Month: August 2016

CMLL (SUN) 08/14/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara]
1) Avispón Negro Jr. b Guerrero de la Muerte
Guerrero de la Muerte complained the count
2) Fugaz & Micro b Destructor & Diplomático
Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Cosmos, Explosivo, Frezzer b Gran Kenut, Relámpago, Thunder Boy
Tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Furia Roja, Maléfico, Ráfaga b León Blanco, Magnum, Neutrón
Rudos took 1/3.
5) Flash II, Star Black, Vaquero Jr. b Forastero, Kempo Dragón, Príncipe Kisho
GDL tecnicos took 1/3. Kempo Dragon blamed Principe Kisho for the loss and said he’d be a tecnico going forward. Tecnicos said they’d beat Forastero and his cousins next week for the titles.

The recap mentions Gallito is with Vaquero Junior. Magnum’s interviewed in this week Box Y Lucha, talking about his 18 months of being in charge here, and explained the situation with Gallo. Magnum says Gallo suffered a knee injury which needed rest. The rules there are luchadors must be 100% to be on the card. Gallo decided to keep working instead of resting, and instead wrestled on indie shows, which has hurt his recovery. Magnum was also unhappy Gallo wrestled on a show with Joe Lider, breaking the rules about working on shows with AAA guys. He hasn’t talked to Gallo, but wants to soon since Gallo’s a double champion at the moment.

Gallo says Sadico, Joker, Reycko, Linterna Verde and Mr. Briosa are mentioned as promising youngsters, and Magico, Nautilus and Cosmos are mentioned as small highflyers (when asked about minis, though he’s careful not to neccesarily put them in that category himself.) The interview asks why there’s no new luchadoras since Silueta; Magnum says there are some who are training but are far from debuting. The most recent women to come close were Gitana (Mascara Dorada’s sister) switching to the circus, and Kendra, who said to have asked to take the exam to be licensed but never returned. Magnum’s hope is to make the Guadalajara Homenaje a Dos Leyendas an annual event, as there’s lots of local legends he’d like to honor.

CMLL (TUE) 08/16/2016 Arena México [Box Y Lucha, CMLL, CultIcon,thecubsfan]
1) Leono & Sensei b Espanto Jr. & Inquisidor
13:48. Tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Oro Jr., Soberano Jr., Starman b El Cuatrero, Sansón, Skándalo
15:14. Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Hechicero, Misterioso Jr., Sagrado b Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa
17:04. Rudos took 1/3.
4) Stuka Jr. b Luciferno [lightning]
6:33. Stuka won with a torpedo splash.
5) Mr. Niebla, Shocker, Terrible b Ángel de Oro, Johnny Idol, Titán
15:15. Rudos took 1/3.
6) Máscara Dorada, Rush, Volador Jr. b Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
9:13. Guerreros took 1/3, UG sneaking in a foul on Volador.

 

Nothing extraordinary – the time in the main event tells you the deal there – but better than some of the recent boring Tuesday shows. Volador/UG is continuing on to next week and maybe even thru their trip to Japan this weekend. Volador & Titan appear to be done until they go the Super J Cup finals. Caristico and the Guerreros are working a show in Morelos tomorrow.

Today’s IWRG show has Black Terry vs Judas el Traidor in a hair/hair match, with Terry trying to keep his hair before returning to Arena Mexico this weekend.

AAA released the official card for TripleMania, 11 days out. There’s no surprises in the matches, with the new info being the card order. AAA cards have almost always followed the order listed on the poster, so this will be the order the matches take place. The Apaches/Chessman/Averno match leads off, followed by Copa TripleMania, the four way tag match, Pentagon/Mundo, the LU trios, the heavyweight title match and the mask/hair match goes last. It has to go last given what they’re going to do to the ring, but the three matches  before it could’ve gone in any order and it’s notable to see the heavyweight title get the semimain spot over Mysterio.

Also, for whatever reason, Dragon Azteca is again Aztec Dragon. There’s probably a reason for this, and it might even be good, but they should also explain the reason (or make up one!) because it makes the poster look barato without one. And, if someone’s really announcing this in English, they should use the Lucha Underground name, since 99% of the people who would buy the show to listen in English know him by that name.

The Casa de Moneda will be selling those AAA medals (Psycho Clown, Rey Mysterio and La Parka) at TripleMania, and promise surprises.

SuperLuchas has quotes from TripleMania media day, and the Gladiatores has video interviews. Dr. Wagner was pushing the idea that he and Texano should team up to take out Cage in their title match, but Texano (wisely) said he shouldn’t trust Wagner. Fantasma proposed a group of himself, Fenix, Texano and Pentagon.

Liger Fever has a translation of a really good Los Reyes del Biutiful interview with Fenix from this past February. The translations are in six parts: one two three four five and six. Fenix raps, though you probably want to hear the podcast for that. Fenix also doesn’t understand why he’s never had a singles match with Pentagon in AAA.

CMLL has an article hyping the Anniversary on Video On Demand as a innovation in lucha libre. AAA has done VOD for years. IWL did VOD years ago. Still don’t know how much it costs. More helpfully, they also note Dragon Lee is NOT the youngest person ever to put their mask at an Anniversary show. Mr. Aguila was six months younger when he wagered his mask against Ultimo Guerrero in 1998, and lost it to Ultimo Guerrero. Mr. Aguila lost it mostly because he was headed to the WWE. (Wait, what, uh oh!)

CMLL is playing around with video formats: a 4K clip of Hooligan vs Stuka and 360 clip of Super Crazy and Rey Bucanero.

The News has an English interview with Johnny Idol and Sam Adonis. This is one definite advantage to having a few foreigners employed, it gets CMLL press from outlets which might not normally pay attention.

Alberto del Rio is suspended from WWE for violating their wellness policy. (WWE cleverly waited until the moment they ended a press conference to announce this.) It’s unknown what he exactly did, but he’s out for 30 days. Alberto came back to WWE by beating John Cena, and he lost to John Cena last night. WWE usually knows the suspensions before time, so that might have been purposely timed as his farewell. Alberto’s believed to have an opt out of his WWE deal sometime in the next couple months. It’s been unclear if he’d take it – yes, his WWE stint has gone poorly, but his reason to go to WWE was for the money and he’d have reason to stay if he was still getting the money he wanted – but this sequence of events points more towards him leaving.

There were rumors last week about Alberto showing up in Elite by the end of the year, which fit with the idea of an opt out. It certainly seems like an Elite move. The big issue is his relationship with Caristico, which was as bad as possible last time they were both in AAA, and Caristico’s influence over the Elite promotion. It’s always possible Caristico & Alberto worked their issues out once they weren’t competing for spots in the same promotion, or that Caristico isn’t that powerful in Elite with the promotion struggling for success even with Caristico around – I wouldn’t rule out Alberto ending up in Elite, but it’s not a certain thing. AAA seems like they would like to have Alberto back, though the money may be an issue. Lucha Underground seems unlikely, as they and Alberto parted in bad fashion, but you never know in wrestling. Alberto’s also still kept an association with MMA.

4 Element Stunts, a TV/stunt company, mentions their work on the upcoming Televisa Blue Demon TV show on their Facebook. There’s even a picture of the Demon. Hip Hop Man’s posted on Twitter about working on the show, and the Facebook hypes Mr. Leo and Golden Magic & El Bandido as among those as part of the crew (so they’ll be in the wrestling scenes.) Imposible’s also mentioned.

RIOT announced a 09/10 show, Riotmon, in the usual location of Arena LLF in Monterrey.
1: Mascara Dorada vs Ultimo Ninja

Dorada will at least be around until then. I believe the latest news/speculation are the cruiserweights starting in WWE in October. Mascara Dorada still says he hasn’t signed, but WWE’s already trademarked the “Gran Metalik” name in the US.

Promociones Sanchez, the Arena Neza promoters recently, say they have a big AAA show in September. Maybe another taping?

Elite has banner art saying they’re on Sundays from now on. They had banner art and aprons saying they were on Thursdays. They must’ve spent a lot on those. Very curious what card they have next weekend against TripleMania.

Satanico says he’s returning to Arena Mexico soon. He says it’s a Friday night show, so it’s not simply an Elite booking.

RobViper has highlights of 12/14/15 CMLL

Flamita promo for his match this Saturday against Extreme Tiger. He’s got a busy weekend.

The Viva La Lucha blog looks back at Caristico’s past visits to Japan.

Lucha Underground has a Pentagon poster for Season 3. There is text and logos hidden all around the poster.

A profile of the Lucha Libre Taco Shop in San Diego.

Cross Armbreaker watches Shocker vs Sangre Chicana, from Shocker’s forgettable AAA run.

CultIcon has a list of the top 10 matches he’d like to see but we probably won’t. I hadn’t really thought off the top 1, and you could fill a giant stadium with it.

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 08/23/2016 Arena México
1) Bengala & Leono vs Akuma & Artillero
2) Fantasy, Shockercito, Stukita vs Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia
3) Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit vs Dalys, Tiffany, Zeuxis
4) Blue Panther vs Ripper [lightning]
5) Rey Cometa, Súper Porky, Titán vs Bobby Z, Morphosis, Olímpico
6) Máximo Sexy, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero

More Volador/Ultimo Guerrero. Listing Super Porky is straight up trolling at this point. Blue Panther has singles matches with Black Terry and Ripper within three days.

CMLL (TUE) 08/23/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Divino & Neutrón vs Furia Roja & Ráfaga
2) Hombre Bala Jr., Pegasso, Soberano Jr. vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Hijo del Signo, Skándalo
3) Ángel de Oro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Misterioso Jr., Pierroth, Sagrado
4) Johnny Idol, Marco Corleone, Máscara Dorada vs Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Vangellys
5) Atlantis, Dragón Lee, Mistico vs Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas

Negro Casas doesn’t seem any more sure bet to be here. I think Cavernario & Hijo del Signo are the only DF rudos on that card under 30 years old. Rafaga’s been around a long while too, so maybe only Furia Roja too.

CMLL (MON) 08/15/2016 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Cult Icon, thecubsfan]
1) King Jaguar, Meyer, Star Jr. b Artillero, Fuerza Chicana, Hijo del Signo
17:45. Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Astral, Asturiano, Eléctrico DRAW Demus 3:16, Espíritu Maligno, Pierrothito
15:14. Tecnicos took 1, Rudos 2, and Astral & Demus double pinned in the third. They talked about a remathc next week.
3) Fuego, Stigma, Stuka Jr. b Fujin, Okumura, Raijin
12:38. Tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Black Tiger b Ares [mask]
13:26. Tiger took 2/3 to take Ares’ mask. Ares was revealed as Francisco Gonzalez, 40, 25 years a lucahdor.
5) Cavernario, Felino, Mr. Niebla b Atlantis, Máscara Dorada, Mistico
9:48. Rudos took 2/3. Mr. Niebla replaced Negro Casas. Cavernario used the ropes to beat Mistico, setting up a 1v1 match next week.
6) Último Guerrero © b Shocker [NWA MIDDLE]
15:22. UG took 2/3 to retain his title. 7th defense.

Show played out pretty much how you would’ve guessed. Matches 4 & 6 were a struggle at time, though not for effort. Best matches were the 2nd and 3rd one.

Rush returns to Arena Mexico tonight, a rare appearance on a Tuesday show for him this year. He teams with Volador Jr. & Mascara Dorada to face Euforia, Gran Guerrero and Ultimo Guerrero in what will be a great match if they’re interested in having a good match. (It’s Tuesday, so it’s not a certainty.) CMLL’s preview mentions it’s the last show for the crew going to Japan for the second Super J show, which includes 4 people in that match and Titan in the semimain. Titan teams with Angel de Oro & Johnny Idol against long ago tag team champions Mr. Niebla & Shocker, with Terrible rounding out the trio.

Stuka and Luciferno are in the lightning match. Rey Cometa, Fuego & Guerrero Maya take on Hechicero, Misterioso and Sagrado in the tercera, which might be the second best match on the show depending on how serious Misterioso & Sagrado take it. (I feel like we can count on them losing one fall in a dumb way.) The second match has a normal mix of shaky guys and interesting people, with Soberano, Starman and Oro Jr. taking on Sanson, Cuatrero, and Skandalo. The first match is just shaky, Espanto Jr. & Inquisidor versus Sensei & Leono. The openers on these shows seem to feature a lot of the same people, which is another reason it’d be nice to have Nuevo Valores on Nuevo Valores Tuesdays. The card CMLL releases tonight, for next Tuesday, might be a little interesting on that count to see if the Sunday schedule change has any ripple affect on these shows.

CultIcon also previews the show, which is taking place less than a half hour after I post this. It’ll air on YouTube & CMLL like usual.

Guadalajara has the Fantasy/Electrico title match; it’s be a shock if Electrico lost the Mexican lightweight championship, but it’s not as though the minis titles mean so much that they can’t bounce around. The main event is now Marco Corleone, Maximo Sexy and Atlantis versus Kraneo, Mephisto and Rey Escorpion; CMLL actually updated the lineup to replace Atlantis for Super Porky. It’d be nice if they were acknowledging injuries and people who wouldn’t appear, but it’s probably more about advertising Atlantis.

AAA announced the Copa TripleMania field will be La Parka, Zorro, Hernandez, Taurus, Elegido, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Daga, Super Fly, Australian Suicide, Mamba, Pimpinela Escarlata and a mystery person. (That’s 12 people for an 11 man match, with the mystery person.) It’s mostly TV regulars being given a spot. If you figure the rest of the Psycho Clown and Los Fronterizos are getting involved in the main event, then the notable omissions include Joe Lider, Nino Hamburguesa, Ricky Marvin, Argenis, Bengala – and minis champion Dinastia, who’s got no role on this show unless he’s the mystery luchador. Mamba & Pimpinela being in this match clinches no Relevos AAA this year, which is a welcome change, but means no minis.

CMLL has trailers for the Anniversary show, though it doesn’t appear they’ve put up a price. I haven’t been around much today, but haven’t seen anything from the AAA media day about the AAA iPPV either.

CMLL posted a note on their Facebook reminding Japanese fans that they’re on NJPW World again starting this week. They’re on this week. They’re on next week, both just for Japan. No one’s said what’s happening the 09/02 show yet. If the Anniversary show is available live, people will absolutely get around a region block to see it.

Lucha 2000 #836 has La Mascara and Dragon Lee biggest on the cover. Box Y Lucha #3246 puts both on their cover.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania, and KrisZ’s news report.

GALLI has a free outdoor show with Triton this weekend.

Cross Armbreaker watched Mascara 2000 versus Anibal.

Lineup

IWRG (WED) 08/17/2016 Arena Naucalpan
1) Brazo De Oro Jr. & Fly Tiger vs Shadow Boy & Último Caballero
2) Adrenalina, Alas de Acero, Aramis vs Dowki, Hanaoka, Yakuza
3) Black Dragón, Emperador Azteca, Hijo del Alebrije vs Bombero Infernal, Demonio Infernal, Violencia Jr.
4) Dragón Fly vs Hip Hop Man
5) Black Terry vs Judas el Traidor [hair]

Kind of surprised we’re getting this hair match, figured the draw was the end of the program.

The poster lists “Brazo de Oro”, but I’m going to assume it’s not the old man who showed up as a ref in Elite and actually one of his sons.

Elite (SUN) 08/21/2016 Arena México
1) Estrellita & Lluvia vs Keira & Muñeca De Plata
2) El Bandido, Emperador Azteca, Metaleón vs Decnnis, Fresero Jr., Zumbido
3) Blue Panther vs Black Terry
4) Golden Magic & Valiente vs Rey Escorpión & Sharlie Rockstar
5) Dragón Lee vs Flamita
6) Máximo, Súper Crazy, Xtreme Tiger vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Felino, Mr. Niebla

The story they appear to be going with is the fans demanded the return of Sunday Elite shows. OK. The fans probably should’ve given Elite more of a heads up, because most everyone in Liga Elite is already booked elsewhere and not on this show. (Rush & LA Park are in Monterrey.) Neither of the singles matches on this show are Liga Elite matches, though you might not be able to tell with all the subs.

Flamita & Dragon Lee met in a singles match in July 2015, but in Miniatlan, Veracruz – so no one outside the building ever saw it, and we’re not really certain if it actually occurred. A lot has happened with both guys in the 13 months since, and this is one of the more exciting matchups the mashup of CMLL & Elite can throw out there. (It’s going to be bigger for the type of people who drop in on this blog than the La Mascara match, though the Anniversary will obviously draw move.) Blue Panther versus Black Terry is a pretty good match too, though Terry seems to have had some rotten luck on his recent Arena Mexico appearances. The long Saturday night version of Elite has been recently airing 4 complete matches, so it’s a good chance both air.

Decnnis is a surprising name to pop up here; he’s disappared from the high profile indies but has still been wrestling. This would be his Arena Mexico debut after a long time in AAA. It’d be Zumbido’s first match here since 2005, since he left for AAA.

CMLL (MON) 08/22/2016 Arena Puebla
1) París & Rey Samuray vs El Malayo & Fuerza Chicana
2) Millennium & Robin vs Ares & Guerrero Espacial
3) Astral, Asturiano, Eléctrico vs Demus 3:16, Espíritu Maligno, Pierrothito
4) Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto vs Kráneo, Morphosis, Ripper
5) Atlantis, Dragón Lee, Rush vs La Máscara, Shocker, Terrible
6) Mistico vs Cavernario

Mistico/Cavernario is a first time ever. Semifinal brings the Dragon Lee/La Mascara feud here. Rudo/rudo fourth match is odd, might mean the Hijos del Infierno are defending their titles, which would mean the minis rematch in the tercera might not go anywhere. Ares appears unmasked in the second (and “Millennium” gets the third different spelling of his name.) Opening could be good.

IWRG (SUN) 08/14/2016 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, Black Terry Jr. (Flickr), Estrellas del RIng]
1) Adrenalina b Fireman
2) Astro & Black Dragón b Picudo Jr. & Skanda
3) Dowki, Hanaoka, Yakuza b Dragón Fly, Emperador Azteca, Vampiro Metálico
Vampiro Metalico replaced Freelance.
4) Diablo Jr., El Hijo del Diablo, Imposible b Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro [super libre]
Hijo del Diablo fouled Terry, which is legal in super libre. Those two want a single match.
5) Chicano, Pantera I, Súper Nova b Dr. Cerebro, Killer Jr., Relámpago
Dr. Cerbero worked twice, replaced Negro Navarro
6) Máscara Año 2000 Jr. & Negro Navarro b Canis Lupus & Hijo De Dos Caras
Negro Navarro replaced X-Fly (but bled all the same.) Straight fall win for his team, Mascara snuck in a foul on Canis. Mascara wants a Junior title shot from Dos. Canis said he’d end Navarro’s career and take Trauma I’s mask.

Weird for Canis to be taking pins leading up to the mask match, but it’s also IWRG normal.

GALLI (SUN) 08/14/2016 Arena GALLI, Villa Park, Illinois [thecubsfan]
1) ? & ?? b Coco Negro & Coco Rojo
2) Azcuar Morena & Stephan Wolf b Billy Star & Valentino
3) ? & Golden Star b Dan El Intenso & Slayer
4) Furia Roja & Rey Furia © b Draconics & Mojo Mcqueen [GALLI TAG]
5) Acid Jazz, Atómico, Bryce Benjamin b Barry Ryte, Dds, Traidor
Atomico & Traidor continue to feud.
6) Mason Conrad, Prince Ali, Tritón (CMLL) b Gringo Loco, Skayde, Skayde Jr.
best match on the show
7) GPA © b Shigehiro Irie [GALLI CHAMP]
The Revolution (Skayde Jr., Skayde Sr., Billy Star, Gringo Loco, Valentino) all hit the ring to demand a title shot at GPA. GPA offered it to the one guy he respected, Skayde. Promoter also gave them a tag title shot.

My usual inability to understand ring announcements is why there’s mystery people on the card. (It’s also why there may be errors.) Tickets were only $5 and the show was worth that much. Triton didn’t do a great deal, but he did enough to make it worth seeing him, and his match was the best on the show thanks to everyone’s performance. The main event alright, but not so long. Crowd was a decent size for GALLI but super dead all night. Might have been the heat. The show had four cameras, but in no other way appears to be something they were specially taping for a TV channel. I taped the last two matches, very unsteadily, and I’ll put them up later.

The Lion Brothers (Metaleon & Mr. Leo) went to a draw with Puma & Tiger in Neza, then won an excellent tag match over Centvrion & Latigo in Mexico City on Sunday. That Neza show, with lesser names than usual, had a much lesser turnout.

Today’s Puebla show is a busy one, with both a title match and a mask match. Ultimo Guerrero versus Shocker was a great feud for the CMLL Light Heavyweight championship in the early 2000s. A decade plus later, they’re improbably fighting over the smaller middleweight championship. There’s some nostalgia to bringing the matchup back, but it’s also going to be a reminder of how long it’s been since that peak. Shocker’s really never been the same since suffering a major knee injury against Ultimo Guerrero (as chronicled in Lucha Mexico movie); Shocker used to be great, and it takes a lot of effort for him to get to good nowadays. I’m sure he’ll try one more tonight, but it’s going to take a great effort to get there.

The other big match tonight is Black Tiger versus Ares, in a mask versus match match. The two have been lightly feuding for a couple months, first leading to King Jaguar losing his hair before the direct confrontation. Their recent matches, like many of Black Tiger’s matches, have been technically fine but creatively boring.  A mask match should pick the energy up. Tiger seems like the heavy favorite based on the lead in.

The rest of the card looks promising. The Cavernario/Felino/Negro Casas version of Peste Negra are scheduled to take on Atlantis, Mascara Dorada, and Mistico, though Negro Casas is not definite for any show right now. Fujin, Raijin and Okumura make another appearance in Puebla against Fuego, Stuka and Stigma. The second match is a mix of minis and locals, with Astral, Asturiano and Electrico versus Demus 3:16, Espirtu Maligno and Pierrothito. King Jaguar returns a tecnico in the opener, with Meyer & Star Jr. against Artillero, Fuerza Chicana and Hijo del Signo.

CultIcon also previews today’s show. The show takes place at 9pm and airs on CMLL & YouTube.

Ohtani’s Jacket returns to praise Black Terry vs Barbaro Cavernario.

Cross Armbreaker reviews La Fiera vs Black Magic.