January 22, 2019 – luchablog

IWRG (SUN) 01/20/2019 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Atomic Star & Toto b Guero Palma & Neza Kid
Toto replaced Shaolin
2) Black Dragón, Black Terry, Gato De Ecatepec b Death Metal, Ra-Zhata, Shil-Kah
3) Demonio Infernal, Eterno, Lunatic Xtreme b Liderk, Ripper, Spector[super libre]
Ripper replaced Rayan. Eterno’s Infierno Eterno team continues to ask for a trios title match.
4) Multifacetico (Puebla) b Multifacetico 2.0
Talk of a name vs name match followed the Puebla Multifacetico getting the win.
5) Dragón Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Séptimo Rayo, Último Gladiador b Cerebro Negro, Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro and Aramis, Dinamic Black, Imposible, Internacional Pantera and Demasiado, Óscar El Hermoso, Pasion Kristal, Soy Raymunda [Zona de Ejecucion]
Final four were Cerbero Negro, Dragon Bane, Aramis and Pasion Kristal. Kristal and Aramis were eliminated and Dragon Bane pinned Cerebro Negro to end it. He then asked for a match for Cerbero Negro’s title.

The Dragon Bane finished included both a Spanish Fly and a Canadian Destroyer. That was a thing about the hyped Mysterio/Andrade match from WWE the last couple weeks, it was strange to see people getting so excited to see Destroyer spots that are (frustratingly) seemingly in every indie match in Mexico. Context is key.

Producciones Castelazzi is running Dr. Cerebro versus Francois Montanez in a hair match on 01/31 in Arena Naucalpan.

CMLL (MON) 01/21/2019 Arena Puebla [CMLL]
1) Espíritu Maligno & Policeman b Centella Roja & Meyer
Rudos took 2/3.
2) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Tigre Rojo Jr. b El Malayo & Toro Bill Jr.
tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Marcela & Princesa Sugehit b Amapola & La Comandante
tecnicas took 1/3.
4) Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Tyson La Bestia b Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma, Stuka Jr.
Rudos took 1/3.
5) Luciferno b Niebla Roja [lightning]
Luciferno beat Niebla Roja clean with the Luciferno Clash and asked for a title match.
6) Rush, Vangellys, Villano IV b Euforia, Kráneo, Valiente [Relevos Increíbles]
Rudos took 1/3.

If CMLL can give Luciferno a singles title match, they can give anyone a title match (and they should be giving more people title matches.) Luciferno has not been waved with a special want of importance by being the third most important member of a rapidly declining upper midcard trio. A title change depends on how desperate CMLL is to do Dragon Lee/Luciferno again, and if Niebla Roja is in Block A or Block B of the Universal tournament.

Niebla Roja will have three singles matches in eight days because CMLL really doesn’t spread out those title chances. Tonight’s singles match is against Mephisto. Mephisto has a history of great singles match but they’re increasingly in the rear view mirror and it’s going to take a special performance by Roja to get there tonight.

The rest of the card is much the usual for a Tuesday, with not a lot of note. The semi-main has Euforia, Bucanero and Shocker against Kraneo, Volcano and Rey Cometa. I’d like to see Cometa versus Euforia and not much the rest. Dragon Rojo & Polvora team with Hechicero against Draone, Maya and Pegasso in one of those b-show matches which could be good if they try but likely won’t be. Same for Robin, Star Jr., Super Astro Jr. versus Disturbio, Virus and Kawato. There’s a minis match and a usual second to open it up. The card will stream at 7:30 pm.

Rush and friends headline Guadalajara. The women’s match is similar to last week, but there wasn’t anything particularly set up.

NEW announced Dragon Lee was off their shows this weekend due to visa issues. I’m not sure this proves the ROH signing or not; they’ve let some people work out their indie dates and others have not. I believe the WON said Rush is working on getting a new visa too, and maybe they both got them around the same time, or it could be a cover story. The FantasticaMania roster arrives back in Mexico sometime today, I believe, so maybe we’ll find out soon.

Fuego confirmed he’s still alive and has not forgotten us all. His last match in CMLL was 39 days ago.

The Sunday Arena Lopez Mateos main event was Los Traumas & Penta against Ovett, Leon Rojo and Angel O Demonio. It sort of an implicit hype that the Traumas/Penta are really going to make Angel O Demonio pay for his attack on Cuervo in that same building in December . Instead, it was much like most Angel O Demonio matches since, where he brings out a concrete brick to tease doing it all over again. I’ve tried to just ignore Angel o Demonio since the first couple of matches since, because it is very obvious that he’s looking for attention and that the Mexican wrestling community at large does not believe what he did was something worth getting upset about for more than week or two. I feel differently, but it’s not my community. Guys like Penta would seem to be a big part of that community in that moment, and what happened here is Angel o Demonio got to cheat to beat Penta (and was ultimately beat by Trauma I) to tease a singles match and maybe a hair or mask match. Penta doesn’t really need this booking but I don’t know that he should be singled out; everyone’s moved on beyond which ways they can make money of it.

MexaWrestling says they’ll be introducing a women’s championship and are looking for suggestions on good luchadoras they haven’t used on previous shows.

+LuchaTV has an interview with Alberto el Patron from the Lucha Time show in Monterrey this week. He’s doing the “I’m going to retire in two years” bit he’d done for about five years now. The thing is, I think many people probably think he retired sometime last year. His career has gone quiet since getting fired by Impact. I’d imagine he’s still asking for around the same money per appearance and people aren’t interested.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report and the latest Poster-Mania.

let’s see if we bait the The Chris into RT-ing this

This is part 2 of this feature on Sunday CMLL matches deep in the NJPW World archives. Apparently, I have a part 3 coming now! This was all written up around 01/14.

Michael Elgin, Mistico, Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
(CMLL @ Arena México on 09/30, 8:31, ok,NJPW)

NGD don’t get to wrestle outside heavyweights that much, so this stuck out as a chance to see how that might work. It doesn’t really work out that way. Elgin is the only one putting in a lot of effort. NGD and Elgin do not smoothly mesh here. This is a standard B-show main event, a few high spots and not much more.

Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente vs Cavernario, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
(CMLL @ Arena México on 10/28, 9:35, ok,NJPW)

This is the start of the Niebla Roja/Rey Bucanero issue. It feels no different than most CMLL B-show insta-feuds, with Bucanero cheapshotting Niebla Roja for no reason and ducking a fair fight most of the match. Bucanero is doing a little more here than usual but there’s no special connection. Vaeitne’s tope on Cavernario at the end is pretty strong.

Flyer vs Dragón Rojo Jr. in a lightning match
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/04, 6:02, ok,NJPW)

Dragon Rojo loses Flyer on a spot early, angrily stomping him with then spot doesn’t work, and this match feels like it’s going sideways quick. It does improve from there, especially with Dragon Rojo nifty pulling thru a roll thru spot, but these two guys have enough individual shakiness that doesn’t get solved by putting them together. Flyer hesitates on the Asai moonsault a lot, to the point where it would definitely be a personal twist on a regular move if it made any sense. They have a decent layout on a match, it just doesn’t come together smoothly. It could’ve been worse, all considering.

Carístico, King Phoenix, Penta 0M vs Ciber, Gilbert el Boricua, The Chris in a relevos increíbles match
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/18, 13:59, good,NJPW)

Maybe the best CL4N/Gilbert match in CMLL in 2018? They all had small moments where things didn’t look great, but they were putting in a lot of effort and going things we didn’t see from the other matches. The Chris looked the best, mixing it up with Fenix will and pulling out a rolling dropkick of all things. Gilbert seems to be in the least of anyone, leaving me wishing they did more with him and Fenix for old times’ sake. This was not Fenix and Penta top performance but they showed enough that first-time viewers – which appeared to be most of the people commentating this match – came away impressed. Easy fun match that would be fondly considered if it was streamed on a Friday and not behind the paywall of another promotion’s subscription site.

Rush & Terrible © vs Diamante Azul & Valiente for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/18, 16:15, ok,NJPW)

They went thru the usual bits of a big match and the effort was there, but there wasn’t enough to this match to overcome my dislike for one of the wrestlers. Diamante Azul had an expensive mask for his big match and not really the performance to match. He missed the very stationary target on his big dive and his backbreakers weren’t any better. I wish I could be so impressed by him Azul being big as the people who promote him because it is not fun to see him as a bad wrestler makes matches worse just because he’s big. This felt like they wanted to give Diamante Azul a world title but don’t have a lot of confidence in him being on his own. They still tried to make it his big moment and he still struggled.

Niebla Roja vs Rey Bucanero, hair vs hair
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/18, 21:16, ok,NJPW)

So, is the problem here is that this is a match built around Rey Bucanero getting beat up a lot and he can’t really have a good match that way in 2018, or is the problem that they’re doing that style of match in the first place. This would’ve been a very exciting 2004 Rey Bucaneo match that’s a struggle at times and never settles into a story beyond “here are some moves.” Like all recent Rey Bucanero big matches, he’s willing to try and it’s just his inability to execute and their unwillingness to take a different track that limits how interesting it came to be. If you want to see a similar match to what other people have done, just in a less exciting fashion, then this will still work for you. It worked for the fans, who seemed very into the drama of what seemed like an obvious result. Niebla Roja is more popular than it seems or Bucanero has a lot of credibility to them. Myself, I can’t tell you it’s really worth your time to watch this match, though at least it’s not nearly as long as the video file suggested. They give the haircut plenty of time.

Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., Tritón vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr.
(CMLL @ Arena México on 12/02, 12:15, below average, NJPW)

I have no idea why they decided to air this show. There’s nothing much on it. The Super Astro/Espiritu Negro lightning match is not shown but might be the only promising match. This match did remind me there was a point where Sagrado cared and was good. I think that person went away sometime in 2108. A relatable situation. The lowlight of this match is Universo 2000 apparently rolling out the wrong side of the ring, so Esfinge sets up for a corner moonsault to the floor, than just stands there posing when there’s no one in the zipcode. CMLL cameras help out not all by focusing on him, and never showing Triton dive on the other side of the ring. It could not be more awkward. Universo and Esfinge fail at a takedown a moment later. This is a bad night.

Day: January 22, 2019

Niebla Roja loses to Luciferno last night, Niebla Roja faces Mephisto tonight

2018 CMLL on NJPW World (second half)

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