CMLL (MON) 06/10/2019 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Meyer, Millenium, Tigre Rojo Jr. b Black Tiger, Centella Roja, Fuerza Chicana 
Tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Arkalis, King Jaguar, Pegasso b Corsario De Fuego, El Malayo, El Perverso
Debut of Corsario de Fuego (from Xalapa). Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Felino, Misterioso Jr., Tiger b Esfinge, Fuego, Tritón
Rudos took 1/3.
4) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Templario
NGD took 1/3.
5) Máscara Año 2000, Rey Bucanero, Terrible b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
Team Terrible took 1/3, the last with Terrible using the ropes to beat UG. That set up a (non-title) singles match.
Semi-main reads like it was entertaining but maybe not much of the rest. CMLL is only promotion in the world where someone could pin the heavyweight champion, challenge him to a match and not think to include the title. It is the singular obsession in most every other promotion and is something not even thought about in CMLL.
Today’s CMLL main event is a bit of a mystery. Last Tuesday’s main event was absolutely building towards a Diamante Azul/Forastero match. Diamante Azul is now off the table and it isn’t clear who might get next week’s singles match instead. Soberano replaced Diamante in the match. he also just had a singles main event, which might mean Stuka or the returning Titan are more likely to get an opportunity. It is also possible CMLL will just pass on doing anything, as they often do. Forastero is scheduled to team with La Bestia del Ring & Terrible, who are more occupied elsewhere.
The singles match that we know will happen is Virus versus Drone. Virus lightning matches are strangely rare; this is the first one he’ll have on a live stream since July. Virus showed how great he can still be in his career match with Metalico. Drone has looked good in trios matches and will get the best possible chance to do just as well in a singles match. This should be one worth seeking out, even if CMLL B-show stuff isn’t in your usual stuff to watch.
The rest of the card is far more ordinary. Hechicero & Mephisto get to break out the matching masks while teaming with Ephesto against Atlantis, Audaz and Kraneo. The women get a rare fourth match on the card, though the match itself (Dalys, Isis & Tiffany vs Jarochita, Marcela and Sanely) feels very not rate. Espiritu Negro makes an infrequent appearance teaming with Cancerbero & Raziel against Oro Jr., Robin and Super Astro. Mini Kaligua makes a stream for the first time this year, teaming with Angelito against Pequeno Olimpico & Pequeno Violencia. Kaligua disappeared from end January to mid May, so it is likely he’s been dealing with some injury issues. CMLL streams the show at 7:30 pm on YouTube.
Nacion Lucha Libre
NLL (THU) 07/11/2019 Sala de Armas Magdalena Mixhuca, Ciudad México, Distrito Federal
1) Relámpago vs Heddi Karaoui
2) Christi Jaynes, Stephanie Vaquer, Thunder Rosa vs Lady Flammer, Reina Oscura, Sexy Star
3) Dual, Hijo De Dos Caras, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Batab El Guerrero, Bram, La Máscara
4) Daga & Flamita vs Puma King & Rey Horus
Flamita probably is in Dragon Gate on this date.
5) Fresero Jr. & Mr. Iguana vs Bestia 666 & Black Taurus and Laredo Kid & The Tiger
6) Penta 0M & Rey Fénix vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. & Mecha Wolf 450
7) Solar I vs Negro Navarro vs Damián 666 vs Canek
8) Alberto el Patrón, Hijo del Fantasma, Rey Wagner vs Apolo (Puerto Rico), El Mesías, MVP
I’m going to write a lot of words below. The shorter version is we see 1-3 of these start-ups every year, this one looks to be making the same mistakes they all do, and they all last just a few shows before heading into “we’ll have news real soon!” land. I’d be shocked if this was still a thing by the end of the year; I saw the press conference and gave it four shows tops. It seems to have more money behind it so maybe it’ll last longer than Liga de Campeones did but it has all the makings of a group not long for this world. Everyone at the press conference seemed happy at the end and I could only just imagine the money being set on fire. This is doomed and anyone who pays attention to start up lucha libre promotions knows this is doomed, but the good thing is wrestlers can apparently find new people with money who can get sucked in by the wrestler’s star power and make some poor decisions.
Nacion Lucha Libre held a press conference today to introduce the promotion. Alberto is the focus, as the lead wrestler and face of the company. They’ve got a TV deal with ImagenTV, an over the air network in Mexico, to air the shows on Sunday Saturday nights at 10:30 pm to midnight. The opening press conference pushed the many stars they have participating and a Mexico versus the World aspect. Chavo Guerrero Jr. was brought in as the subtle heel guy bringing in the foreigners to improve Mexican wrestling. Kamille – a tall-blond-women who you could possibly know from NWA shows working as Nick Aldis’ bodyguard – followed to cut a more traditional heel promo and get into an argument with Sexy Dulce. Kamille is scheduled to appear on the debut show and not wrestle; she is a trained wrestler but appeared to be out until the NWA bit came along. Mesias also cut a pro-Puerto Rico promo (and was called Mesias.) Tinieblas & Dos Caras will be honored at this show and Fantasma appeared to endorse the show. Some of the other wrestlers – Fantasma & Mascara among them – were at the press conference but didn’t get much to say. MVP, Carlito, Roberto Rodriguez and Wagner sent into video promos.
Carlito is not booked on this show, so his involvement suggests at planned future shows. A 90-minute weekly show means Nacion Lucha Libre has to run just about every second week, maybe every third. No other dates were announced. Nacion Lucha Libre does have other shows booked thru the summer, away from Mexico City that wouldn’t conflict with this, they just decided not to tell anyone about them at the press conference
That’s part of a general feeling of sloppiness and lack of preparation in the presentation. Flamita is listed but isn’t going to be on this card unless they’re flying him back and forth from Japan. Dulce Garcia is listed as Sexy Star; they realized it enough to awkwardly dub it out of the video. The Tiger from Nuevo Laredo is the wrestler booked, but they used a photo of Tiger from CMLL. Zeuxis was booked on these shows, is not, is still lurking in the crowd image. The press conference started late and had sound issues. This was day one, where Nacion had as much time as they wanted to get ready and be organized. They were not organized. It probably isn’t going to get much better on day 30.
Salas de Armas is 3,000 person building most famously used by the Perros del Mal promotion (though probably most frequently used by Toryumon Mexico in stronger days for that group.) This group has some sponsors, but they can only lose money running a show with that many names (and that many flights) in that small of a building. The Crash at least tried Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera when they went for this sort of concept. It failed for them and I’m not convinced this is going to work any better for Nacion Lucha Libre, but it’d at least give them a shot. Maybe this first show can be looked at as a loss leader to build up the TV, except that TV is Sunday at 10:30 pm, not exactly a time one would expect people to find the show. Sunday at 10:30 pm also suggests it may be a time buy. No one from ImagenTV was introduced at the press conference, which points the same direction. There was no mention of a digital strategy for their show, or anything else along those lines you might expect from a promotion operating in the year 2019.
As mentioned, Kamelle appears in segments around the NWA Heavyweight Championship. Bram is a UK wrestler who tends not to get a lot of work in the US outside of that NWA orbit as well. (Bram is a former TNA wrestler who was arrested of domestic violence in 2015. This was while he was still married to Charlotte Flair, though she was not the woman involved. The charges were dropped a few months later, but accusations still follow him around and have caused European fans to talk promotions out of using him at times. He posted a statement about the accusations in 2017. He wrestled on the NWA Crockett Cup show.) There’s little chance Bram comes up to get booked here unless there’s more going on. Alberto versus Nick Aldis for the NWA Heavyweight Championship seems a match that would fulfill both the NWA’s and Alberto’s goals if Nacion Lucha Libre lasts long enough.
Dr. Wagner, Fenix, Penta, Puma King, Daga, Laredo Kid, Taurus and Flamita all are on this show, reminding us that none of them are on any sort of AAA exclusive contract (and possibly under nothing more than a handshake or a LU legal notice.) AAA will probably be unhappy to see them working these shows but it is unclear if they can do about it; they’re not exactly going to stop pushing Wagner right now. CMLL might also not be thrilled about The Crash guys working these shows either, but if they’re going to use the foreigners and not the regular guys, they can hardly be upset about Bestia & Horus & Damian getting work. Also, most of those guys being treated like midcarders barely worth a mention shows how off the pulse Nacion Lucha Libre is at the moment. All due respect Apolo but no one in Mexico knows who Apolo is even though he’s been used the same Evil Puerto Rican fashion by AAA and other promotions. (Apolo was in the Lucha World Cup. No one knows this.) Apolo is probably not going to work this time either, but he’s big and he’s foreign and I guess the people in charge are convinced that’s what draws people. I hope Apolo gets a great payday out of this, it isn’t his fault.
I have no idea who Dual & Batab el Guerrero are supposed to be. They may be sponsored gimmicks. This is the only press conference that drove me to wikipedia to find out if MVP is actually Puerto Rican because his match is billed as US vs Mexico. He does not appear to be so. Canek should be honored with Tinieblas and Dos Caras and it is absurd that he’s still wrestling.
Maybe the matches are going to be good? 4 & 5 look good, though I’d trade hiding Chavo Guerrero in the three-way tag for anyone else teaming with MechaWolf in the 6th. Lucha Brothers don’t come cheap and it’d make more sense to put them in a place to succeed. Wasting them in a match to get Chavo Guerrero over as a lead heel was a bad idea when they did in the first few episodes of Lucha Underground and is even more of a bad idea now. But this is a group coming from a totally different mindset, that thought the most important people to focus on past Alberto were Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Kamille. I don’t know.
Other Notes
AAA/EMW is running next in Tijuana on 07/12. Michael Elgin (moving over from The Crash), Eddie Edwards are the outsiders brought in. Willie Mack continues to serve his Lucha Underground imposed sentence. I think that’s Arkangel Divino on the poster and he hasn’t been around AAA in a few months.
Voices of Wrestling has an interview with Volador Junior.
+LuchaTV has a new edition of the podcast.
LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.
Vampiro is opening a school in Las Vegas.
Lineups
IWRG (SUN) 06/16/2019 Arena Naucalpan
1) Iron Kid & Príncipe Aéreo vs Fulgor I & Fulgor II
2) Jessy Ventura, Óscar El Hermoso, Soy Raymunda vs Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro
3) Coco Rojo, Coco Verde, Cocolores vs Black Terry, Bombero Infernal, Nitro
4) El Hijo De Huracán Ramírez, Internacional Pantera, Máscara Sagrada Jr. vs Cerebro Negro, El Hijo del Medico Asesino, Fly Warrior
5) Aramis vs Demonio Infernal
6) Capo del Norte, Capo del Sur, Máscara Año 2000 Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
7) Dragón Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Negro Casas vs Hechicero, Trauma I, Trauma II
This is the annual of Festival de las Mascaras show. That usually means previous generations of IWRG wrestlers making their return under their old masks. There’s only a little bit of that this year. The focus instead is instead on bringing back Vampiro to honor him. Between Vampiro, Negro Casas, the Dinamitas vs Dinamitas match and even the Hechicero appearances, there are many things here that would be a big deal on a standalone IWRG show. It should be a big turnout with all of this happening together.
(Again, this means Vampiro isn’t at Verano de Escandalo. Vampiro could still be on the AAA payroll but it doesn’t seem like he’s doing any work for/with them at the moment.)
AAA TV (SAT) 07/06/2019 Auditorio Benito Juárez, Zapopan, Jalisco
1) Aramis, La Parkita, Vanilla vs Keyra, Low Rider, Mini Psycho Clown
2) Big Mami, Dinastía, Niño Hamburguesa vs Arez, Hijo del Tirantes, Lady Maravilla
3) Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, Myzteziz Jr. vs Chik Tormenta, Eterno, La Parka Negra
4) Mamba, Máximo, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
5) Drago © vs Daga [AAA LA]
fourth defense
6) La Parka, Murder Clown, Puma King vs Dave The Clown, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr.
7) Aerostar, Pagano, Psycho Clown vs Averno, Chessman, Súper Fly
This wasn’t going to be released until tonight but La Parka posted it early for some reason? Maybe he’s unhappy about being the semi-main? Maybe he wanted this post to be even later.
Daga is probably winning the Latin America title. Drago’s had some time with it and Daga’s story is better if he actually wins a title. If the pattern holds, his US bookings will pick up immediately for unrelated reasons and we won’t see a title defense until 2020.
I don’t know what’s going on in the third match but I like it. I don’t what’s going on with Hijo del Tirantes wrestling in the second match but I don’t like it (unless it means the Faby feud is over.) Vanilla makes her first appearance this year and has been working spot shows all this time. Low Rider hasn’t been on AAA TV since September.
