1994 Coahuila/Durango lineups added to the luchadb

thecubsfan news
10/02 AOL

I added 1994 lucha libre lineups, mostly from the cities Torreon and Gomez Palacio (and an increasing amount from elsewhere), to the luchadb database over the last week. They’re integrated the different pages of this site, and they’re also just available here. This is a slow continuing project to mine the El Siglo de Torreon archive for lucha lineups and results.

I really didn’t expect to get this done in under two weeks. It probably wasn’t the best use of my time, though I guess it was efficient. It was also pretty easy: all those Lerdo/Matamoros/Saltillo that showed up in 1993 disappeared for most of 1994. A few Saltillo snuck in at the end, but it all went way down. More Torreon and Gomez Palacio lineups turned up, but the overall total is down

Events per year:

year events
1984 142
1985 150
1986 154
1987 152
1988 176
1989 189
1990 169
1991 175
1992 181
1993 151
1994 114

That’s the lowest since 1983, when there was only about one show a month. This time, the few accompanying articles suggest it’s not just shows being ignored by the paper (or not paying the ad money to be covered), but a real downtown. AAA comes in fairly regularly, but that’s about it. Elizoando is focusing on Monterrey and other cities as his region shrinks, the UWA essentially becomes an indie, and there’s no CMLL presence. The two different local unions mean there’s about two shows a week, but union vs union matches start popping up near the end of the year, suggesting they may be going back to one union. This is the year Brillante, Diamante and Zafiro suddenly lose their mask and hairs, and the locals from here start to vanish from AAA – maybe the economic issues causes the ideas of allied unions around Mexico to disappear, or maybe it’s already broken apart.

The Mexico city based union does break apart. CMLL wrestlers form their own union, kicking Manny Guzman out. That continues to this day. Guzman threatens to lead boycotts at CMLL events and other events held in Lutteroth buildings, but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Guzman continues to represent the LLI guys, but that’s not much – the article has to shoot down a rumor the LLI owners are splitting. Meanwhile, AAA weekly shows are starting in Queretaro, Aficion and Neza, which were CMLL & LLI buildings. LLI insists they’re only leaving el Toreo temporary. They’d never make it back.

There’s a
rumor of AAA/CMLL/LLI working together but it’s shot down. Pena would like to use the Coliseo/Mexico to at least run his events, doesn’t happen. At the close of the year, Antonio Pena says 1994 was a success, says they’re close to another PPV in LA in 1995. That doesn’t work out. Satillo’s union protests against AAA, upset about AAA only using no more than four AAA wrestlers per show. The situation is problematic: the local lucha commissioner is also the person promoting AAA events.

Love Machine passes away.

Mexico City commission Wolf Rubinski gets his name in the news. At one point, he says he’s working on no more draws in title matches, with all matches having to go to an overtime fourth fall if tied after two matches end in draws. The CDMX commission makes new rules to help luchadoras get work, though none are really specified (and it doesn’t seem to work out.)

An earlier story about the finances of the DF Box Y Lucha commission comes and goes. Among the details is the commission reporting they only gave out 13 new licenses last year in the entirety of 1993, despite the boom in lucha libre. There’s the usual hints of money been kept illegally.

The paper declares Atlantis as the 1993 luchador of the year in a headline, but then seems to back down to making it CMLL specific in the article. In CMLL, Atlatnis is best tecnico, Jaque Mate & Masakre best team, Brazos best trio, Negro Casas most spectacular. In LLI, Canek as luchador of the year, Texano best tecnico, Texano & Silver King as best tag team, Villano I/IV/V as best trio, and Pimpinela as much spectacular. In AAA, Hijo del Santo is best wrestler, Blue Panther as best tecnico, Heavy Metal as best rudo, Volador & Misterioso as team, Hermanos Dinamtis a best trio, and Rey Mysterio Jr. as most spectacular.

January in Torreon is really quiet, with the first non-AOL show taking place 01/30, blamed on lack of good local promoters. That doesn’t really change: a few months later, area lucha libre in crisis due to unappealing shows and poor professional of people who are booked. This is repeated six months later: bad promoters have hurt turn out, and now it’s very expensive to fly people out from Mexico City. Newspaper articles in Torreon seem to consistently believe the change from transporting people to Mexico by plane instead of bus really hurt the scene. I don’t know if that adds up, but it sure comes up a lot.

The annual bad promoter story: 11/26 AAA show canceled, promoter does not return money immediately, fans stage a protest. Column says this was a building issue with the local promoter, with things off on each show. refunds are finally offered on 12/07-09, with some of the shame shifted to AAA itself. Except, 12/07 comes and no one’s there to give refunds. The government again says they’re going to do something, but the situation seems to disappear.

A story that seems to get a lot of national press is Konnan 2000 fighting a boxer in a mask/hair match (part 2.) The boxer when Konnan 2000 gives the boxer a martinete. Konnan 2000 unmasks as Dallas’ Scott Putuski, who says the martinete isn’t illegal where h comes from. Konnan AAA is not happy about this whole thing, and also says Dos Caras and others are living in the past. The DF commission ties to get involved, but the Monterrey commission tells they have no power. This seems to set the template for many other version of this same match in Monterrey, though it doesn’t seem to really take hold elsewhere.

There’s some really extensive long bios that I ought to look over for luchawiki info: Rito Romero extended interview and part 2, Diablo Velasco, Deportivo Martinez, Anibal (obit), Rolando Vera, Kukux Klan, Vicente Nuno (obit), Satanico bio ((who wants Perro Aguayo’s hair), Tarzan Lopez, and Blue Panther bio. TIL: he was only a Laguna based guy from 77 to 79, moved to Mexico City by 80.

Juventino Romero (part 2) – accuses Santo of blocking him from making it to Mexico City. And a column about this.

Flanagan wins an apuesta match over Megatron via referee help, commission throws out the match and Megatron keeps his hair. There’s supposed to be a rematch, but it doesn’t turn up in anything I see in 1994.

Other history articles: 8th Anniversary of Solitario’s death, History of Arena Olimpico Laguna at it’s 40th anniversary, Mil Mascaras close to signing with CMLL! (He’d be in for stints in 1995 and 1996, but nothing close to full time), and Zorro Plateado Jr. answers if wrestling is a trick or real – he says real! Usual “TV wrestling is bad” bit. Oro and Apolo Estrada are mentioned as deaths in the ring.

Los Superdioses de lucha libre quick articles

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