UG keeps heavyweight title, CMLL video blocked, Gladiatores tournament details

CMLL (MON) 04/15/2019 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) El Malayo, Toro Bill Jr., Tyson La Bestia b Asturiano, Oro Jr., Rey Samuray
rudos took 2/3.
2) La Comandante, La Seductora, Metálica b Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit
Rudas took 2/3, leading to Metalica challenging Marcela for a title match.
3) El Perverso, Policeman, Virus b King Jaguar, Magnus, Stigma
straight fall by the rudos. Police Man snuck in a foul on King Jaguar, setting up a hair match between the two.
4) Carístico, Místico, Soberano Jr. b Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
tecnicos took 2/3
5) Último Guerrero © b Valiente [CMLL HEAVY]
UG took 2/3 for his third defense.

No video for this show if you haven’t seen it already. The show was blocked overnight due to an SME copyright claim. It is honestly amazing that doesn’t happen more often with CMLL shows given their use of music which they don’t seem to have cleared for internet use. I didn’t grab a copy before it happened so we’re out of luck for now. It will air on 52MX if you’re desperate to see it, though it’s always possible CMLL could reupload it as they have with other copyright issues.

Lucha Central’s review of the show suggests you didn’t miss anything except a good version of the expected main event. I caught up about two minutes of the show entirely. The hair match seemed like it was set up for next week, though it is possible it or the women’s title match will be held over for 04/29 as a pre-Kids Day special show. Not sure the Kids are going to be very excited to see King Jaguar and Policeman throw down but CMLL is weird.

There’s nothing obviously important on tonight’s CMLL Arena Mexico show. However, Kid’s Day is two weeks away. CMLL will want to have something big for that. They might pluck it out of nowhere, or they might start it tonight. Caristico, Mistico, Titan versus Mr. Miebla, Negro Casas and Ultimo Guerrero headline tonight. Anyone of those rudos could make a challenge for Caristico’s NWA championship, even if Negro Casas is the only one who comes close to being a middleweight. It should be a suitably entertaining main event for the tourists.

The semi-main doesn’t look bad either, with Hechicero teaming with Euforia & Gran Guerrero against Soberano, Stuka, and Valiente. Templario and Flyer have both been in lightning matches lately and this time face each other. Blue Panther, Fuego, and Guerrero Maya face the diabolic trio of Dark Magic, Kawato and Polvora. Nothing much exciting in the first two matches.

The CMLL stream starts at 7:30 pm on YouTube. It usually takes a little time for a copyright claim to come up. (It probably won’t happen again.)

I never put up the Tuesday Guadalajara lineup. It is not much of a lineup.

Rey Bucanero replaced Forastero on Friday’s show. Bucanero and Hechicero being on the show means Televisa9 needs to find a new wrestler announcer again: Shocker?

I’m not sure if you’ll be able to see that Televisa9 show this week in the US. It debuted last Thursday/Friday night. It is not on my DVR’s listings for this week. It is showing up on some online ones, and I’m not sure which ones are wrong. It is as possible Univision Deportes just has bad schedule date as it is CMLL was just one week and done. CMLL and Univision Deportes never promoted the airing.

Over on El Rey, Lucha Underground is finishing their early morning airs of season 1 of Lucha Underground Wednesday morning. They’re moving right along to season 2 on Thursday. If they’re airing all four seasons, it should run thru mid-September. El Rey has not aired Lucha Underground out of season until now. The only reason you air something like this at 5 AM ET is for contractual reasons, but I have no idea what those reasons would be or mean. Meanwhile, El Rey announced new programming coming in May, the first new programming in a while.

Lucha Azteca AAA is teasing a new announcer, so Konnan & Vampiro being off the show wasn’t just a one week WrestleMania weekend thing. It looks to be a permanent thing. It might not have been a performance thing; with AAA’s busy upcoming schedule, they probably would’ve had to miss more weeks. Something would’ve had to be figured out for TripleMania too, especially if Konnan & Vampiro are still having a match. I have a wild theory that Tirantes might be the new announcer – his timing of leaving CMLL lines up well – but that is a shot in the dark. This is probably tied to whatever Azteca Deportes teased as announcing tonight so we’ll know soon.

It is has been four days since AAA & Elite has announced the 05/02 Gladiatores: Liga de Campones de Lucha Libre show with MLW, Impact, and AroLucha. There has been no explanation of what is going on with this show, which is now about two weeks away. Tickets are now on sale anyway, running from 220 to 715 MXP for ringside, $12 to $38 on USD.

Lucky for us, the topic came up on +LuchaTV’s EN+carados podcast. You can jump to the 1:10:00 mark to hear the discussion or double check my translation. The plan is for five shows, one every two weeks (“fifteen days”.) There will be tournaments in four divisions: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight and tag team. No women’s tournament was mentioned; I am dumb for not noticing there are no women on the poster. The shows will be held at both Fronton Mexico and Pepsi Center venue from the first AAA taping this year.

If they’re running every two weeks, that means tapings on 05/02, 05/16, 05/30, 06/13, and a final on 06/27 if they stick to the schedule. It seems a little risky to be running so often in Mexico City before TripleMania. Also, needing to fly people back in every couple weeks guarantees that these tournaments will fall apart in some way – someone’s going to miss a flight, someone’s going to have something else to do. Running these on Thursdays will help but Lucha Capital was held on Wednesdays and it still was incoherent by the end.

Funcion Estelar writes about the debut of Pachuca’s Lucha Libre Vanguardia promotion, which turns out to be a limited run promotion (three more weeks) fronted by Ciclope, Miedo Extremo and Draztick Boy. They’re doing traditional shows, not the extreme matches you might expect from those guys, and using guys they’ve been training. Black Terry is in this weekend.

Okumura was honored by his hometown. (There’s a longer Japanese version.)

The Sun has a Cholitas of Bolivia story.

 

Lineups

CMLL (SUN) 04/21/2019 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) Oro Jr., Retro, Súper Astro Jr. vs Cancerbero, Príncipe Odín Jr., Raziel
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Magia Blanca, Rey Cometa vs Misterioso Jr., Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr.
4) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Místico vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja vs La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]

Magia Blanca seems to have returned on the Rey Cometa level, which is not great but much better than one match below. There’s a chance you could have a good match at that spot.

Lucha Libre Real (SUN) 04/28/2019 Arena Azteca Budokan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Dark Boy & Luna Divina vs Backter & Sexy Dang
2) Lunatik Fly & Lunatik Xtreme vs Mexica & Warrior Jr.
3) Lilith Dark & Reyna Obscura vs Lady Pink & Reina Dorada
4) Felino & Xendu vs Akuma & Drako
5) Metaleón, Mr. Leo, Tiger vs Epitafio, Leviatham, Tormento
6) El Bandido vs Hijo del Fantasma

The Dia del Nino shows seem to be running from the 04/27 weekend to 04/30 this year. This main event is first time ever.

DTU (SUN) 04/28/2019 Arena Neza
1) Aero Panther & Fight Panther vs Samuray Jr.
2 vs 1
2) Kunay & Mandala vs Steell Incrible Dragón & Vengador Radioactivo
3) Hard Boy, Kevin, Pesadilla vs Estudiante Jr., Fly Danger, Kalibus
4) Demente Extreme & Tóxico vs Disturbio & Príncipe Cometa and Hijo De Dr. Pólux Jr. & Tiburón
5) Anthony Greene vs Jimmy, Camuflaje, Kaleth
6) G-Raver & Orin Veidt vs Crazy Boy & Halloween and El Diablo Fly Star & Paranoiko

DTU hasn’t been coming this close to Mexico City. I seem to recall past shows at this venue which didn’t draw well, so it is for good reason. Still, that means this will probably turn up and you’ll get to the see the GCW guys.

I think the fourth match Disturbio is the Tampico one and not the CMLL one.