IWRG results, Puebla, Bandido

IWRG (SUN) 12/16/2018 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV]
1) Lady Cat & Lili Dark b Dulce Luna & Princesa Saira
2) Ángel Estrella Jr., Atomic Star, Puma de Oro b Canibal, Dinámico, Matrix
Atomic Star replaced Voltar.
3) Chicanito, Fireman, Mexica b Black Puma, Guerrero 2000, Power Bull
4) Dinamic Black b Mosca
5) Chris Stone Jr., Iron Kid, Manchitas b Death Metal, Güero Palma, Taurino
Lucha Memes vs Gimnasio Zeuz
6) Fly Man, Neza Kid, Quetzal b Divino, Juan Diego, Ninja de Fuego
Lucha Libre Boom vs Zaetas del Ring. Juan Diego replaced Hijo Del Brazo De Platino
7) Lunatic Xtreme b Zumbi
IWRG vs Lucha Memes. Zumbi replaced Alas de Acero.
8) Black Dragón, Dragón Bane, Toto b Black Lancer, Máquina Infernal, Shaolin
Gym FILL vs Gym Villanos

Only angle that sticks out was Lunatic Xtreme beating upset Alas de Acero was not there.

Tonight is the final Arena Puebla streaming show of the season. The next two weeks will have the shows bumped to Tuesday because of the holidays. CMLL’s streaming team will be broadcasting the Arena Mexico shows next week, so there Puebla shows will not be recorded again until January 7th. (The local Puebla Azteca affiliate was doing their own recording of shows for a couple weeks, not sure if they’re still doing it.)

Many of the CMLL shows this month have felt pointless. This Arena Puebla will fit in that box, though for slightly different reasons. They do appear to be doing something, setting up a Caristico/Cavernario main event for one of the next shows, but it is a match we’ll probably never see. Tonight, they team with Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja.

The Guerreros face Diamante Azul, Stuka, and Valiente. Stigma is in his usual tercera spot, teaming with the Panthers against Kawato, Okumura and Vangellys. The early matches include King Jaguar back to being a tecnico, Black Tiger as a rudo and Sonic wrestling in the opener for the third straight weeks, all for unclear reasons. The show will stream on CMLL’s channel at 9 pm.

Tickets are on sale for the 01/19 AAA TV Mexico City show. Tickets are running 185 to 770, which might be a little bit more than the Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera shows. The setup looks like in the 3000-4000 range.

It appears the 01/26 AAA TV show in Ciudad Madero has been announced locally. AAA hasn’t announced it on their own yet.

“Casandro el Exotico” was nominated for best documentary of the year at the Lumieres Awards.

El Manana has a bio of retired Reynosa lucahdor Alacran Negro.

some other left over takes about the Bandido/ROH deal

• Flamita is going to be OK. I don’t know Ring of Honor’s thinking about him, but I do not know if Flamita would even be all that interest in Ring of Honor. He’s a guy who signed one deal in his career – with AAA/LU – and it turned miserable pretty quick. I’m guessing he’s not eager to commit to anyone beside Dragon Gate again. DG is always going to be his #1 – if all he had were Dragon Gate trips and working in Neza, I think he’d be fine with that.

  Still – and I wrote this last night too – Mexablood is still going to be around. Flamita & Bandido still plan to team. It won’t be the tour of the US indies they’ve done the last six months, but they’ll be around. Bandido doesn’t get to a ROH deal in 2019 without Flamita and I think Bandido is aware of it; he’s not going to leave him hanging. And while I don’t think Flamita and ROH are doing a contract, there’s nothing preventing from working together on a ROH show here or there if that’s worked for everyone. ROH brought in The Sandman and Hurricane Helms for a few dates in 2018, they can probably bring in Flamita too if it makes sense.

  (another way I’m thinking about it: I would not be the first high profile tag team to come in to Ring of Honor after the Young Bucks have left. That is an unwinnable situation. No one would expect Bandido to replace Cody or Hangman Page but the tag team is a different deal. I know not everyone on Twitter is a fan of the Bucks but most of the people going to ROH shows were very much so, and following them is going to be tough.)

• if you are a person who is wondering who Bandido can wrestle in ROH, I think you owe it to yourself to watch this year’s Battle of Los Angeles. It is a really good time and there’s an obvious name in the end. And there’s also Bandido working with a variety of people beforehand. He is very good and they’re going to make it work.
• I do not think Bandido rejecting WWE is going to be anything more than an outlier at the moment. You only have to read/watch the Dragon Bane interviews to understand how quickly almost all Mexican wrestlers would sign whatever deal WWE is offered by them. It still is an interesting test case. Raul Mendoza & Humberto Carrillo went to WWE essentially straight from Mexico, and are stuck in a long-term holding pattern (despite positive reviews on live events.) People who come to WWE from promotions like Ring of Honor often (though not always) jump to the front of the line. Maybe Bandido doesn’t go to WWE ever, but it’d be interesting to see if he’s treated differently because of his path if he does.
• this is not my department but: Do not start penciling Bandido into NJPW’s Best of Super Juniors. I would love to see it but the three-way politics between NJPW, CMLL, and ROH over Bandido are going to be really weird and I can’t predict how it’s going to work out. Likewise, I wouldn’t count on seeing Bandido showing up in Arena Mexico either. Maybe everyone will be chill and it’ll work out the best for everyone involved, but this is uncharted waters and wrestling promotions.
• this is also not my department but: things are pretty solid for PWG if ROH continues to let their wrestlers work there, and things are pretty great for PWG if anyone signed with Elite can also work PWG. Since the Young Bucks were the ones who made the ROH/PWG deal, maybe they’d carry it over to a new company? Or maybe everyone decides no more sharing with PWG and then I have no idea what becomes of PWG in 2019. I’m hoping for peace.
• I could write a(nother) “top 10 indie luchadors who could be the next Bandido for an indie promotion (but won’t be brought in until PWG uses them first)” article, but I think I’d also have to write a “top 10 indie luchadors who might get booked in the US if only they had visas.” It is not like that part is simple – I happened to get an explanation this weekend of what it the process is like for a Mexican to get approved to travel to the US simply for fun, and it was roughly 100x more work than it was for me to go to Walgreens and get some passport photos taken – but it is a significant obstacle. And maybe one that doesn’t seem like it is always worth the hassle when you can just find a booking or two every weekend around Mexico City.
• But of course, I have a list. You already have my list if you’re paying attention to the same matches. I’m just too scared to write names and forget someone.
• things which seem to get Mexican luchadors booked in the English speaking US indies in 2018:
  • having a great match/matches for a Japanese promotion
  • getting written up in the WON for drawing people in Mexico in a major way
  • getting an endorsement from Konnan
  • having someone who already works English speaking indies specifically want to work with you
  • somehow making it into PWG, and getting over there
  • appearing on Lucha Underground when people were still paying attention to Lucha Underground
• things which seem to not matter at all as far as Mexican luchadors being booked in the English speaking US indies in 2018:
  • having really good matches in AAA. Or CMLL. Or The Crash or your favorite indie. Even if it’s sitting on YouTube in free pristine quality.
• Making it to US English speaking indies is not the end all be all. It is not validation, it is not necessary to have achieved to have a great career. It is simply an opportunity. It also does not thrill me to acknowledge the reality, but that’s still where things are right now.

Lineups

CMLL (SAT) 12/22/2018 Arena Coliseo
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Violencia
2) Oro Jr., Príncipe Diamante, Retro vs Metálico, Nitro, Sangre Azteca
3) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit vs Dalys, La Seductora, Metálica
4) El Audaz vs Tiger [lightning]
5) Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Titán vs Pólvora, Templario, Vangellys
6) Atlantis, Carístico, Diamante Azul vs Máscara Año 2000, Shocker, Terrible

Marcela/Metalica still on pace to happen. Audaz/Tiger might be good, probably will involve a Destroyer.