CMLL’s Torneo Incredible tournament is the worst of the year. The silver lining is the final is often pretty good. Last year’s Mistico & Mephisto versus Cibernetico & Carsitico match exceeded expectations, La Sombra & Volador vs Atlantis & UG was pretty good, as were the two finals won by Mascara Dorada & Atlantis. These matches can work, and tend to work better when there’s no near term match coming soon. I recall Bucanero/Volador vs Maximo/Terrible being fine, but sidetracked because the priorty there was to build up the Homenaje a Dos Leyendas main event rather than this match. We know now, a bit unfortunately, that Volador & Cavernario aren’t going to be in the H2L main event, and neither will Ultimo Guerrero & Valiente. Maybe they might get a match down the line, but this match isn’t built around seeing one or two teams blow up. It’s built around four of the better luchadors in Mexico, trying to have a really good match. Crazy concept but I think it might work.
Volador & Cavernario look like the crowd favorites. Ultimo Guerrero & Valiente are the betting odds favorites, because this is a thing UG hasn’t won yet and CMLL seems to be building Valiente up. I think UG wins, but the outcome still feels in question.
The rest of the show is not all that much. Diamante Azul & Pierroth meet in the semimain, and we’re due for a few more weeks of that before the H2L main event. Atlantis, Marco, Rush & Yoshitatsu round out the match. Angel de Oro and Dragon Rojo in a lightning match will probably be the second best match on the night. Terrible, Rey Bucanero, Vangellys versus Stuka, Drone and Guerrero Maya feels like a match CMLL must’ve run many times but hasn’t actually ever done in exactly that configuration. Soberano, Triton and Esfinge face Okumura, Sagrado and Misterioso, which is not quite as samey but not far off. Robin & Star Jr. face Raziel & Cancerbero to lead off the show.
CultIcon previews the show. It airs at 8:30 pm on ClaroSports.
Apolo mentioned CMLL has a press conference today at 5:30pm, three hours before show. CMLL doesn’t usually have press conferences on Fridays, though I vaguely recall one previously that was focused on sponsors. That’s the most likely news. I really don’t think it has anything to do with Diamante Azul/Pierroth. I have other ideas, but there’s really nothing to go on here.
Lucha Underground will be on Netflix. What day will be on Netflix? I though I knew this morning, now I’m less sure. CNET listed the show as part of the March release schedule, on March 15th. That would be great! However, three other sites I checked, all seemingly working off the same press release, don’t have Lucha Underground listed at all. I suspect CNET was working off the same Twitter news as everyone else. Krudemmon of R de Rudo did have March 15th way back when, so I’m not ruling it out, but don’t make plans for that date or start putting it out there yet. The GLOW series drops at the end of the month, so it’d be great for everyone if LU was on Netflix by then, but we don’t know at this point.
AAA’s (as both AAA & LU as one entity) has been sending cease and desist notices to some promoters to threaten them not to use Fenix or Pentagon. This is not new, but what is new is California’s PCW actually shared the cease and desist and their response to it. (They’re going to keep booking those guys.) What jumped out to me is AAA/LLFMV is not just trying to block those guys over using the names, but over using their (Lucha Underground supplied) visas. AAA may say it’s a name issue, but there’s no name that would make them happy, they’re just trying to block these guys from working in the US at all. The C&D strategy hasn’t seemed to worked much – maybe that’s happened with Penta missing What Culture? – but it’s why everyone’s been quick to adopt the new names. PCW’s documentation makes it clear they believe Penta and Rey Fenix will get the rights to their new names.
This tactic of C&D would seem to harm AAA’s chances of getting their own talent booked in the US. Many of the promotions who are getting legal letters now worked thru AAA to get Pentagon and Fenix on their shows in the first place last year, and now are being threatened by the same company. Some people might just want to book those guys now, and this behavior is going to convince them to stay away from anyone related to AAA, even those currently on good terms. To pick a random name, who’d want to start bringing in AAA’s Dizzy for a few appearances if Dizzy might leave AAA halfway thru? Trying to drag other people in to it is just going to convince them to stay far away. AAA’s trying to convince people to stop using Fenix & Pentagon, but likely at the cost of convincing people to stay far away from AAA. Even if they’re “successful” in costing Fenix & Pentagon US bookings, they’re also probably costing guys like Drago, Fantasma, Aerostar and Psycho Clown US bookings, and costing themselves the money they get for booking those guys out.
+LuchaTV has an interview with the Indystrongibles about their apuesta match on Sunday. LigerFever has translated it. They mention AAA had an idea to bring them in – they had TV tryout matches in 2015 – but then AAA would’ve controlled them and they didn’t like that. I think they probably would’ve had to start at the lowest (Atomic Boy, Lanzeloth) level too, which might mean it’s years before they get to do things like they were doing on the indies (and maybe making the money they were in the indies.) The indie credits don’t seem to transfer over to AAA (or CMLL, for that matter), and the guys near the top of the indie scene would be sacrificing quite a bit just to get some TV time. The WON mentions the idea of the La Llave a la Gloria winners getting big pushes to make people forget those who left but, to me, that would require a big shift in AAA’s mindset in how they handle new wrestlers. The interview is really more about the trio than the AAA digression I just made, so there’s more there worth reading or watching.
That Llave a la Gloria contest starts tomorrow morning, before I’ll bother to do a new post. There still will be plenty of people who show up – even if AAA ticked off 99% of luchadors in Mexico, which they haven’t, there’s so many luchadors that 1% of people showing up would look like a big turnout. Quality is more interesting than quantity.
LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.
RobViper has a music video of 05/21/16 ELITE.
Lucha libre shaped tequila bottles.
Kcidis draws the H2L main event.
Lineups
ERLL (SUN) 03/19/2017 Arena Coliseo Monterrey
1) Esqueletor Alcala & Nacho Libre vs El Rudo & El Solovino
2) Alfa 3000, Alfa Azteca, Furia Azteka vs Bochido, Delirio, Poseidón
3) Espartako, Euforia, Nitro vs Heroes Jr., Memo Valles, Trauma I
4) Valiente vs Alberto Dos Rios
5) Blue Panther & Satánico vs Black Terry & Negro Navarro
6) Atlantis & Mistico II vs Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero
Unlikely to air anywhere, but notable because it’s the Arena Coliseo Monterrey show going up against AAA TV. In past years, we’ve seen the CMLL guys in Arena Jose Sulaiman and the AAA guys in this building or the bull ring, and it’s all turned around this time. Also turned around is Alberto Dos Rios, who retired back on January 22nd and already seems to be back.
