect we’ll be able to confirm the story or get the right one sooner rather than later, is WWE saw that Zumbi was also booked in Elite and wouldn’t let him no-show that date to work for them. The thing is, Zumbi was taken off the Elite poster – he’s not on it now – so there’s reason to be skeptical of that as the reason.

PJ Black is on the poster and is indeed in Mexico as Elite advertised and working the Elite show tonight. This does not appear to have affected his Lucha Underground status, except that he’s almost surely losing tonight, since he’s probably needed back in LA on Saturday. (They could always just scheduled matches to give him Friday off.) When PJ was listed on the poster, the expectation is AAA would force him off the show as they did with Cage. That hasn’t happened, so there must be some different circumstances – it’s can’t be that all LU guys are prohibited from working Elite, but maybe just those who had worked in AAA? Or were offered more work in AAA? It definitely suggests AAA has less control of LU than previously believed.

Just about everyone for the tournament seems to be in Mexico. Michael Elgin, DJ Z and David Tita were in yesterday and did some press. FWIW, the WON says Elgin is expected to defend his title against Ultimo Guerrero sometime during his trip to Mexico. Tama Tonga and “Tanga Roa” (closer!) arrived today.

The full filed for the Elite tournament is as Tama Tonga (listed as from Tonga), Lio Rush (USA), Kushida (Japan), Bram (England), PJ Black (South Africa), Camacho (Puerto Rico), David Tita (Cameron), Jinder Mahal (India), Volador Jr. (Mexico), Veneno (Panama), Heddi Karoui (France), Sabu (Saudi Arabia), Michael Elgin (Canada), and DJZ (Philippines). It’s 14 names for what originally listed as a 16 man tournament. The format of the tournament is assumed to be single elimination, but Elite doesn’t generally explain those sorts of details ahead of time. The show starts at 8pm tonight and should air Friday on Azteca. The finals are on Saturday.

Arez, of the Indystrongibles, has decided no longer to be “Arez”. He’s leaving up to the fans to pick between his two choices for new names: Aken orSaharawi. Saharawi is his real name. Aken is the Egyptian ferryman of the underworld, though I’m not sure if that’s where he got the name. Either way, there so many people using Ares/Arez in Mexico that there’s some real benefit to changing his name once he gets it established. If we can only get the Relampagos to do this next…

Mascarita Dorada told Apolo Valdes that he enjoying working in WWE for the last three years, even if couldn’t fully show his talent. He knew going in that Americans would see minis as clowns and not real wrestlers, but feels he some new chances, including being in the Royal Rumble and being on PPV (the WeeLC match.) Dorada says he’s thankful for WWE supporting him when it came to medical issues, including surgery on his knee, and singles out Alberto Del Rio as someone who spoke up for him. Dorada says he’s got a lot of work in the US, but would be open to returning to Mexico in August if the deal is right now. He doesn’t see retirement coming soon.

Ricochet doesn’t seem to believe he was offered the money MLW Radio reported he was offered.

TKD and Eric have reviews of last night’s Lucha Underground.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report and the latest LuchaWorld Podcast.

So Cal Uncensored has a good interview with Jeff Cobb, who may or may not be Dario Cueto’s brother in his free time.

Konnan Big vs Rush is official for Sunday. They should have the stretcher and neckbrace outside the ring to load Konnan Big after he gets dropped on his head.

Fly Warrior hypes up the CaraLucha main event on Friday. We need to get DJZ to CaraLucha, he’d be so good on that show.

Villano III will be honored at AAA Cantu Nuevo Laredo show on Monday. He’s not wrestling.

Leo Riano says CMLL is high on Johnny Idol & Sam Adonis.

Hijo del Santo is interviewed about his one man play. That is not a joke sentence.