Month: April 2019

CMLL (TUE) 04/23/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, Ovaciones]
1) Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico b Angelito & Fantasy 
2) Magia Blanca, Pegasso, Star Jr. b Metálico, Nitro, Sangre Azteca 
3) Drone, Flyer, Fuego b Kawato San, Pólvora, Universo 2000 Jr. 
Flyer switched spots with Rey Cometa on Saturday.
4) Rey Cometa b Templario [lightning] 
Rey Cometa switched spots with Flyer on Saturday.
5) Rey Bucanero, Sansón, Shocker b Audaz, Blue Panther, Kráneo 
6) Carístico, Rush, Titán DQ Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero 
Ultimo Guerrero was DQed for pulling Caristico’s mask, setting up a match between them next week.

Rey Cometa is happy with his run of success, while Ultimo Guerrero & Caristico want a super libre no referee match. They will never get that match.

CMLL (TUE) 04/23/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Mr. Trueno, Paymon, Rey Trueno b Fantástico, Fugaz, Mr. Samurai
Rudos took 1/3.
2) Magnum, Oro Jr., Príncipe Diamante b Difunto, Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Dalys, La Comandante, Metálico b La Guerrera, Lluvia, Tae Honma
rudas took 2/3
4) Atlantis, Stuka Jr., Valiente b Cuatrero, Forastero, Terrible
tecnicos took 2/3
5) Mephisto, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas DQ Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Volador Jr.
Tecnicos took 2/3. Mephisto fouled Angel de Oro.

A foul set up a singles match for next week here too.

AAA’s episode on Lucha Azteca this most recent Friday drew 5.4 million viewers according to Lucha Central, That’s the most viewers since Lucha Central has been getting the numbers. AAA’s indicated their debut episode also got around 5 million viewers. This AAA episode was week one of Rey de Reyes, including the women’s match, the cage match, and the tag team title matches. A show on Good Friday afternoon might have more people home to watch than normal, but the rating being up (2.5 to 3.2) suggests more people just wanted to watch the big Rey de Reyes.

If these numbers are correct, and there’s no reason to doubt them, it is surprising AAA doesn’t have a spot on US TV. The AAA show seems helped a bit by the TV network and they might not get the same help in the US, but they’re doing five million people and have Spanish and English versions of their shows available – seems worth a shot. Maybe they’ve got offers and they’re still working on them, though it would seem like AAA should have some urgency to get at least a temporary deal as a promotional device for the MSG show.

On this Sunday’s Kaoz show, Zorro has been demoted from the main event to the opener, likely for storyline reasons I do not know. Diamante Azul is now in the main event. Either indie promoters are much more willing to allow an injured Diamante Azul to wrestle than CMLL (surely has happened with others) or Diamante Azul’s reason for being out of CMLL is actually something other than injury. The whole Diamante Azul injury match was very strange – he spent a fall avoiding contact, then came up hurt on the first bump he took – so I’m willing to believe anything at this point.

RIOT 05/04 (Chicles) in Arena LLF

• Simbolo vs Black Terry
• Caifan II vs Low Rider
• Mr. Iguana vs Madness
• Byron vs Erik Ortiz – new

Konnan teased a new project called Pro Wrestling Mexico in Monterrey. Roberto Figueroa, who’s Monterrey promotions include but are not limited to Llaves y Candados, Lucha Time, RevoLucha, also posted about it on Facebook. It is weird to me that two people working with AAA – Figueroa announces the AAA show on Multimedios – are working on another group in Mexico, but perhaps there is some tie-up to be revealed. Pro Wrestling Mexico is a highly generic name.

+LucahTV has a sitdown with Bandido.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 04/30/2019 Arena México
1) Bengala & Sonic vs Apocalipsis & Espíritu Negro
2) Átomo, El Gallito, Microman vs Chamuel, El Guapito, Perico Zakarías
3) Drone, Pegasso, Star Jr. vs Cancerbero, Raziel, Tiger
4) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. vs Ephesto, Felino, Luciferno
5) Atlantis, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
6) Carístico vs Último Guerrero

Micros and children’s heros Caristico & Atlantis for Kid’s Day.

ELITE (THU) 05/02/2019 Frontón México, Cuauhtémoc, Distrito Federal
1) ? vs Relámpago [Gladiators WELTER, torneo]
2) Ace Austin vs Draztick Boy [Gladiators MIDDLE, torneo]
3) Averno vs ?? vs Hijo de Pirata Morgan [Gladiators LH, torneo]
4) Rey Escorpión & Texano Jr. vs Bengala & Puma King [Gladiators TAG, torneo]
5) Taurus (AAA) vs Pagano [Gladiators HEAVY, torneo]
6) Ciclón Ramírez Jr. vs Villano III Jr. [Gladiators WELTER, torneo]
7) Imposible vs Arez [Gladiators MIDDLE, torneo]
8) Golden Magic vs Eddie Edwards vs Eterno [Gladiators LH, torneo]
9) Fénix & Pentagón Jr. vs Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz [Gladiators TAG, torneo]
10) LA Park vs Fatu [Gladiators HEAVY, torneo]

The full lineup for the debut show. The AAA note on this is the only details that have been published about how this is going to work. This appears to be a five-event run (with each event split into two TV episodes, so ten weeks.) The Heavyweight & Tag Team tournaments appear to be round robin format, so there will be an LA Park & Lucha Brothers match on these shows for at least first four episodes. The Welterweight, Middleweight and Light Heavyweight appear to be single elimination. Not all the people participating in those tournaments are on this event; Steve Pain is in Mexico for Battle of Naucalpan but apparently not on the debut show here. This should air on TV Azteca, but it is not clear when or which Azteca channel.

Fenix & Pentagon versus Xavier & Wentz has been pretty good elsewhere and should be good here as well. Imposible vs Arez jumped out at me, but pretty much everything has a chance. Results will probably done at least in part ways to make sure the promotions who don’t have many people involved.

 

CMLL (MON) 04/22/2019 Arena Puebla [CMLL]
1) Espíritu Maligno & Fuerza Chicana b Astro & Asturiano 
rudos took 2/3
2) Magnus & Rey Samuray b Toro Bill Jr. & Tyson La Bestia 
tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Metálica b Marcela [lightning] 
Metalica won a sub 5 minute match, setting up a world title match next week
4) Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Templario b Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma, Titán 
rudos took 1/3. Titan was unmasked
5) King Jaguar DQ Policeman [hair] 
Jaguar took 2/3, the last by fouling Policeman and faking a foul.
6) Ephesto, Mephisto, Volador Jr. b Carístico, Cuatrero, Sansón [Relevos Increíbles] 
Team Voaldor took falls 1/3, Mephisto unmasking Caristico to help Volador win. Rematches challenges.

Policeman vowed revenge. I know that just means never ending trios matches opening up these shows but I’m still good at passing. Match/show didn’t sound good. They’re running Metalica/Marcela for 04/29 but it doesn’t seem like the Caristico match since.

Tae Honma is listed back in Japan on 04/30, so she’s finishing up after Friday.

Titan, Dragon Lee, and Bandido were announced for the 2019 NJPW Best of Super Juniors. The names announced were exactly as accidentally revealed by NJPW’s Line account a few weeks ago. Blocks were not yet announced. Dragon Lee should finish towards the top but is unlikely to be the overall winner by virtue of being champion. Titan might finish near the bottom; I’m fearful he might finish last in a block. I think Bandido will be in the middle somewhere, but there are a lot of people and it is hard to figure out how everyone is going to do.

AAA sent out two new lineups to their local promoters, though they’ve not announced them on their own yet. These are the fifth and sixth shows from now. It’ll be hard to keep them in mind that long, but might as well take a look at them now:

AAA TV (SAT) 05/18/2019 Palenque de Tuxtla, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
1) Aztroluxe & La Hiedra vs Dragón Bane & Halcón 78 Jr.
2) Big Mami & Niño Hamburguesa vs Lady Maravilla & Villano III Jr.
3) Flamita & Myzteziz Jr. vs Australian Suicide & Daga
4) Faby Apache & Lady Shani vs Chik Tormenta & Tessa Blanchard
5) Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, Puma King vs Chessman, La Máscara, Sammy Guevara
6) Dr. Wagner Jr., Pagano, Psycho Clown vs Killer Kross, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr.

Killer Kross has been off since Rey de Reyes. He’s back for this weekend, though it is as unclear as ever what he is meant to do. Semimain seems to continue the Laredo/Sammy matches.

This is the first time Impact’s Tessa Blanchard is listed as appearing in AAA match, though she did appear previously at the AAA MSG press conference. There’s also a possibility she might be seen in AAA earlier. Chik Tormenta is teaming with a mystery person on the Friday Mexicali taping, Chik Tormenta is teaming with Tessa here. Impact has a PPV on Sunday which might make it difficult, though not so difficult to stop Cage and Taya from working both Mexicali and Toronto. Daga, Tessa’s partner, is working in Mexicali as well.

The third match should be great. The second match is a repeat but maybe good. I was under the impression that Astrolux had quit AAA when he worked the 03/03 The Crash show under the name Astro Aereo. Perhaps the quitting didn’t stick; he hasn’t been on a The Crash show (or much of anywhere) since. The spelling is horrendous.

AAA TV (SUN) 05/19/2019 Teatro Al Aire Libre Del Parque Tabasco Dora Maria, Villahermosa, Tabasco
1) Big Mami & Dragón Bane vs Halcón 78 Jr. & Lady Maravilla
2) Flamita, Myzteziz Jr., Niño Hamburguesa vs Australian Suicide, Sammy Guevara, Villano III Jr.
3) Aztroluxe & Faby Apache vs ????? & Chik Tormenta
4) Pagano vs La Máscara vs Chessman [TLC]
5) Hijo Del Vikingo, La Parka, Laredo Kid vs La Hiedra, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr.
6) Dr. Wagner Jr., Psycho Clown, Puma King vs Blue Demon, Daga, Killer Kross
Tessa will be with Daga

This confirms AAA will be running tapings back to back days, the first time in many years. They’ve run weekends with tapings on Friday & Sunday and a house show on Saturday. This is a little more intense. This show will start something like 18 hours after the last show ends.

Blue Demon joins up with the tour on Sunday. La Hiedra being in the semi-main is strange, even as a Mercenario. Tessa seconding while La Hiedra is wrestling is also weird. The TLC match exists just to produce GIFs of Pagano & Chessman doing something clumsily. The second match should be good, though strange to see Nino Hamburguesa outside of the mixed tag now. Switching him and Dragon Bane seems like it would make those better.

05/02 Guardians: Liga de la Campeones in Fronton Mexico, Mexico City

• LA Park (ELITE) vs Pagano (AAA) vs Fatu (MLW) vs Taurus (AroLucha) in the heavyweight (98K +) tournament
• Lucha Brothers (AAA) vs The Cats (Bengala/Puma King, ELITE) vs The Rascalz (Wentz/Dez, Impact) vs Los Mercenarios (Texano/Escorpion, AAA) in the tag team tournament
• Imposible (ELITE) vs Ace Austin (MLW) vs Flamita (ELITE) vs Draztick Boy (AroLucha) vs Emperador Azteca (ELITE) vs Rich Swann (Impact) vs Arez (AroLucha) vs Super Fly (AAA) vs Zumbido (ELITE) vs Argenis (AAA) vs ? vs ?? in the middleweight tournament
• Golden Magic (ELITE) vs Eddie Edwards (Impact) vs Hijo del Pirata Morgan (AroLucha) vs Averno (AAA) vs Steve Pain (AroLucha) vs Eterno (ELITE) vs Daga (MLW) vs Dr. Karonte Jr. (ELITE) vs La Parka Negra (AAA) vs La Mascara (AAA) vs ? vs ?? in the light heavyweight tournament
• Villano III Jr. (AAA) vs Ciclon Ramirez Jr. (ELITE) vs Relampago (ELITE) vs Hijo del Vikingo (AAA) vs Dragon Bane (AAA) vs Myzteziz Jr. (AAA) vs Ultimo Maldito (AAA) vs Aerostar (AAA) vs Demus (AroLucha) vs Laredo Kid (MLW) vs Aramis (ELITE) vs Drago (AAA) vs Mirage (ELITE) vs ? in the welterweight tournament

Mirage worked an AAA/ELITE combined show in 2018 in his home area of Tijuana. He seemed to be on Team AAA then. He might be one of those guys signed by AAA but never used. ELITE need to have some people now. (Kind of surprised guys like Metaleon & Mr. Leo aren’t being used for this as Elite reps; maybe politics?) Laredo Kid has worked a single match for MLW and I’m not sure if he’s working anymore, but they needed an MLW name as well. There’s a lot of people in the matches, though the only foreigners being flown in are Fatu, Steve Pain, the Rascalz, Ace Austin and Eddie Edwards. I guess that’s a decent number.

The +LuchaTV En+Carados podcast says that heavyweight tournament is a round robin, everyone facing each other. I think the tag team tournament must be the same thing. Perhaps everything else is single elimination. It is great +LuchaTV is explaining it. It probably needs to be explained by the promotion. I guess they have 9 days. The matche should be pretty good if they make any sense.

Plenty of tickets still available; I could get a run of 10 tickets in the front row this morning.

This appears to be an Elite run show. Do not count on this streaming on AAA’s Twitch. It doesn’t fall under AAA”s policy of streaming everything if it is not an AAA show. This might be something that is just saved for TV (which means handhelds right away and pirated TV later if we’re lucky.)

 

Mesias talks about his career and says he’s got roles in two movies.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

Other Lineups

CMLL (SUN) 04/28/2019 Arena México
1) Arkalis & Halcón Suriano Jr. vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
2) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Stigma vs Cancerbero, Raziel, Sangre Azteca
3) Sagrado vs Tiger [lightning]
4) Blue Panther Jr., Esfinge, Kráneo vs Dark Magic, Kawato San, Olímpico
5) Flyer, Stuka Jr., Titán vs Hechicero, Mephisto, Templario
6) Atlantis, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush

That seemed to be a unique lightning match, though it turns out it was one they just did three months ago.

IWRG (SUN) 04/28/2019 Arena Naucalpan
1) Ángel Estrella Jr. vs Celestial Boy
2) Atomic Star, Saruman, Shadow Boy vs Avisman, Dragón Fly, Marado
3) Máscara Sagrada Jr., Multifacético, Torito Negro vs Fly Warrior, Mosca, X-Fly
4) Demonio Infernal, Eterno, Lunatic Xtreme vs Ángel Tormenta, Rokambole Jr., Villano V Jr.
5) Hijo De Dos Caras, International Pantera, Ovett vs Capo del Norte, Capo del Sur, Sinn Bodhi
6) Aramis & Imposible © vs Dragón Bane & Hijo de Canis Lupus [IWRG IC TAG]
second defense

Maine vent sounds good. I am not paying enough attention to IWRG to know about the rest.

LUCHA MEMES , LLB , MDA (SAT) 04/20/2019 Arena Lopez Mateos[+LuchaTV]
1) Falcón Jr. b Shadow
2) Robin Maravilla b Avisman
money thrown in
3) Dr. Cerebro b Romano García
good match. Romano Garcia replaced Blue Panther.
4) Negro Navarro & Solar I b Multy & Prayer
5) Jimmy b Komander (Tamaulipas), Atomic Star
money thrown in. Atomic Star replaced Dragon Bane.
6) Virus b Sharlie Rockstar
good match
7) Aramis b Arez
8) Trauma II DQ Negro Casas
Casas fouled Trauma II. Challenges followed.

The people who went to this show seemed to like it a lot. There just were not a lot of people who went to this show. My theory for a long time is lucha libre fans on Facebook say they want classic old school wrestling but it is just idle talk and they won’t actually buy the tickets if/when it is presented. I’m not certain that is the totally the situation here; having the Generacion XXI show the next day in Naucalpan could’ve caused some people to pick one over the other and they picked LA Park being a madman. Or maybe running Easter Eve is the same bad idea as running Christmas Eve or Independence Eve?

(Also, I guess Generacion XXI maybe isn’t in PALL still because I don’t understand why you would form a cabal of indie promoters and have them run back to back days without some sort of cross-promotion. Maybe the dates just fell that way and there was nothing to be done, but this is why you form alliances in the first place.)

G21 (SUN) 04/21/2019 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV]
1) Auzter & Neza Kid b Falcón Jr. & Latino
2) Demasiado & Diva Salvaje b Kalibus & Tackle 
3) Iracundo, Lepra, Luciferno, Maremoto Jr., Mosco, Perro Callejero, Pólux Jr., Pólux Sr. b Black Dragón, Death Metal, Diablo Jr., Dinamic Black, Hijo del Alebrije, Leo, Oficial AK47, Puma de Oro [Torneo FILL] 
FILL (Black Terry) vs Gym G21 (Maremoto Sr.) Lucifer pulled Death Metal’s mask to set up a Tackle win. Tackle must’ve replaced someone.
4) Gallego, Rocky Santana, Romano García b Carta Brava Jr. (LLB), Fantasma de la Ópera, Homicida [super libre] 
bloody match, win via foul. Homicida replaced Angeluz Fly..
5) Murciélago Plateado Jr. b Aramis, El Bandido 
money thrown in.
6) Hijo de LA Park & La Park Jr. b Rokambole Jr. & Villano V Jr. 
money thrown in.
7) LA Park DRAW Diamante Azul (CMLL) 
Match stopped by the commission after three referees were taken out. Mask challenges followed.

This one had a stronger crowd. It streamed live on +LuchaTV. I didn’t watch this – I didn’t watch any wrestling this weekend, which was a nice break until I remembered the 80 matches on my watch later pile – but those who saw it seemed high on fifth & sixth matches.

Tonight’s Arena Puebla show features an apuesta match between two long-time local regulars. Policeman has been at this arena since 2007, King Jaguar has been around Arena Puebla since 2005. Neither man wins a lot but both are cult favorites. This hair match has a two-week build, with Policeman getting the better of it so far.

The actual main event is the odd team of Caristico, Cuatrero, and Sanson against Ephesto, Mephisto, and Volador. Last week started a likely run of increased attendance due to spring holidays. This show should have a good turn out, and it is likely they’ll set up something here to get people back next Monday. It might be another Caristico/Volador match.

Rey Buacnero, Templario, and Shocker (first streaming appearance in a six weeks) face Guerrero Maya, Stigma and Titan the semi-main. Marcela and Metalica meet in a lightning match following the young ruda getting a win last week. They might set up a title match for next week. Magnus & Rey Samuray vs Toro Bill Jr. & Tyson La Besita, who has been horrendous lately. Astro & Asturiano face Espiritu Maligno & Fuerza Chicana in the opener. It’ll air on CMLL’s YouTube at 9pm and hopefully stay up there for a while.

I picked up extra channels on my cable system to record the missing Puebla show, it turned up anyway, and I decided just to keep it a weekend to see what the small CMLL TV shows were looking like now:

• “CMLL Guerreros del Ring” on MVS TV (formerly 52MX) is airing matches from Tuesday on a quick turnaround. The 04/20 show aired matches from 04/16. They aired 2/3/6 oddly. Might have been a time issue since 5 was only two falls.
• “Guerreros del Ring” on MexiCanal is airing matches from Mondays on a longer delay. The 04/20 show aired top 3 matches from 04/08.
• Teleformula, as best I could tell, is no longer airing CMLL.
• the Guadalajara show this week aired a repeat

LAS is airing a Lucha Libre show this afternoon. I’ll probably remove the package after.

El Planchitas column talks say Faby Apache may soon be leaving AAA. This seems to stem from her teasing the idea in an interview with the La Tijera Lucha Libre channel, though she’s not definite. There have been rumors of Faby Apache leaving AAA pretty much since her father El Apache passed away two years ago. It hasn’t gone anywhere yet, AAA still seems to be setting up things for her, and she’s on all the upcoming TV. It would not be a surprise if she vanished from AAA given the talk but there’s no outwards sign of it yet.

The column also mentions that Super Porky is no longer on CMLL’s payroll. Paco Alonso had told the promotion to continue paying him despite his injuries. The column says CMLL later found out that Brazo de Plata the operations he was waiting to get for his leg was not medically necessary and he would not be able to return to the ring even if he had it fixed, and decided to no longer pay him. I wonder if this is tied to Brazo de Plata appearing with AAA; he probably wouldn’t risk a CMLL payment by appearing on screen with the rival promotion.

There’s a full AAA show announced for Mazatlan on 06/07. That doesn’t appear to be a TV taping, though it also heavily suggest an 06/07 AAA taping in Saltillo which was announced locally is also not happening. (I’ve taken it off the list.)

Lineups

CMLL (SAT) 04/27/2019 Arena Coliseo
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Universo 2000 & Pequeño Violencia
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Robin vs Apocalipsis, Inquisidor, Príncipe Odín Jr.
3) Black Panther, Drone, Star Jr. vs Misterioso Jr., Tiger, Virus to see) Disturbio vs Metálico
5) Kráneo, Soberano Jr., Volcano vs Ephesto, Felino, Luciferno
6) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible vs Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr.

Disturbio and Metalico being the lightning match to set up something is odd but beggers can’t be choosers.

CMLL (SAT) 04/20/2019 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Bengala & Sonic b Camorra & Cholo
tecnicos took 2/3
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Sangre Imperial b Hijo del Signo, Sangre Azteca, Yago
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Nitro, Olímpico, Sagrado b Blue Panther Jr., Drone, Fuego
rudos took 2/3.
4) Disturbio DRAW Metálico [lightning]
double pin on a Metalico bridging suplex
5) Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Titán b Felino, Mephisto, Shocker
tecnicos took 2/3
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Carístico b Cavernario, Hijo del Villano III, Villano IV
tecnicos took 2/3

Disturbio and Metalico were unhappy with their draw. I guess there should be shows where all the fall outcomes are the same, just like some matches should end up in draws, but it still looks weird.

CMLL (SUN) 04/21/2019 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Mercurio & Pierrothito b Acero & Aéreo
rudos took 1/3
2) Cancerbero, Príncipe Odín Jr., Raziel b Oro Jr., Retro, Súper Astro Jr.
rudos took 1/3
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Magia Blanca, Rey Cometa b Misterioso Jr., Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr.
tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Audaz b Luciferno [lightning]
5) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Místico
NGD took 1/3
6) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible b Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja[Relevos Increíbles]
Los Ingobernables took 1/3, winning cleanly over the Chavez

Audaz wants bigger challengers.

CMLL changed the Tuesday lightning match to Flyer vs Templario to Rey Cometa vs Templario. They’ve changed from a match they ran 7 days before to one they ran all the way 19 days before. CMLL has close to 200 wrestlers under their employ, just a reminder.

05/02 Guardians: Liga de la Campeones

• LA Park (ELITE) vs Pagano (AAA) vs Fatu (MLW) vs Taurus (AroLucha) in the heavyweight (98K +) tournament
• Lucha Brothers (AAA) vs The Cats (Bengala/Puma King, ELITE) vs The Rascalz (Wentz/Dez, Impact) vs Los Mercenarios (Texano/Escorpion, AAA) in the tag team tournament
• Imposible (ELITE) vs Ace Austin (MLW) vs Flamita (ELITE) vs Draztick Boy (AroLucha) vs Emperador Azteca (ELITE) vs Rich Swann (Impact) vs Arez (AroLucha) vs Super Fly (AAA) vs Zumbido (ELITE) vs Argenis (AAA) vs ? vs ?? in the middleweight tournament
• Golden Magic (ELITE) vs Eddie Edwards (Impact) vs Hijo del Pirata Morgan (AroLucha) vs Averno (AAA) vs Steve Pain (AroLucha) vs Eterno (ELITE) vs Daga (MLW) vs Dr. Karonte Jr. (ELITE) vs Parka Negra (AAA) vs La Mascara (AAA) vs ? vs ?? in the light heavyweight tournament

My take on this is that’s a lot of people. I like the idea that they have 10 or 12 people in a match but also need a couple of mystery people to get the numbers up. Steve Pain being on the Battle of Naucalpan show makes a little more sense if he’s also hanging around for Elite the next day. Believe it or not, Ace Austin is the DTU Alto Impacto champion, has been for about a year, hasn’t been in Mexico for eight months, does not appear to be working a DTU show. Maybe later.

LuchaWorld has their latest news update.

Lineups

The Crash (SAT) 05/04/2019 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) Baby Xtreme, Christi Jaynes, Danny Limelight vs Dinámico, Lady Flammer, Tiago
2) Torito Negro, Toto, Xperia vs Animal, Demencia, Silver Star [super libre]
3) Jonathan Gresham © vs Black Danger, Soberano Jr., Adrian Quest [The Crash CRUISER]
first defense
4) Austin Theory vs Mjf, Rey Horus, Adam Brooks [The Crash HEAVY]
first defense
5) Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf © vs Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero [The Crash TAG, #1 Contenders]
6) Penta 0M & Rey Fénix © vs El Bandido & Flamita [The CRASH TAG]
first defense for Lucha Brothers Bandido & Flamita were previous champions who had not lost the titles.

The main event has the tag team champions who were stripped of the tag titles for not being available against the tag team champions who were stripped of the tag titles for not being available (only for The Crash to undo that one.) This is a really good card, and yet one of the questions going into it is who might be permanently not available after it. There’s the possibility this could be the last chance to see the Lucha Brothers with this promotion if AAA can convince them to sign exclusively. Austin Theory might also be WWE bound at any time.

This is a really good card. Hope the people who get to see it enjoy it.

CMLL (FRI) 04/19/2019 Arena México [CMLL, ESTO, Lucha Central, Marca, Notimex, Ovaciones, thecubsfan]
1) El Coyote & Grako b Arkalis & Halcón Suriano Jr. 
15:08. Rudos took 1/3.
2) Kaho Kobayashi, Princesa Sugehit, Tae Honma b Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis 
15:33. Tecnicos too k1/3.
3) Rey Cometa b Kawato San [lightning] 
4:02. Cometa won with a 450 splash
4) Ángel de Oro, Atlantis Jr., Carístico b Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero, Sansón 
15:15. Tecnicos took 2/3. Rey Bucanero replaced Forastero on Tuesday.
5) Gran Guerrero & Vangellys b Cuatrero, Hechicero, Negro Casas, Templario, Terrible, Último Guerrero [Torneo Increible de Parejas, seeding battle royal] 
3:14.
6) Cuatrero & Místico b Hechicero & Stuka Jr. [Torneo Increible de Parejas, 8f] 
5:36.
7) Atlantis & Negro Casas b Audaz & Templario [Torneo Increible de Parejas, 8f] 
3:31.
8) Último Guerrero & Volador Jr. b Niebla Roja & Terrible [Torneo Increible de Parejas, 8f] 
3:23.
9) Rush & Vangellys b Gran Guerrero & Valiente [Torneo Increible de Parejas, 8f] 
2:47.
10) Cuatrero & Místico b Atlantis & Negro Casas [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal] 
3:14.
11) Último Guerrero & Volador Jr. DQ Rush & Vangellys [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal] 
2:28. Rush intentionally dropkicked the refree in the head when Vangellys was getting pinned.
12) Último Guerrero & Volador Jr. b Cuatrero & Místico [Torneo Increible de Parejas, semifinal] 
6:10. Ultimo Guerrero & Volador face Titan & Barbaro Cavernario

CMLL promos: Rey Cometa, Atlantis Jr., and the block winners.

Press room interviews: Volador & Utlimo Guerrero (Box Y Lucha, +LuchaTV), Caristico (Box Y Lucha), Atlantis Jr. (Box Y Lucha, +LuchaTV), Rey Cometa (Box Y Lucha, +LuchaTV), and the tecnicas (Box Y Lucha, +LuchaTV), Coyote & Grako (+LuchaTV)

This was a weak show. You can watch the first match and maybe the last and not miss a lot in between. The luchadors weren’t really doing much in the tournament and the outcomes were as uninspired. Try again next week.

The women’s match had so many Amapola & Dalys hitting each other spots that I thought CMLL was really doing a surprise ruda/ruda feud. They ignored it after the match and played up Kaho versus Amapola. That’s a harder than usual result to guess, though Kaho growing out her hair may be a red herring.

This weekend’s shows include a Lucha Memes/MDA/Lucha Libre Boom show at Arena Lopez Mateos Saturday. The show is called Clasico, with the concept that these will all be classic style matches. There’s no IWRG show this weekend. Generacion XXI runs at Arena Naucalpan with LA Park vs Diamante Azul as the main event. It is an odd situation where Azul seems not to be cleared to wrestle in CMLL but says he’ll be good for this match. Aramis vs Bandido vs Leon’s Murcielago Plateado Jr. could be the standout match.

Sure reads like Daga was blocked from a match because CMLL thinks he’s an AAA guy. It is odd because it didn’t seem to be happening to Laredo Kid, who has three AAA titles.

05/02 Gladiators at Fronton Mexico

• Fatu vs LA Park vs Taurus vs Pagano in a heavyweight tournament match
• Lucha Bros vs The Cats (Bengala & Puma King) vs The Rascalz (Wentz & Xavier) vs Los Mercenarios (Texano Jr. & Rey Escorpion)

The Cats are representing Elite. Bengala was never in Elite. It took two matches to get there.

As weird as this sounds, I think this might be an Elite led idea. They’re the ones pushing it hard, posting the info first and way into tournaments. They’d need a lot of support from AAA to do it, but AAA isn’t really promoting this beyond RT-ing information posted elsewhere.

05/04 The Crash

• Lucha Brothers (c) vs Mexablood for The Crash Tag Team Championship
• Austin Theory (c) vs Rey Horus vs MJF vs Adam Brooks for The Crash Heavyweight Championship
• Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf vs Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero, winner gets a tag title shot
• Xperia, Toto, Torito Negro vs Los Haraganes (Animal, Demencia, Silver Star) in a super libre match
• Jonathan Gresham (c) vs Black Danger vs Soberano Jr. vs Adrian Quest for The Crash Cruiserweight Title

Greshman is in Mexico for the Battle of Naucalpan (versus Virus) and this match. That leaves him Thursday and Friday for some sightseeing. It would be nice if he paid a visit to Arena Mexico on Friday but past history has shown CMLL shouldn’t be counted on booking a ROH guy when they’re in Mexico.

Lineup

CMLL (FRI) 04/26/2019 Arena México
Arena Mexico 63rd Anniversary
1) Sonic & Súper Astro Jr. vs El Coyote & Grako
2) Kaho Kobayashi, Marcela, Tae Honma vs Amapola, La Comandante, La Seductora
3) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Tritón vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
4) Valiente vs Hechicero [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Máscara Año 2000
6) Último Guerrero & Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario & Titán [Tornei Increible de Parejas, final]

Not much going on beyond the tournament final. Mascara 2000 is maybe in the semi-main specifically to avoid doing the rematch again. Kaho/Amapola continues in the second match. Opener includes Sonic’s Friday debut after being with the promotion since 2017.