It’s here. The most annoying month of the year: US Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday morning. Mexico does not switch their clocks for four weeks. If you switch your clocks on Sunday, every show from Mexico will be one hour later until April 1st. For most of you, Friday’s show is the last normal show. Monday’s Puebla shows move to a 10pm CT start, Tuesday’s Arena Mexico shows start at 8:30pm, and the AAA streams will be later than ever. It’s a stronger reason than ever to skip the lesser shows and watch them later on your own schedule.
You won’t be able to see Arena Azteca at any time. It was supposed to start this week. It’s not on A+’s schedule, to no surprise. There’s been zero mention of it since CMLL announced they were pulling out.
IWRG (WED) 03/07/2018Arena Naucalpan [@GabrielBludemo1, Estrellas del RIng]
1) Guerrero 2000 b Puma de Oro
2) Haziel & Toto b Chef Benito & Darth Metal Toto replaced Haziel.
3) Aramis & Máscara Magica Jr. b Atomic Star & Lunatic Xtreme
4) Capo Del Norte, Capo Del Sur, Eterno b Hijo del Alebrije, Leo, Rafy Spector helped Eterno win with a martinete on Leo, which did not please the Capos.
5) Ovett DQ Fantasma de la Ópera Fantasma had Lucha Libre Boom wrestlers (Carta Brava, Ninja de Fuego, others) with him to help. That ended up getting him DQed. Lunatik Extreme and Toto (two of Ovett’s sons) made the save, along with Black Terry. This set up a FILL/Boom Copa Higher Power for next week.
The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter mentions Texano was furious when he found out his head shaving was not shown on Twitch because they ran long, and he had to be pulled away from Vampiro and put in another room to calm down. The show had timing problems; AAA didn’t have a change of heart on keeping Bengala & Hijo del Tirantes out of the apuesta match, they just got cut for time. So did a Dr. Wagner post match bit to build up his match with his son. There’s no additional details on the Mesias/Parka stuff.
That press release does mention setting a record on Twitch at 17,348. I have no problem believing that because it was easy to seen on the screen and trending in that direction all night. The numbers have been increasing for the big shows, helped by Twitch promoting the show on their front page. I think AAA could easily crack 25,000 for TripleMania; the issue is it might just be split over a couple streams, since they’re likely to run the English language feed for that show.
The WON also reported Lucha Underground sent cease and desist letters to Ryan Satin (Pro Wrestling Sheet) and Steve Bryant (So Cal Uncensored) to get them to take down Lucha Underground Season 4 spoilers. Satin posted his C&D letter, and his response where he points out they’ve got no legal standing to make him take it down. Justin Harvey of the MMM show smartly pointed out these C&Ds were sent from Lucha Libre FMV, and not from the MGM parent company who would normally oversee production and handle these matters.
I understand people not being happy about spoilers being out, and not wanting things out that shouldn’t be out. I can not understand legally threatening people about it. I especially can’t understand going after people for talking what’s being taped for the show in a world where the people who are actually on the show are talking about the show. I know there’s a cage match this weekend because the lead writer posted about it. I know there’s a good chance Tessa Blanchard is on the tapings this weekend because Taya posted a photo with her. I know LAX are in Los Angeles too for no obvious reason, so maybe they’ll be visiting Temple too. I can go on, there is plenty more. I don’t want to because this is not about getting people in trouble, this is about how much comedy it is to think you’re going to keep something like this quiet in 2018.
You can make a case that finding out what happens will diminish people’s interest in what has occurred. I’m not sure that’s conclusively correct, especially with a show on a network (and an advertising budget) the size of El Rey, where any buzz to remind people the show exists is a helpful thing. But let’s run with it: let’s say spoilers are costing them money. Other things costing Lucha Underground money: the lack of LU merchandise, the lack of promotion of the merchandise they do have, the lack of live shows, the lack of a third season streaming deal, the lack of international deals in obvious places like the UK. Somehow, Lucha Libre FMV always has time and money for lawyers and nothing else. It’s that dril tweet come to life. The difference between Lucha Underground being a success and not being a success is not Lucha Underground spoilers. This is all wasted energy when they really do need that energy for other things.
So. On top of all of this, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter also says Dorian Roldan has told people he’s looking at buying Impact. That rumor has been going around since last fall. It makes not much sense to me, so I’ve not bothered to say anything about it. It makes some from the Anthem side, since turning around Impact seems to have been more a more difficult and costly process than they believed when got into it. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense for AAA, who is already hoping to bring that brand into the US in 2018 and has another brand in Lucha Underground which their GM Roldan theoretically is still trying to market in the US. He’s had to stretch to make the case that they need both in the US, with the idea they’re going after different markets with different kind of shows. It’s hard to continue the argument with Impact also thrown in. If there’s anything to this at all, it doesn’t seem a great sign for Lucha Underground’s chances except as something tacked onto Impact’s existent plans. Like:
Impact Wrestling announced Pentagon & Fenix as appearing on their Impact/LU WrestleCon show. Those names were announced on their press release last week. Most people don’t pay attention to press releases so this is probably a good way to sell some tickets. LU has not mentioned this show at all; it’s harder for them to tweet about something than threaten a lawsuit.
Tijuana a Tres Caidas, a Facebook page I did not know existed until it was pointed out on Twitter, says Pirata Morgan Jr. has been suspended from wrestling in that city for a year. They’ve got a photo of the paper work from the commission. Pirata Morgan Jr. last wrestled in Tijuana on February 23,. Reports said Pirata Morgan Jr. looked in no condition to wrestle. Pirata Morgan Jr. rarely wrestles in Tijuana, so this will probably not affect him much. Drone got the attention because his ‘highlights’ went viral. This is far from a Drone only issue.
Excelsior has a fluffy interview with Kaho Kobayashi and Kawato San. The most interesting part is the interviewer believes his last name is actually San.
El Manana has a story on Kuman Jr., a Tamaulipas luchador who was in a car accident in 2014 which left him in a coma for 7 days. He was told he would be paralyzed on the right side for life but regained movement after three months of rehab. He’d like to return to the ring some day.
I counted the days, because counting the days is one of the few things I’m happy to write about today. It’s going to be 1407 days between title defenses for Diamante Azul. The Occidente championships are the worst ‘major’ championships in Mexico.
Terrible is back teaming with Bucanero & Shocker. No one’s less into CMLL’s storyline than the people who put together CMLL’s cards.
Mexa Wrestling (SAT) 03/24/2018Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Diva Salvaje vs Centvrión
2) Torito Negro & Toro Negro vs Judas el Traidor & Sobredosis
3) Atomic Star, Metaleón, Rafy vs Fly Star, Fulgor I, Fulgor II
4) Aramis vs Toxin, Moria, Séptimo Dragón, Fly Warrior [THE CRASH CRUISER, #1 Contenders]
5) Eterno & Ricky Marvin vs Belial & Impulso and Freelance & Mike Segura
6) Felino & Mr. Niebla vs Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako
Full card for Mexa Wrestling show. I’ve been watching the first two shows for the Catch Up project and there’s always really good matches on these shows (and it’s close enough to Neza that someone will have a good video of it.) The really good matches don’t seem to be drawing well at all. I’d really love to see them try some stronger way of promoting these shows before they run out of money and there’s another break between high ends shows in this building. One of these promotions has to figure it out or we’re all going to miss out.
CMLL (TUE) 03/06/2018Arena México [CMLL]
1) Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro b Stukita & Último Dragóncito
2) Flyer, Magnus, Príncipe Diamante b Metálico, Príncipe Odín Jr., Sangre Azteca Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Hijo del Signo b Arkángel de la Muerte [lightning]
4) Drone, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. b Disturbio, Misterioso Jr., Sagrado Tencicos took 2/3. This was Drone’s first match since quiet suspension.
5) Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto b Blue Panther Jr., Dragón Lee, Soberano Jr. Rudos took 1/3.
6) Kráneo, Pierroth, Rush DQ Gran Guerrero, Marco Corleone, Máscara Año 2000 [Relevos Increíbles] straight falls. Mascara was DQed for fouling Pierroth in the second.
The person around here who needs to be suspended for 40 days is the person who thinks Pierroth & Mascara 2000 should be doing a feud.
CMLL has post match interviews with Hijo del Signo and Mascara 2000. Nothing with Drone. He looked like he’d been in training during his hiatus and was excited to have a match again. He’s doomed for sure for a long time but at least he’ll join the other guys who are stuck in the same position without a particular reason.
Cavernario goes 1-2, and probably only wins that one because he’s going to lose it next week. The semimain is the big surprise: Diamante Azul has been carrying around the Occidente Heavyweight championship for years without actually defending it.
REINA announced they’ll be going on hiatus after their 03/10 show. La Jarochita & Reina Isis left for Japan a couple weeks ago for another three month trip, and worked on for J@ST promotions. That seemed to be thru REINA, except they’re not currently listed on that 03/10 REINA show. I’d think the promotion going on hiatus would mean Isis & Jarochita would be back sooner than three months, but perhaps this was known to be happening. REINA has gone thru many owners, wrestlers and changes since forming 2011 without a lot of success. The only consistent part having CMLL women come in for matches. Perhaps that’s over now too.
Meanwhile, Faby Apache will join her sister in Stardom. She’s been mentioning a trip to Japan since her hair versus mask match was announced in January. Faby & Mary will challenge for the Goddesses of Stardom (Tag) Titles on March 31st in Osaka. Faby is not listed on any upcoming cards, notably missing from the trio of TV tapings, but she’s also not listed on any other Stardom card.
Perhaps the Faby/Shani match was added to Rey de Reyes because both women weren’t going to be around for a while.
The Crash is returning to Mexicali in April. They’re also running in Chiapas that month. They haven’t really outside of Tijuana since December.
Laguna luchador Gran Danton, Antonio Mesa Casillas, passed away on Monday. He wrestled in the area in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Lucha Underground’s Chris DeJoseph was a guest on the Wrestling Mayhem Show. Other people may have passed thru.
Lucha Underground’s Marty the Moth & MAD’s Kevin Kross were on Masks, Mats and Mayhem. You really should go to about 53:20 to listen to Marty talking about his feud with Killshot. As noted before, everyone’s under the impression that this new Temple location will be going the location forward.
CMLL (MON) 03/12/2018Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger & El Asturiano vs Ares & El Perverso
2) Kaho Kobayashi & Princesa Sugehit vs Amapola & La Comandante
3) Audaz, Lestat, Pegasso vs King Jaguar, Templario, Virus
4) Stuka Jr., Titán, Valiente vs Cuatrero, Pólvora, Sansón
5) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Sam Adonis vs Euforia, Kráneo, Mr. Niebla[Relevos Increíbles]
6) Volador Jr. vs Cavernario [NWA WELTER] 19th defense. Cavernario’s fourth challenge.
This main event should be better than last week if only because it couldn’t be much worse. Audaz & Templario in the third match, but also strangely King Jaguar. Second match is Kobayashi’s Puebla debut.
Leo, Mike, Rafy, Teelo vs Astrolux, Hijo De Panther, Pumita, Torito (Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 01/27, 11:58, good, via Carxyus)
The match proper starts at the 7:35 point of the Carxyus video. This video picks up the lights flickering off and on kind of too well. With the abandoned building lightning and teenage wrestlers fighting giant ninja turtles, this had an odd vibe. It was still a fun match, with the Turtles at least trying every crazy idea the youngsters had and adding their RAW 25 tributes in between. Not everything worked, and the match never really peaked, but it was a fun match for an indie show. Mike either needs to cut back on the pizza or Astrolux probably shouldn’t try slamming him again.
that didn’t quite work right
tornillo off the balconyout of here
Metaleón vs Centvrión in a falls count anywhere match (Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 01/27, 23:25, great, via Carxyus & Adrian Martinez)
This match showed the strengths and weakness of the current lucha video ecosystem. Carxyus’s version has the most complete available version of this match, a steady cam from the second deck, which makes it my default choice. On that video, this match comes across as more creative and interesting than Metaleon & Centvrion’s XMW match from last year, but also still a bit of a lot of moves without much to them. Carxyus couldn’t capture the finish from his vantage point, so I watched the Adrian Martinez version to see it. This match is cut down about 33%, but the violence of the match comes much clearer up close. You can’t really appreciate the pound they give each other, especially on the outside, without that up–close view. This felt much more like a war from ringside, which I suspect it felt like in the building. My hunch is the best way to go about seeing this match is to don’t be lazy like I was, and ask Black Terry Jr. if he’s offering the full version of the match get the total feel. I really liked how Centvrion & Metaleon made much more use of the falls count anywhere than most Mexican matches do. I wasn’t as big a fan of Centvrion taking a driver thru a wood panel and quickly recovering to the do the same to Metaleon. This feud is based n them being equalys, maybe even down to them both wearing white for this match, but there is a point where you can go too far with that.
Metaleon code redboard fight
Lunatic Xtreme vs Demonio Infernal, hair vs hair (IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 01/28, 11:15, good, via IWRG tv,)
Notes: Demonio Infenral is counted down for three after a package piledriver, where he obviously got his shoulder up by three. It’s not even particularly close, though it is the shoulder away from the referee. The commissioner quickly decides the match needs to continue, though it takes a little time to get to that decision.
Review: [good] A good effort that wasn’t a complete match. Both guys are willing to do extreme stuff to themselves and to each other. They were just too set on doing those bits that there wasn’t much else to third fall besides quickly hitting finishing moves. They had some ideas in mind for visuals but not drama. The mix of brawling and in-ring stuff felt better in the first couple of falls (and all the time in between falls) and the third fall didn’t work as well. Both guys are still young so this seemed about as complete as it should be. Everyone seemed to react too smoothly to the third fall bit for it to be an unplanned mistake, but maybe they just handled it well.
this seems like a fun ridethis toonot thisor this
Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón vs Alas de Acero, Aramis, Iron Kidfor the Mexican National Trios Championship (Lucha Memes @ Arena Naucalpan on 02/05, 17:59, good, via hector godfrey)
The Kamikazes were a more into the title match than the NGD, to no great surprise. This is a big match for just one of these teams. Sansón, Cuatrero and Forastero are up for taking the offense of the smaller indie guys. This just goes from an opening half which doesn’t amount to much, to técnicos running thru some offense, and to a dry “your turn/my turn” exchange of near falls. Even though most of those near falls don’t feel all that near, it is the best part of the match and they did come up with one convincing big near fall to the end. This was enjoyable and is worth a look, but it didn’t have the drama of a big match.
Kamikaze divesNGD playing toss the luchador
Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako vs Centurion & Fly Warrior (Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 02/10, great, 11:23. via Adrian Martinez)
La Fortaleza are a fun team when they’re knocking around thinner opponents. Centvrion & Fly Warrior are the unlucky opposition for a while here, just getting hammered for the first few minutes before finding their way to a comeback. A crazy comeback, involving a Gori Stretch/tope spot that may be was not well considered. There were really hard chops and some spectacular moves in this match. What really separated this match was the smooth way they transitioned from one set of actions to another. There were many whips went wrong, there were reversals to set up other spots and moves flowing into each other. I’m not sure where to rate this, but is is worth your time as a fun indie match.
not sure if this was how they planned the landingteamwork!Centvrion gets hit by a bus
DTU Visoria final w/Cobre, Jimmy, Mini Flash, Adrenalina, Lokillo, Rey Gladiador, Kastigador, Moria, Kevin, Vengador, Sadiko, Rey Volador (DTU @ Arena Neza on 02/17, 16:02, good, via DTU Facebook
This video was condescend for time and edited out some blown spots (though still made it obvious that’s what they were doing, which kind of defeats the point.) What was left as a fun cibernetico style match. Everyone got a turn early on, they did some big dives, and big moves eliminated people quickly. Jimmy, Cobre and Moria looked like the best three in this particular match, so it worked out nicely that they were the last three. Any three would’ve been acceptable winners. Jimmy’s the easiest to root for, Cobre seems very fast, and Moria had the biggest spots. I think I would’ve picked Jimmy to send to Dragon Gate but not by much.
Jimmy stepping into a DDT
dive to the Casas sideCobre
CMLL (MON) 03/05/2018Arena Puebla [CMLL, CultIcon]
1) Black Tiger & Meyer b Fuerza Chicana & King Jaguar tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Rey Samuray & Tigre Rojo Jr. b Akuma & Espanto Jr. tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Audaz, Stigma, Tritón b El Malayo, Puma, Tiger tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Hechicero, Kráneo, Stuka Jr. DQ Johnny Idol, Sam Adonis, Titán[Relevos Increíbles] tecnicos took 1/3, Adonis fouling Kraneo.
5) La Bestia Del Ring, Mistico, Rush DQ Diamante Azul, Euforia, Mr. Niebla[Relevos Increíbles] Munoz took 2/3, the last by DQ when Niebla fouled Pierroth.
6) Cavernario DQ Volador Jr. straight falls. Cavernario won the first fall clean, then the second by hitting Tirantes in the back and convincing Tirantes that Volador had did it. Very quick match. Title matches coming.
The third match was the best match on the show. Three straight DQs to end the show is never good. I haven’t timed it yet, but the main event match seemed around five minutes and never got far along. It was Volador being in his sixth match of the long weekend and Cavernario’s second singles match of three, so they might have decided just to take it as easy possible to get thru. It also might have been Volador’s nose injury flaring up. It still was disappointing, and the problem here is the programming department – that match shouldn’t haven’t been booked this week with all they had going on, and definitely should’ve be scrubbed after Volador got hurt. Doing three straight DQs prior to it isn’t much good either.
Drone is scheduled to return tonight to Arena Mexico. He’s in the fourth match, teaming with Fuego & Guerrero Maya Jr. against Disturbio, Misterioso and Sagrado. It should be a safe place to have a good match, but I have no idea what we’ll see out of Drone after being quietly suspended for a month and a half. Drone has not wrestled since the end of the FantasticaMania tour, and after a video of his poor performance and strange post match interview went viral. CMLL’s been doing more of their own post match interviews of late, and it’ll be interesting if they let Drone talk.
Gran Guerrero, Marco Corleone and Mascara 2000 faced Kraneo, Rush and La Bestia del Ring (Pierroth) face off in the main event. Last week’s show seemed to point towards a Mascara/Bestia feud, which would be terrible. It is also a hilarious main event for something CMLL insists on calling “Martes de Nuevo Valores.” It looks a lot more promising in the semimain, with Audaz moving up to team with Dragon Lee and Soberano against the Hijos del Infienro.
The lightning match is Arkangel de la Muerte versus Hijo del Signo. That’s a bad combination. Aspiring trios partners Flyer & Magnus team with Principe Diamante against Metalico, Principe Odin Jr. (Artillero) and Sangre Azteca. The opener is another opening minis match, with Stukita & Ultimo Dragoncito against Mercurio & Peqeuno Nitro in a near rematch of Friday.
Meanwhile in Guadalajara, Cavernario faces Atlantis in his third singles match in three days. The silly match in Puebla at least ensured Cavernario won’t lose all three matches, but he’s unlikely to wrest the Mexican Light Heavyweight Championship from Atlantis in their first ever singles match.
CMLL detail work at work: they posted recaps of the 2000 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas (Atlantis vs Villano III) and 2002 (Veneno vs Gran Markus), but not the 2001. The 2001 was Universo 2000 taking Perro Aguayo Jr.’s hair, which seems relevant to the Dinamita main event coming up.
CMLL (SUN) 03/11/2018Arena México
1) Magnus & Robin vs El Coyote & Yago
2) Fuego, Pegasso, Star Jr. vs Hijo del Signo, Inquisidor, Nitro
3) Blue Panther, Drone, Stuka Jr. vs Johnny Idol, Okumura, Sam Adonis
4) Sansón vs Hechicero [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Shocker
6) Diamante Azul, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. vs La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]
Main event is a rematch from this past week. Sanson/Hechicero seems fun. Not much else does. Maybe the opener. Drone is booked again.
Other Notes
The Crash continues to advertise Rey Mysterio as appearing on their show next Saturday. Depending on the severity of the injury, it’s possible Rey may actually be able to wrestle in that match. It may not be the smartest health decision but it’s obviously not the first time Rey’s wrestled thru injuries. At this point, though, I don’t think The Crash is any more sure about it than everyone else. They’re handling it exactly like the Matt Riddle situation, where plenty of people are asking about Rey and Crash is saying nothing.
Hijo de Octagon finished five on Azteca’s Extalon reality show and is holding a press conference today to talk about his future plans. (Extalon, like the AAA one mentioned, is in the Survivor genre of reality shows with a greater focus on athletic challenges.) Azteca would probably want him to be a big part of the Arena Azteca show, only no one’s sure if that show still exists.
A theme park review site has some notes on the AAA Arena in Guadalajara. It’ll seat 500 people, and they have a store similar to Arena Mexico to sell some merchandise.
Indie lineups
03/24 MexaWrestling (MexaWar) at Arena San Juan has
Penta & Rey Fenix will face Jack Evans & Teddy Hart on the 04/07 Pancakes & Piledrivers show in New Orleans. This is a Saturday morning show with pancakes. I’m going to lose track of the WreslteMania weekend shows soon.
Dr. Landru of the Gladiatores is doing a month of Perros del Mal photos on instagram. Landru worked in press for the Perros del Mal promotion and was close with the group when they joined AAA. His most recent photo is of the Rey de Reyes sword Perro Jr. won in 2012. The description mentions Perro only had the sword for a short time; he left it in his vehicle before a show in Toluca, and returned to find someone had bashed the window in and taken the sword and some t-shirts. It hasn’t been seen since.
AAA announced this year’s TripleMania will be held on August 25th in Arena Ciudad de Mexico as part of a press conference today.
The big news from that press conference was the announcement of Alberto el Patron’s return to the promotion. He’ll wrestle at least at TripleMania, in a singles match against “an international wrestler” to be named later. Patron, who’s now also going with “El Presidente” as a nickname, will make media appearances on March 15th and 16th to talk more about his plans.
Alberto el Patron was close to appearing on last year’s TripleMania show. AAA and Patron could not reach an agreement over money for that show. Negotiations seemed to continue off and on past that show. Dorian Roldan hinted about an Alberto return earlier this year. Record/AAA’s Leo Riano talked about happening Record. Roldan and Alberto have had talks at recent Impact tapings, which led to Hijo del Fantasma working Patron’s charity show in February and to this announcement.
Alberto’s biggest public complaint about AAA after this 2014-15 run was the disorganized way the promotion was run. Sunday’s Rey de Reyes suggests that hasn’t really be fixed. Alberto will be facing a yet to be named non-AAA wrestler on TripleMania. I assume Alberto’s picking is actually going to be picking his opponent. We’ll find out more on those media appearances, but this sets up to all Alberto to be self contained from the rest of AAA (except for how much time they give him for his match.)
It’s a busy day for Alberto news. PW Insider says Alberto recently visited WWE about a return. Alberto’s deal with Impact is said to be close to expiring, and he’s also talking about staying with them. Alberto remains in demand because of the lack of latino draws in the US. It’s debatable if Alberto has actually drawn in a meaningful fashion, but he’s a former WWE world champion and that’s close enough for WWE.
Hijo del Fantasma vs Psycho Clown vs TBA vs TBA in a four way mask match
Lady Shani vs Faby Apache, mask vs hair
Copa TripleMania XXVI
Alberto el Patron vs an international wrestler
Arena Ciudad de Mexico had some shaky internet today, and it seemed to cause the press conference feed to be cut off early. The bulk of what we saw was focusing on Psycho Clown and Hijo del Fantasma building up their for way match. It may no longer be a cage match; Fantasma was petitioning for the bit to be dropped “so the fans could see the action better” (or so the guy with the cool dive could actually do the cool dive.)
They made a point of challenging people not in AAA right now for that extra spot. Psycho brought up Atlantis, Mr. Niebla and LA Park. Fantasma brought up Rush, though Dorian Roldan had earlier stated it would only be masked people in the match. Atlantis will never be in AAA. Mr. Niebla probably should leap at taking this payoff is really being offered. CMLL has been so loyal to Niebla that it’s unlikely he’ll go. LA Park remains a real option, as does Blue Demon. Those two spots will almost have to come from outside of the current AAA if they’re to be big names. Only La Parka of their current roster comes close to fitting as a big enough star to be in that match.
Tickets will go one sale tonight. The prices have gone up this year, 305 pesos for the cheapest ticket and 5124 ($274 USD) for the closest. CMLL’s gone higher on the low end (363 for last year’s Anniversario), but not anywhere close on the high end. The 5124 ringside ticket appears to be the most expensive ticket for lucha libre in Mexico, surpassing the 4680 cost for last year’s TripleMania ringside ticket.
Last year’s high price was attributed after the fact to Dr. Wagner Jr. getting the biggest payoff for a mask loss ever. It’s even higher even this year. AAA has added expenses of Alberto, his chosen opponent, and the loser of the Shani/Faby match. It still suggests they’re planning for a big payoff for someone, which means it also probably won’t just be the cheapest guy in the mask. AAA doesn’t need high ticket prices to pay for Dave the Clown’s mask. Or even Fantasma’s. Or maybe even Psycho’s. This is an inversion of our usual beliefs about cage matches: it’ll be the biggest star who’s most likely to lose their mask, not the smallest one. AAA’s going to take a big profit off those ticket prices, but they could’ve taken the same big profit by just lowering the amount they were going to pay to a regular AAA wrestler. It’s not going to be a regular AAA wrestler. If LA Park or Blue Demon really do end up in this match, then they become the favorites to be unmasked.
(“Blue Demon” is one of the most merchandised characters in lucha libre. It helps to have a real Blue Demon masked out there. If he shows up in AAA, LA Park would become the most likely suspect.)
Lady Shani did not appear at the press conference. Australian Suicide, Lady Shani, Bengala and Hades (the former Hahastary) are headed out in the wilderness today to film the Reto 4 Elementos reality show judging from social media. The show is scheduled to start airing on March 19th on Canal 5 in Mexico. The show will air on Unimas in the US at some point. I’m not sure exactly how they’ll be gone filming the show. There are some indications it they’re not expected back until April. Shani & Suicide are next scheduled on a 04/02 show in Leon and none of the four are on TV tapings for this month.
AAA also announced their Cuernavaca taping lineup, which will be the next show to air on Twitch.
That’s not good. Opener should be fun. Semimain are OGT and Poder del Norte having a match right after their Last Match Ever. Usually that takes a couple matches. That main event is going to be terrible.
That’s the Saturday night show, one of three tapings in eight days. They’re in San Luis Potosi three days later.
AAA TV (WED) 03/21/2018 Domo de San Luis, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí
1) Mamba & Pimpinela Escarlata vs Ashley & Estrella Divina
2) Dark Cuervo, Dark Scoria, La Parka vs Joe Lider, Mr. Águila, Parka Negra
3) Aerostar, Drago, Hijo del Fantasma vs El Mesías, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr.
4) La Máscara, Máximo, Psycho Clown vs Averno, Chessman, Súper Fly
5) Dr. Wagner Jr., Pagano, Vampiro vs Blue Demon Jr., Dave The Clown, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.
6) 1 vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 [Copa Perros del Mal]
This is a much more loaded card, as Lucha Underground tapings end on the 18th and San Luis Potosi usually gets big shows. It’s the same mixed opener. And Cuervo/Scoria vs Perros del Mal, with whoever Parka Negra turns out to be. The fifth match looks unpleasant. The Copa Perro del Mal is probably Twitch/live only. A lot of these matches are going to be Twitch/live only unless AAA suddenly gets a lot more TV time or is OK with their TV being so backloaded that matches are airing three months after they’re taped.
AAA TV (SUN) 03/25/2018 Arena Jose Sulaiman, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon
1) Mamba & Pimpinela Escarlata vs Ashley & Estrella Divina
2) Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria vs Monsther Clown & Murder Clown and Joe Lider & Mr. Águila
3) Hijo del Fantasma vs La Parka Negra [AAA CRUISER, #1 Contenders, bull terrier]
4) Aerostar & Drago vs Rey Escorpión & Texano Jr.
5) Máximo, Pagano, Psycho Clown vs Averno, Chessman, Súper Fly
6) Dr. Wagner Jr. & La Parka vs Blue Demon Jr. & Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Hernandez & Vampiro [Copa Leyendas]
It’s the same opener again! They’ll really going to get it worked out well. Some of the other stuff is similar too, and the main is a dire.
Fantasma’s match seems beneath him at the moment. That match, and Fantasma/Suicide, are potentially good, but AAA’s treating the Cruiserweight championship like a 1st/2nd/3rd match title right now. I’m all for rebuilding it. Making it third on the card where a guy who never wins a match is in line for a shot doesn’t rebuild it. The bigger priority is treating Fantasma as a big star and being in that spot does not help with that.
Bigger picture: that’s three tapings, all on Twitch, within eight days. I’m going to watch everything, because I’m a person who thinks deeply on Parka Negra win statistics. You are a dedicated follow of lucha libre to be reading this website and making it this far on this post and still you should not even attempt to watch all of it. Twitch isn’t as easy to pick and choose as YouTube because everything goes behind a pay wall pretty quick, but pace yourself and don’t feel any need to watch all of this. Check out that Cuervanaca opener on Saturday if you’re around and then get away from it until those good matches on Wednesday, or you’ll be sick of this promotion on Sunday.
AAA really doesn’t need this much television taped in such a short term. I don’t think Twitch cares how many live events they’re showing either. This seems as a way to keep the local promoters happy – the San Luis Potosi & Monterrey appear to be among the strongest – and so AAA’s helping out the gate by bringing the TV cameras there. If this is the one time they do it, it’s going to be fine. If three tapings in a short time become a regular thing, people will start to learn the same lessons as they have with CMLL, where watching all repetitive streams feels unnecessary.
