CMLL NJPW (MON) 01/16/2017 Nagoya International Conference Hall, Nagoya, Japan [NJPW, Puroresu Spirit]
Attendance: 1402
1) Gedo, Jado, Raziel b Henare, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask
8:40. Jado submitted Henare to a crossface.
2) David Finlay & Stuka Jr. b Ephesto & Okumura
4:21. Stuka defeated Okumura.
3) Bushi & Sanada b Ryusuke Taguchi & Soberano Jr.
9:33. Bushi beat Soberano with the MX. LIJ took the tecnico’s mask after the match.
4) EVIL & Naito b Blue Panther Jr. & Máscara Don
7:38. Evil beat Blue Panther with Evil. Naito unmasked Mascara Don post match.
5) Máximo Sexy, Mistico, Volador Jr. b Euforia, Hechicero, Último Guerrero
12:18. Hechicero submitted Mistico to a rolling half crab.
6) Hiromu Takahashi & Rush b Atlantis & Titán
7:53. Rush Driver on Titan.
7) Dragón Lee, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida b Bárbaro Cavernario, Okada, Will Ospreay
13:03. Dragon Lee powerbombed Cavernario
Dragon Lee getting the pin on Cavernario before Cavernario challenges for the title speaks to how highly NJPW sees Cavernario at this point. This is the final show pre-Korakuen Hall; they’re all off until Friday. Blue Panther Jr. says he’s hurt an elbow and a shoulder but is good to finish the tour. TV Tokyo has a video story on CMLL.
IWRG (SUN) 01/15/2017 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, Black Terry Jr. (Flickr)]
1) Black Dragón b Omega
2) Demonio Infernal b Aramis
3) Emperador Azteca, Freelance, Veneno b Hip Hop Man, Oficial AK47, X-Fly
4) Herodes Jr., Negro Navarro, Pirata Morgan Jr. b Dragón Fly, Golden Magic, Hijo De Dos Caras
Hijo de Dos Caras actually showed up! He feuded with Herodes.
5) Mr. Electro © b Pirata Morgan [IWRG IC HEAVY]
first defense. Usual blah blah after the match
6) Trauma I b Herodes Jr.
Mascara didn’t get back from Jalisco in time, so Herodes Jr. worked in his place and lost.
7) Apolo Estrada Jr. L Imposible ©, Relámpago [mask, hair, IWRG IC MIDDLE]
Apolo lost his hair to Imposible in his first match here since July. 4th defense for Imposible.
Apolo coming back to lose his hair right is strange in anywhere but IWRG. Maybe the weirder part is Apolo wrestling in an Ephesto tank top of all things. Hijo de Dos Caras actually appeared and there doesn’t appear to be anything with that. IWRG claimed Mascara 2000 Jr. didn’t get back from Jalisco – maybe that was just confusion, he was in Cuernavaca, just a bit over an hour away. It’s not impossible he could’ve worked both, and it would explain why they bumped his match back.
Tonight in Arena Puebla is another chapter in the Carsitico/Negro Casas feud. They’ve been on opposite sides of matches since 2008, and this is the third singles match they’ve had since returning. Casas won on a Elite show last January, Caristico won in November in Guadalajara, and this will be the first match televised since Caristico’s return. Negro Casas singles matches have been on the short side lately, but hopefully Caristico will inspire him to do more than Maximo did on Tuesday.
There’s not a lot to look forward to on the rest of the show. CMLL’s depth isn’t great with the guys in FantasticaMania, but these cards seem worse this year than the last few. The semimain is Johnny Idol, Marco Corleone and Valiente against La Mascara, Mascara 2000 and Vangellys. Angel de Oro, Guerrero Maya and Stigma face Dragon Rojo, Polvora and Skandalo, which might be good outside of the Stigma/Skandalo feud. The tercera is a minis match, Astro, Shockercito, Ultimo Dragoncito against Espiritu Maligno, Mini Joker and Pequeno Violencia. Violencia & Shockercito feuded last week and seem headed to a singles match. The setup trios will likely be better than the singles match. Puebla opens with two locals only matches: Black Tiger & Tigre Rojo Jr. face Fuerza Chicana & Policeman, and Centella Roja and one of his sons face the Batilon del Muerte to kick off the show.
Puebla airs on CMLL’s YouTube channel at 9pm.
I watched the Blue Demon show last night. It’s not really about Blue Demon. It’s not even much about a fictional Blue Demon luchador, with his biggest match instead a framing device about his journey from childhood to becoming a wrestler. They start off with lucha libre because that’s what people are expecting, but it seems like it’ll be a long way before becoming lucha libre.
The show started with a big block of text saying names may be historic, but any relation to real events or real people is coincidence and it’s a work of fiction. It’s really a period drama where the lead character eventually becomes a luchador. The lucha libre scenes are treated like the sport is 100% legit, and that’s not even the hardest thing to believe on the show. The wrestling is a little bit like current Hijo del Santo, but generally something more akin to a modern match than anything Blue Demon and El Santo would’ve had in the 50s.
The premiere aired on Univsion, while the rest of the show will air on Unimas every night. Unfortunately, at least for me, Unimas hasn’t put in episode guide information. Every episode is listed as the same generic episode, making it very hard for a DVR to record it. You can get English captioning, but have to figure out how to get closed captioning 3 to work.
Segunda Caida reviews Valiente & Ultimo Guerrero from June, and Rey Escorpion vs Teddy Hart.
