Day: March 4, 2019

I went to PWG Friday night, thinking I was going to see Bandido win the PWG Championship. He did not, which is strong proof I know nothing. The match was still good, as was the other matches featuring luchadors (Laredo Kid/Puma King and LAX/Rascals/Lucha Brothers) on the card. The opener nearly stole the show from the beginning and was amazing given the sad situation in Jungle Boy’s life.

I have not seen the MLW show from Saturday by my impression is Laredo Kid/Taurus versus Penta/Fenix was very good. One takeaway from this weekend is Laredo Kid is very good but also would be helped by having a hook to get people invested in him before they realize he’s also very good.

I made it to The Crash show instead on Saturday.

The Crash (SAT) 03/02/2019 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California [El Sol de Tijuana, The Crash, thecubsfan]
1) Dinámico & Tiago b Maverick & Terror Azteca and Máscara Oriental & Unicornio 
Mascara Oriental is Capricornio, having been given Fenix’s old name.
2) Star Boy, Viento, Zarco b Astro Aéreo, Torito Negro, Xperia
This Astro Aereo is Astrolux, who can not currently use that name in The Crash. Xperia dove off the top of the fan entrance tunnel. A team from Mexicali attacked the tecnicos after their loss, teasing a match with the Tijuana rudos (Triple Amenaza.)
3) Gallito Tapatío & Microman b Chamuel & Zacarias el Perico 
Microman beat Chamuel
4) Diamante Azul (CMLL) & Jeff Cobb b Hechicero (CMLL) & Michael Elgin 
Azul & Cobb beat Azul
5) Bestia 666, Garza Jr., Sabú b Damián 666, Trauma I, Trauma II  
Sabu put Damain thru a table to win. Sabu/Damian in a “FMW style” cage match and Rebellion versus Traumas were teased.
6) Austin Theory b Willie Mack ©, Cavernario, Sansón [The Crash HEAVY]  
Willie Mack falls on his first defense, being pinned by Austin Theory. Cavernario suffered a shoulder injury late but seemed OK later.

Pretty good turn out, though a little short of sold out. (PWG seemed to be about the same, come to think of it.) A lot of good matches, with the best matches from start to finish being more on the undercard. The main event was good but the closing moments were derailed by Cavernario being hurt. It’s also the first time a The Crash heavyweight title changed in the ring; being in the building for an actual The Crash title change (as opposed to the title being given up and a new champion being decided) was amusing for me. It appeared a chunk of the crowd felt the main event was actually the Sabu match and took off after it.

A clip of the Sabu match I posted got a little bit of reaction on social media. He was fine the rest of the match, given his age, and gave the people enough of what they wanted out of a Sabu & Damian match in 2019 (mostly a chance to chant ECW.) Damian bled. That cage match seems like it’ll happen if they can get Sabu back for it. Sabu was the most popular guy by autograph seekers at the meet & greet – both because he’s an international guy who is in Tijuana once a decade, and also because I think they all knew he was likely to show up late and leave early. Which he did.

Azul/Cobb versus Hechicero/Elgin was not good at all. Cobb & Elgin both angrily walked off after the match ended – it was almost like an angry race if you were not involved in it. Diamante Azul clearly planned on getting in Cobb or Hechicero’s face to tease a match, but they were both back at the entrance before he figured out what was going on. The finish was Hechicero pretty much press slamming himself with Diamante Azul on the middle rope. Azul was in no condition to perform. He wasn’t falling over himself or otherwise making it obvious, it just seemed like a bad boring match to the fans, but you could tell the others were having major difficulties working with him and around him. Hechicero & Elgin also seemed to be on two different pages leading to the finish, though it may have a communication issue trying to work around Azul’s issues. This isn’t the first time Azul has shown up in a match like this and – since there are no clips to go viral from it – it won’t be the last time he’ll get to do it. I think it’ll probably be the last time it happens with the Crash, except Azul is friends with the right people and that might obligate taking him again when they want someone else. I know there are people high on Diamante Azul because he can have impressive moments in CMLL trios matches, but this is part of the package as well.

The Micros were less popular than I would’ve figured at the meet & greet. They did get some people, but I wonder if CMLL not being on TV hurt them a bit. (Sanson & Cuatrero seemed to do alright. The foreigners less so, but they were way in the back. Hechicero did a bit better, but the Rebelion were the most popular Mexican act. Damian split his table with some of the opening match guys, which was nice of him.) The crowd also seemed quiet to the Micros when they came out. Those four guys totally won them over of the course of the match, with Microman getting easily the loudest reaction of the night by the time they were done. They’ve added new spots – maybe in time for the Homenaje a Dos Leyendas appearance – but even just the moves we’ve seen from him and Chamuel since they started working together were blowing away this crowd. Those guys would get over anywhere if given a chance to do their match.

I didn’t really understand the angle out of the second match but the Tijuana/Mexicali dynamic was very over. The first two matches were fun to watch and Xperia is a crazy person for the dive he did. He seems like a name to watch in the undercard if he doesn’t kill himself.  Crash’s local roster is still in a rebuilding process following all those guys getting picked up by the AAA, though the talent pool seems deep.

The next The Crash show is on 03/23 with Negro Casas being honored and a Caristico/Rey Horus match.

I also got to visit the lucha libre museum in Tijuana. It is great, with more items than you can imagine, and well worth the trip.

IWRG (SUN) 03/03/2019 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Latino & Puma de Oro b Güero Palma & Neza Kid
2) Toto b Tackle
3) Auzter & Barba Blanca b Dinamic Black & Eragón
The debuting Barba Blanca looks a lot like the former Pirata Morgan Jr. with a new name and mask.
4) Karaoui, Ra-Zhata, Shil-Ka b Diablo Jr., Hijo del Alebrije, Relámpago
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus b Aramis
Sets up another title match between them.
6) Demonio Infernal, Eterno, Lunatic Xtreme DQ Ángel Tormenta, Rokambole Jr., Villano V Jr.
Villano team originally won, but the finish was overturned and called a DQ. Challenges for super libre and extreme matches followed.
7) Oficial AK47 L Dragón Bane, Death Metal, Cerebro Negro [mask, hair]
Oficial AK-47 lost his hair to Dragon Bane in a match where the first person to lose lost their hair or mask. Bane beat him with a 450 when the other two were out of the ring. Cerebro wants a singles apuesta match with Bane.

The main event is the fifth time AK47 has lost his hair in Arena Naucalpan, all since 2012.

+LuchaTV posted a photo of Baron Blanca. It sure looked like Pirata Morgan Jr. returning under a very familiar Pirata mask and with the same hairline, but Pirata Jr. had tattoos on both arms and this guy does not. His few other appearances on the Mexico State indies had him teaming with a Baron Roja.

Maybe the biggest news from the Arena Neza show is Negro Casas didn’t wrestle, saying he was still injured. Not sure about him wrestling on a Tuesday show. Fuerza Guerrera replaced him, which also included Juventud Guerrera invading to build up his match with his father. The main event ended with Canek trying to get away with a mask pull on Rayo de Jalisco and being caught.

Mil Mascaras also did not wrestle his scheduled match this weekend, a main event with Negro Navarro. He appeared to say he could not wrestle due to health issues and was replaced by Head Hunter I and Avius, I don’t even know who that is, but that match sounds not good. The actual main event was Jerry Estrada versus Stuka I, which probably also was a struggle.

03/24 GALLI has Drago, Rey Horuz, Rey Fenix, Penta 0M, El Bandolero, Aero Boy, Gringo Loco, and Golden Dragon.

Everything (but the DVDs) in the Lucha Underground store is 70% off if you use the code SAVE70. This sale lasts thru March 18th. That seems like a sign a resolution to LU’s future is coming soon, but who knows with LU ever. It is possible the person running the merchandise may be working off the same guesses as everyone else and just doesn’t want to make sure they’re not holding a lot of extra material when a decision is made. I guess we see where everything is at on March 19th.

A Japanese interview with Gran Hamada mentioned he’s moved to Mexico. His wife passed away in December and her son moved out of the house, so he sold it and decided to come live with his daughters in Mexico.

MexaWrestling has launched a YouTube channel and says they’ll be putting up more once they hit 500 subscribers. They were up to 121 when I checked Sunday night and had already put up a couple of the matches. The show will also be airing on +Lucha at some point with their own recording.

A story on the Bolivia Cholitas.

Zocalo has an interview with Indio Kikapoo Jr.

AAA had a TV taping on Sunday.

AAA TV (SUN) 03/03/2019 Arena Jose Sulaiman, Monterrey, Nuevo León[AAA, Lucha Central, MedioTiempo, Zocalo]
Attendance: 5500
1) Dinastía b Orquídea Negra, Baby Xtreme 
bonus match
2) Faby Apache & Keyra b Lady Shani & Starfire 
Keyra stole the pin on Starfire from Faby Apache (who was going for her first moonsault in a decade.) They argued and fought post match, with Keyra getting the better of it.
3) Jack Evans, Taurus, Villano III Jr. b Golden Magic, Myzteziz Jr., Niño Hamburguesa 
Taurus beat Myzteziz. Jack, Australian Suicide and Sammy Guevera formed a new trio after the match.
4) Mamba, Máximo, Pimpinela Escarlata DQ Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana 
Maximo faked a foul to draw the DQ.
5) Daga, Sammy Guevara, Texano Jr. b Brian Cage, Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid
Daga’s return to AAA, as a Perros del Mal with Kahn del Mal. Sammy Guevera replaced Hijo del Fantasma and pinned Laredo Kid after pulling his mask and landing a shooting star press. Post match included Australian Suicide, Jack Evans and Rey Escorpion attacking the tecnicos.
6) Chessman, Monsther Clown, Rey Escorpión b Aerostar, Pagano, Psycho Clown 
Monsther beat Aerostar
7) Blue Demon Jr. b La Parka, Dr. Wagner Jr. [Copa Perro Aguayo Jr.] 
Rey Escorpion & Texano destroyed La Parka and Demon & Wagner largely wrestled by themselves. Demon (now tecnico) and Wagner (now rudo) switched sides randomly.

I watched this live but distracted and sleepy, so I don’t have thoughts on the quality of matches yet. It overall seemed to be an interesting show and other reviews were positive on it overall.

There was no official turn in the main event and maybe everything goes back to normal next time we see them, but Demon was the bleeding babyface valiantly trying to overcome Wagner in the main event for whatever reason. It was strange, but the crowd liked it. The Demon family has a long history in Monterrey (though they have a long history everywhere.)

AAA, thru La Parka’s record column, mentioned once again that Wagner/Demon will be joined by five other “stellar matches”. A problem with AAA – not with the turnout obviously, but watching it from show to show – is they have many feuds going on, none of them seem to have an endpoint, and anyone who’s watched AAA for the last few years has been educated not to expect anything to actually get blown off. The Rey de Reyes lineup, coming a few hundred words from now, is very clear that almost nothing is getting resolved for now. Perhaps some of those feuds will fill those five spots at TripleMania, but there’s a lot of stuff to get in.

• La Mascara vs Maximo (vs Psycho Clown? vs Rey Escorpion?) in an apuesta match
• Fenix vs Hijo del Fantasma
• La Parka versus Los Mercenarios
• Monsther Clown vs Aerostar in a mask versus mask match
• Sammy Guevera vs Laredo Kid (or Los Guardians de La Lucha vs Jinetes del Aire)
• Lady Shani against Keyra? Faby? Maravilla? Taya?
• A Copa TripleMania

That’s 7 right there, and that leaves out people like Brian Cage and Killer Kross (though history suggests we should assume they won’t have anything to do for TripleMania.) In theory, AAA saying they have five more matches set for TripleMania means they have a master plan for where all this is going. In reality, I’d wait and see.

I do like the Los Guardians pairing – Jack has drifted since coming back and Suicide even longer. Both are useful if given something to do. If this even just a one time set up for a trios title match against Laredo Kid, Myzteziz and Vikingo, that’s plenty good enough. That’s also the sort of match worth offering to AEW for Double or Nothing, though I’d personally want to see Taurus on that show because a minotaur on a AEW show will get over.

A surprise return that turned out to be Daga was hyped up thru the show. This was a good idea because it did not seem like an important deal otherwise; he wasn’t focused on the match and didn’t have much a direction coming out of it in a match where everyone else was going anywhere. It perhaps is because both sides don’t have much of a commitment to each other at this point. Daga’s social media talking point over the last 24 hours is not talking about his return to AAA, but that he’s an independent and not a repentant dog returning to AAA. Fenix got a title match when he returned, Penta got the main event of TripleMania, and Daga got left behind with the angry Twitter trolls.

Daga was also definitely a rudo, in a faction where Taya is definitely a tecnica and Joe Lider is maybe one. And maybe Penta is a tecnico and in the group? I dunno.

Brian Cage mentioned he didn’t arrive until the match before him ended, thanks to flight issues. It didn’t really show, which is a credit to him.

The Keyra/Faby Apache thing was interesting. Keyra disrespected Faby Apache during the back and forth promo. It was totally scripted, but also done in a way to signal Apache was going to attack her and leave her laying. Faby then did attack her, but Keyra won that fight. AAA’s doing well in elevating Keyra and Lady Maravilla into credible characters but it doesn’t work unless people like Faby are willing to buy into it. She did with that segment, and maybe it’ll pay off for her down the road. Faby had a strong 2018 because she had someone new to work with that people took seriously, and those same AAA fans are going to be excited if/when Faby versus Keyra happens because of stuff like this segment. (It stands out very much different to CMLL, where some of the older women appear to be scared of losing their spots to younger women to the point of tearing them down in matches and in promos, but no one’s over as a result.)

AAA English commentary appeared to be done from the AAA offices this time around, instead of at the venue. Adrian Mendoza, part of +LuchaTV, was brought in to work with Vampiro this time. I tuned in just as Vampiro was in the middle of an explanation of how having Adrian there would make sure Vampiro wouldn’t lose his mind during the show. I tuned out when Adrian was setting up the main event, asked a question to Vampiro, and Vampiro said he hadn’t been paying attention.

The English VOD is now behind the $5/month paywall, which is enough to make sure I won’t watch it later. Ideally, the AAA Spanish & English content would be behind the same paywall but I don’t think Twitch makes that possible at the moment. Live viewership remained at that 10% of Spanish level, reaching over 500 people in English to over 5000 watching in Spanish during the main event. It’s about the same for the VOD so far; about 100 people in Spanish and less than 10 in English. Rey de Reyes is going to be the real test for interest level, as it is a bigger show and Fenix & Penta will draw in more English speakers. They really need to find a way to promote to a different audience though; right now, you still only know this is being offered if you’re a person who is already following the promotion in Spanish.

News site Zocalo wrote they asked the building and they were told attendance was over 5,500. Konnan says 6,500. Either way, it looked full.

The TV news might not be as bright. CMLL is getting attention for their TV show this, as AAA got a month ago. Of course, another part of lucha libre & major TV network cycle is the TV network being disappointed when the viewership numbers aren’t exactly what they wanted and the show getting moved around as a result. AAA announced they had 4 million viewers for their first show, which seemed good. Maybe they didn’t stay that high. El Planchitas today writes Azteca hasn’t been happy with the numbers the show has gotten and is already considering moving the show. “Later Friday” is an option, which sounds like the late night slot Elite was in which did them no good. There’s also a possibility they’d move to Saturdays, which is the option their fans seem to want on social media and would put them up against CMLL.

This week’s AAA TV episode on YouTube is four matches from Ciudad Madero. AAA TV is going heavy on the Nino Hamburguesa/Lady Maravilla stuff relative to their position. It is weird that is the right call but that is definitely the right call.

Lineups

AAA TV (SAT) 03/16/2019 Acropolis, Puebla, Puebla
1) Big Mami & Niño Hamburguesa © vs Lady Maravilla & Villano III Jr. [AAA MIXED TAG]
2) Lady Shani © vs La Hiedra, Keyra, Chik Tormenta [Reina De Reinas]
3) Daga, Joe Lider, Taya vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
4) Drago, Pagano, Puma King vs Averno, Chessman, Súper Fly
5) Laredo Kid vs Hijo Del Vikingo, Jack Evans, Sammy Guevara, Australian Suicide, Taurus, Golden Magic, Aerostar, Myzteziz [Rey de Reyes]
6) Mamba, Máximo, Psycho Clown vs Jeff Jarrett, Killer Kross, La Máscara
7) Fénix & Pentagón Jr. vs Rey Escorpión & Texano Jr. [AAA TAG]

Last year’s Rey de Reyes was built around surprise returns (Mesias!) and a hair match to fill a 9,000 seat building. This year, AAA must feel hot enough they really only are giving away the tag title match as a big drawing card. Maybe Jarrett getting WWE exposure helps brings a little more attention. This has more names than an average AAA TV card and the matches look good but it doesn’t look like one of the five biggest shows of the year.

It would be weird to give Fenix & Penta the tag titles given how tough it has proven to get bookings just on Fenix since he became megachampion. On the other hand, it hasn’t appeared to hurt AAA’s business for their world champion to not be around and the tag titles are even less important. It might also be some good AAA/AEW synergy for the Lucha Brothers to bring the tag belts to Double Or Nothing in a couple of months. The Lucha Brothers have been better at ten minute-ish matches of late, probably a consequence to how much they’re wrestling around the world, and the test of the main event will be how Escorpion & Texano handle working a different way than the usual AAA main events.

Jeff Jarrett will never go away. A team with him and La Mascara is frightening, and not in the ways Kross tries to be frightening.

It is not clear on the lineup and likely won’t be clear until the show day, but I suspect the Rey de Reyes match is either a royal rumble or a nine-man elimination match, not a series of matches for time reasons. It is almost closer to being the return of Alas de Oro than the usual structure. There were strong rumors that Vikingo was, at one point, scheduled to win the Rey de Reyes last year and he looks like a favorite this year. Taurus is the only rudo in the match who I would trust with a sword, the other three will definitely poke their eyes out.

The 3rd & 4th match appear to exist to get people booked on the cards, with the novelty of Perros del Mal being back as a trio. Taya might be around to (again) set up something with Lady Shani. Drago and any one of the OGT spinning out to a singles title match would be interesting but Pagano is probably the actual priority there.

It is nice to see Chik Tormenta back and La Hiedra has been good in miscellaneous duty for the last while – she must feel so betrayed by Villano III Jr. betraying her for another mixed doubles teammate. The Keyra/Shani match has built, as much as it has been build to a direct singles match but the other two should still be fine. The mixed tag title match is probably the best built up match on the same show, and maybe not necessarily the end of that story.

Hijo del Fantasma worked AAA spot shows in Mall this past week, so he’s around even if he’s not on these shows. It feels like it should be an important deal but no one’s talking about it. Perhaps he’ll show up to cost Fenix the main event.

There’s plenty to catch up on, so I’m splitting it into parts. CMLL now, AAA later, everything else much later.

CMLL (FRI) 03/01/2019 Arena México [+LuchaTV, CMLL, Lost in Lucha, Lucha Central, Marca, The Gladiatores]
1) El Coyote & Grako b Astral & Robin 
Rudos took 1/3
2) Dalys, Reyna Isis, Tiffany b Kaho Kobayashi, La Jarochita, Princesa Sugehit 
Reina Isis replaced Metalica. Rudas took 2/3.
3) Felino, Hechicero, Vangellys b El Audaz, Flyer, Rey Cometa 
Rudos took 1/3.
4) Titán b Templario [lightning] 
Titan got another singles win just before the 10 minute limit.
5) Carístico, Diamante Azul, Valiente DQ Ciber the Main Man, Gilbert el Boricua, The Chris 
Gilbert unmasked Diamante Azul. Tecnicos took 2/3, Gilbert unmasking Diamante Azul in the third.
6) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible DQ Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Volador Jr. 
Los Ingobernables were DQed for the very rare “over the top throw” violation on Angel de Oro in the first, then Terrible fouled Angel de Oro in the second fall.

CMLL promos: Titan, El CL4N, Gilbert, Diamante Azul, and Los Ingobernables.

Backstage promos: Los Ingobernables, Gilbert el Boricua, El Cl4N (who are working their version of the Super Pinocho & Super Muneco feud with Gilbert and CMLL is ignoring it just the same), Titan, Templario, the rudas, Los Gorilla del Ring (they would now accept Stuka as their third member.) Diamante Azul did an interview saying he wants a mask versus hair match with Gilbert.

I saw the Titan/Templario show while waiting for PWG to start and it seemed good. Haven’t seen the rest of the show and didn’t hear much positive about it. They’re just marking time until Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, and that doesn’t play well when it isn’t an interesting main event.

CMLL (SAT) 03/02/2019 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito b Acero & Aéreo
rudos took 1/3
2) Espanto Jr., Espíritu Negro, Hijo del Signo b Halcón Suriano Jr., Príncipe Diamante, Sonic
Rudos took 1/3, then ripped up Diamante’s mask
3) Amapola, La Seductora, Reyna Isis b Kaho Kobayashi, La Guerrera, Marcela
Rudos took 2/3. Reina Isis wants a title match with Marcela.
4) Tritón b Virus [lightning]
Money thrown in.
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Stuka Jr. b Dark Magic, Mephisto, Okumura
Dark Magic’s return from fight injury. Tecnicos took 2/3.
6) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible b Cuatrero, Forastero, Shocker
Los Ingobernables took 1/3.

Triton talks about his win over Virus.

No show next Saturday; they’re off for boxing. Isis is probably getting her title shot soon after.

CMLL (SUN) 03/03/2019 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Príncipe Odín Jr. & Yago b Bengala & Leono
Yago, making a rare appearance, replaced Grak and wore a shirt in tribute to Coco Blanco (his father.) Rudos took 1/3.
2) Oro Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Cancerbero, Metálico, Raziel
tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Lluvia b Sanely [lightning]
Lluvia beat Sanely in 6:45 via dropkick while Sanely was caught in the ropes.
4) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. vs Kawato San, Nitro, Universo 2000 Jr.
Nitro replaced Misterioso. Panthers took 1/3.
5) Cavernario, Forastero, Rey Bucanero b Soberano Jr., Titán, Volador Jr.
Rudos took 1/3.
6) Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Diamante Azul, Místico, Valiente
Straight falls. GG & UG asked for a tag title match and unmasked Valiente & Diamante Azul.

Lluvia talks about the lightning match. It doesn’t come up, but it appears that was her first ever singles match in CMLL. This is an amazing stat for someone who’s had four title shots and has been in the promotion since 2008. Los Guerreros challenged for the tag team titles, and that seems to be a real match. Diamante Azul & Valiente won the tag belts for no reason and Guerreros would make much more sense as champ, a title change seems possible.

CMLL returns to Puebla tonight for a match the fans didn’t want to see, Vangellys challenging Ultimo Guerrero for the CMLL Heavyweight Championship. UG losing would be shocking. The match being great would be almost as shocking. Caristico, Mistico, and Soberano take on Hijos del Infierno in probably the best chance for an undercard match. Audaz, Flyer, and Titan are a good team facing Hechicero, Rey Bucanero and Shocker. Princesa Sugehit & Amapola meet in a rare women’s lightning match with nothing being built towards (like the Sunday match.) Super Astro is scheduled to wrestle in the second match; he hasn’t been seen since last Tuesday’s injury. Halcon Suriano makes an appearance in the opener.

Blue Panther Jr. & Dragon Rojo Jr. appeared on Televisa’s soccer coverage to promote the return of the CMLL TV show to Televisa next week. They’ve moved the start time to a later time specifically to make it a soccer lead-in. The show also has a name – “Pura Lucha” – and a commercial, which is more effort than Televisa had put into it for the preceding decade. CMLL had said the show the debut of the show was delayed to technical/marketing reasons and they do seem to actually be marketing it. Still, after all this, Pura Lucha is not listed on the channel’s listings for Saturday at the moment. Not on the website either.

This was a link to a Univision Deportes tweet of Blue Panther Jr. announcing the CMLL show would also air on their network. It’d operate as the soccer lead-in on both channels. It is not a link to nothing in particular, because Univison Deportes deleted the Tweet. I would assume that means no deal is done and is not airing after all.

Leo Riano’s column mentions that the fans have been demanding Leo Riano as an announcer for CMLL or AAA and promises he’ll have some Leo Riano wrestling news to come. This sounds like Riano will end up part of the CMLL Televisa crew after all; he’s in that commercial as the announcer.

Entrepreneur has an interview with Sofia Alonso, talking about CMLL’s history and challenges as a business. Alonso mentions watching CMLL on TV on Saturdays with her father growing up and sees making the promotion available in more ways as one challenge.

Diario Basta has an interview with Gallito Tapatio, who says his goal (and probably the other micros goal) is to wrestle in Japan. CMLL & NJPW are unlikely to do mixed matches, so a FantasticaMania tour would probably have to be them doing the same match-up for about seven shows. It might be better if they went over for one special show.

El Alfil is thrilled his mask is part of the CMLL Arena Mexico mural of masks. He didn’t have a big CMLL career but he did lose his mask alongside of Cachorro Mendoza’s hair against Espectro Jr. & Americo Rocca in the arena on 12/01/1981 and it is part of the run of masks on the bottom of the mural.

Shocker did an autograph signing in Cuernavaca.

Lineup

CMLL (FRI) 03/08/2019 Arena México
1) Oro Jr. & Stigma vs Nitro & Sangre Azteca
2) Fuego, Rey Cometa, Star Jr. vs Kawato San, Tiger, Virus
3) Esfinge, Titán, Tritón vs Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Vangellys
4) Atlantis, Dragón Lee, Valiente vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Diamante Azul vs Gilbert el Boricua
6) Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja vs La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible

More Ingobernables versus Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja versus Chavez.

Azul & Gilbert will likely be a bad match and CMLL’s first match on Televisa. Maybe they’ll choose something else and avoid the braindead move.