CMLL announced Kazuchika Okada will wrestle on next Friday’s CMLL show. The specific match has not been announced. It’s the usual Marca/Facebook show, and there’s a near-certain chance this will eventually air on NJPW World as well. Okada wrestled in Mexico from 2004-2007, though as an indie wrestler for Toryumon Mexico and not in big promotions. He’s only wrestled in Arena Mexico as part of past DragonMania shows, never for CMLL. He has wrestled on the FantasticaMania tours, and I can only hope he ends up teaming with the Guerreros again. Okada will be just days from completing NJPW’s taxing G1 tournament, and it’s probably safe to expect “guy working a show while on vacation” Okada than 100% of his best self. It still should be an interesting night.
This announcement was made on CMLL Informa, with hints of more announcements to come. CMLL is likely running the Gran Prix Mexico versus the World match at some point this year, and those other announcements could be for it.
CMLL Informa also announced NGD (Sanson, Cuatrero, and Forastero) will appear the CMLL Anniversary show, and Sangre Azteca will be headed to Argentina for some weeks to train wrestlers. On Dragon Lee, Julio Cesar Rivera said Lee is currently in the Dominican Republic and wished him luck on Exatlon while also hoping he’d be done in time to be on the Anniversario show. There is absolutely no knowing when Dragon Lee will be back in CMLL. The show starts airing Monday (in Mexico only, US gets a different version of the show), there’s 20 contestants, one person gets eliminated per week, and Dragon Lee is on the show until he’s eliminated. He could be off the show next week, he could be off the show on Christmas, or anywhere in between.
Atlantis was honored at the Basílica de Guadalupe.
LuchaWorld has a 100th edition of the podcast. Congrats for making it that long.
Segunda Caida reviews LA Park vs Hijo del Santo from 2001, a possibly good lucha libre cage match. This has a limited amount to do with that, but it’d be quite a world if AAA was successfully talked out of doing a cage match for their big main event only for CMLL to do one instead.
Lineups
CMLL (MON) 08/13/2018 Arena Puebla
1) Meyer & Shockercito vs Joker & Mercurio
2) La Jarochita & Mistique vs La Metálica & Reyna Isis
3) Drone, Stigma, Tritón vs El Malayo, Kawato San, Okumura
4) Diamante Azul, Soberano Jr., Valiente vs Hechicero, Mr. Niebla, Shocker
5) Atlantis, Matt Taven, Octagón vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
Main event is a rematch, after Sanson unmasked Atlantis. Opener seems to be setting up Shockericto defending against Joker. Nothing great in between, though the second match is notable for a women’s match with none of the older names.
CMLL (TUE) 08/14/2018 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Divino, Luminoso, Tigre Blanco vs Maléfico, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Guerrero Samurai Jr. vs Difunto, Espanto Jr., Príncipe Odín Jr.
3) Blue Panther Jr., Fuego, Rey Cometa vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Kawato San, Pólvora
4) Diamante Azul, Flyer, Valiente vs Felino, Gran Guerrero, Rey Bucanero
5) Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas vs Diamante Azul, Matt Taven, Mistico
You are seeing right, Diamante Azul is somehow listed in two matches. Guessing one is a fill in for Dragon Lee.
CMLL (TUE) 08/14/2018 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Nitro & Pierrothito
2) Pegasso, Star Jr., Stigma vs Espíritu Negro, Hijo del Signo, Nitro
3) Black Panther, El Audaz, Tritón vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr.
4) Blue Panther, Soberano Jr., Titán vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
5) Hechicero © vs Stuka Jr. [NWA LH]
7th defense
6) Ángel de Oro, Kráneo, Niebla Roja vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
Hechicero/Stuka is finally happening. It’s possible they put it off a week not to give away the Pura Raza result, but then they probably shouldn’t have made the challenge. NGD vs Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja has genuinely been good but it is a Tuesday.
AAA TV (FRI) 09/07/2018 Plaza de Toros, Cancún, Quintana Roo
1) Lady Maravilla, Lady Shani, Vanilla vs Keyra, La Hiedra, Scarlett Bordeaux
2) Angelikal, Australian Suicide, Hijo Del Vikingo vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
3) Laredo Kid & Sammy Guevara vs Golden Magic & Jack Evans
4) Aerostar, Máximo, Pagano vs La Máscara, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr.
5) Fénix & Psycho Clown vs Brian Cage & Hijo del Fantasma
The WON had this date last week as one Bordeaux was working, but it hadn’t been confirmed as a TV taping. It’s still not, this is another local promoter release. Main event probably sets up the Fenix/Cage match for Merida, though there’s no explanation for Guervera to be in it (not that I’m really expecting one.) I think the tercera is an ELITE versus ELITE match.
Fenix being here means he’s not on the final pre-CMLL Anniversario show. LA Park may be. Penta may be as well, but Penta’s not on a single AAA show post TripleMania at this point.
Tomorrow’s Veracruz taping is the last known lineup to have the Televisa logo on it. It’s unclear if that’s meaingful or not, but everything past it – including this taping in Cancun – have the generic “taped for TV” bit. Maybe things are just unsettled, maybe they’re going to Space only (and getting an extra hour?), maybe no one knows what’s going on. The AAA vs ELITE show was the first show to not have the Televisa logo, that show would normally start airing on Televisa this week, so we’ll see if those logos mean anything right now when AAA announces what’s airing this week (usually on Fridays.)
Two tapings in this first week of September should mean AAA is skipping the 16th weekend from taping. Though they’re probably still pretty building.
Anyway, all this time filler wrestling is going to end up killing my enthusiasm for wrestling. Can’t wait.
The Crash (SAT) 09/08/2018 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) Audaz (CMLL), Torito Negro, Xperia vs Star Boy, Viento, Zarco
2) Tessa Blanchard vs Lady Flammer, Princesa Sugehit
3) Daga vs Hechicero (CMLL)
4) Rey Horus & Soberano Jr. vs CIMA & T-Hawk
5) Bestia 666, Fatu, Mecha Wolf vs Cuatrero, Forastero (CMLL), Sansón
Garza Jr. will be referee
6) Carístico & Volador Jr. vs Penta Zero M & The King
Full card for their next main show. The Crash is a place where they fly Audaz in to work an opener. Everyone seems pretty excited for Daga/Hechicero, which might have been better a couple years ago. The CIMA/T-Hawk match might be part of a deal they’re teasing with CIMA’s OWE promotion. Garza referee-ing for his team seems unfair unless there’s an angle coming. I don’t think anyone who doesn’t follow CMLL understands that Carisitco & Volador are not friends and do not like eahc other, because they keep on getting teamed up.