2019 indie catch up, part 11 of ∞

these are just Aramis chronicles of late

Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero © vs Carístico, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr. for the CMLL World Trios Championship
(CMLL GDL @ , 7:40, ok, A Los Raketazos)

Guadalajara TV no being accessible should stop me from watching these matches which I’m frequently let down by, yet here we go again. I’m pretty sure there were good Guadalajara matches in this past. This title match disappointingly isn’t one of them. It’s a Tuesday Arena Mexico level length, with all three falls feeling rushed. The tecnico just role thru their usual spots and get beat at the first opportunity. The fan camera angle does give a nice unique look to the dives and the crowd is game for something big. They just don’t get it.

Stuka Jr. moonsault

Aramis, Imposible, Metaleón vs Demonio Infernal, Eterno, Lunatic Extreme
(IWRG @ 06/06, 14:52, great, mluchatv)

This match shifts to everyone standing in their corners waiting for tags and it is hard to remember that is actually what is supposed to be happening IWRG matches. It’s after many minutes of usual Naucalpan chaos, with attempted three person dives and the staircase being used. These are two steadily exciting teams with each captain shining the most. There’s a closing stretch of this match where it is very easy to shift from “actually, it’s Eterno who is making Aramis look so good” back to “no really Aramis is the best guy” in a short period of time. The finish was a screwy finish but it hit me as funny enough to nudge this to a higher grade.

so many staircase dives

Dragón Bane vs Fly Warrior
(IWRG @ 06/06, 11:15, ok, mluchatv)

This was not a good match. This was a spectacular match but not in positive ways. This match started with someone seemingly being injured and ended with someone seemingly being injured and there were a few more moments in between where it seemed like people broke themselves too. Dragon Bane can do exciting things and so can Fly Warrior but there was no consistency to them or this match. This was the pro-typical highspot indie guys who can only do half the spots they try match, except these two guys are usually a little better than that. I guess you give them some credit for not letting up but it probably was time to take it home when Fly Warrior whiffed on the huracanrana. There may be entertainment value in the car crash nature of this, it just wasn’t good.

nope

Iron Kid & Príncipe Aéreo vs Fulgor I & Fulgor II
(IWRG @ 06/16, 6:53 seen, good, +LuchaTV)

Los Fulgores returning to IWRG and regular streams remains a pleasure. They were fun as a team, good on their own offense and good at setting up Iron Kid. Principe Aereo basically operates as “not-Iron Kid” and is fine, while Iron Kid himself is frequently spectacular during the match. Iron Kid feels more polished than he used to be while not losing any of the amazing moves. It’s a little on the short side and a shade less than perfect executed but totally enjoyable.

those barricades don’t really help

Dragón Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Negro Casas vs Hechicero, Trauma I, Trauma II
(IWRG @ 06/16, 13:11, good, mluchatv)

The announcers seemed to think this was going to be Traumas vs Dragon Bane & Canis Lupus, but Trauma II wanted to brawl with Negro Casas and so they did. This is a good main event IWRG brawl which seems shorter than time. Hechicero didn’t get to do much beyond based for one big spot. The spot went well. Negro Casas showed more energy than in a usual CMLL trios match, though standing and chopping back and forth with Trauma II is probably easier than taking headscissors. I didn’t feel strongly for it but it did what it intended well.

good idea if a little slow

Aramis vs Demonio Infernal © for the IWRG Rey del Ring
(IWRG @ 06/19, 13:50, good, mluchatv)

An enjoyable title match. The best work I’ve seen from Demonio Infernal has been wilder and he demonstrated some nice range by having a solid near fall focused title match. Aramis did cool stuff and almost landed badly on his big sprigboard plancha. The last few minutes peaked well and they didn’t have any of the missed move issued expected for IWRG guys this young. This suffered a little bit from having a spare and not vocal crowd. They worked for a better reaction than they got. I’m rating these last three all good, but this match (and the Fulgor match) were significantly better than the Traumas one to me.

over the top

Dragon Lee defeats Cavernario on oddly long CMLL show, Alberto/MMA

hijinks

CMLL (TUE) 07/09/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Robin & Sonic b Cholo & Yago LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 9 DE JULIO DE  2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
9:59. Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Akuma, Espanto Jr., Espíritu Negro b Pegasso, Stigma, Súper Astro Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 9 DE JULIO DE  2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
13:00. Rudos took 1/3.
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Rey Cometa DQ Dark Magic, Kawato San, Pólvora LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 9 DE JULIO DE  2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
20:06. Tecnicos took 1/3. Polvora unmasked Blue Panther Jr. Long challenges followed.
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. b Felino, Negro Casas, Tiger LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 9 DE JULIO DE  2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
17:51. Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Templario b Carístico, Flyer, Volador Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 9 DE JULIO DE  2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
17:22. Rudos took 1/3.
6) Dragón Lee b Cavernario LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 9 DE JULIO DE  2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
13:48. Dragon Lee took falls 2/3.

Dragon Lee talks about his win. Tiger, Negro Casas, and Felino would like to team more. Negro Casas does his promos only near that couch. Polvora and Blue Panther Jr. talk about a mask match, with Polvora insisting on a singles match first. Akuma, Demus, and Espanto would also like to be an Ola Negra regular team.

This was the second-longest stream of the year:

2019 CMLL streams over two and half hours:

  1. 2:47:30 – 2019-03-15 CMLL Viernes (Homenaje a Dos Leyendas)
  2. 2:39:25 – 2019-07-09 CMLL Martes
  3. 2:37:35 – 2019-05-31 CMLL Viernes (Juico Final, with the Metalico/Virus retirement match)
  4. 2:34:10 – 2019-04-10 CMLL Informa

This was also the shortest streaming Dragon Lee/Cavernario match (excluding one fall matches and those which only aired on TV)

This is a long way to say this show had plenty of time but the main event didn’t have the time you’d expect. Something went off the rails. That tercera going 20 minutes undersells how long it was, as they spent about nine more minutes making challenges, fighting, and then making more challenges. The following matches went longer too. It came off like one of the people in the main event had not arrived and they needed to kill time until they got there. No one’s confirmed that was the situation, but all this turned out more interesting to me than the main event. Dragon Lee & Cavernario was good but they’ve done better and probably could’ve done better if they got something closer to normal time. The Blue Panther Jr./Polvora mask match challenge was quite random and it’d be a tell if that isn’t followed up next week.

CMLL (TUE) 07/09/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Black Sugar, Magnum, Metatrón b Capitán Cobra, Mr. Apolo, Relámpago Azul
tecnicos took 1/3
2) Dalys, Reyna Isis, Tiffany b La Maligna, Mystique, Skadi
La Maligna replaced Marcela. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) El Audaz, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. b Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus
4) Místico, Stuka Jr., Titán b Ephesto, Misterioso Jr., Sagrado
Sagrado & Misterioso replaced Epehsto & Luciferno. Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible b Atlantis, Kráneo, Valiente
rudos took 1/3, Rush & Terrible using the ropes to beat Kraneo & Valiente.

Los Ingobernables don’t need to use the ropes to beat Kraneo & Valiente but they probably enjoy it.

Atlantis told Reforma (reposted here) that when he was called to the ring for a minute of applause on Sunday, he thought it was for Perro Aguayo. He was surprised to find out it was Paco Alonso, had no idea he had died the night before.

The Mexico lottery drawing with CMLL luchadoras takes place tonight at 6:30 pm. I wonder if we’ll find out who was on the winning ticket.

The Alberto el Patron/Tito Ortiz fight is officially official. Combate Americas announced the match by the CEO just mentioning it in an interview with a Spanish MMA reporter. Last week, Alberto says he plans on having his last fight (just assumed to be against Ortiz at that point) in November in Las Vegas but this happened in a lucha libre article so no one in MMA seem to have noticed this was announced. The debut of Nacion Lucha Libre is tomorrow.

ROH TV on 07/20 in Manhattan

ROH HonorClub streaming on 07/21 in Lowell

Tr3s Caidas on 07/27 (“Apocalipsis”) at Auditorio de Tijuana

RIOT on 08/23 (“Rina en El Cerro de la Silla”) at Arena Femenil Monterrey

Chris Jericho talks about his time with Paco Alonso & in Mexico for his podcast today.

LuchaTalk has a new episode of the podcast.

Lineups

Lucha Memes (SAT) 07/20/2019 Gimnasio Hercules, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal
1) Hércules & Rey Abadón vs Máscara De Ángel & Rey Quetzal
2) Multy & Prayer vs Gallego & Romano García [quarterfinal]
3) Arkángel Divino & Último Maldito vs Freelance & Mike Segura [quarterfinal]
4) Alas de Acero & Iron Kid vs King Rocker & Rey Samurai [quarterfinal]
5) Lunatik Extreme & Lunatik Fly vs Angeluz Fly & Murciélago Plateado Jr. [quarterfinal]
6) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [semifinal]
7) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [semifinal]
8) Caifan vs Aramis
9) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [final]

This is a summer of indie tournaments. Memes runs a tag team one to compliment the Battle of Naucalpan show. Riot has their singles tournament. Vanguardia is running their own tag team tournament, though over multiple shows. IAW (Indy Army Wrestling) is running a trios tournament as a benefit show for Psycho Kid. Caifan vs Aramis is a big difference in size and styles but might work.

GHC (SAT) 08/03/2019 Arena Roberto Paz, Guadalajara, Jalisco
1) Power Boy vs Dark PowerPríncipe Dragón
2) Dragón Ancestral & Maravilla Azteca vs Dark Pain & Demencia
3) Aero Xtreme vs Black GoldenAdrenalinaRey PlataEclipseÁngel Aéreo
4) Shyru vs Crisitan Wolf
5) Brian Villa & Willy Banderas vs Amnesia & Aster Boy and Delirio & Xtreme Fly and Hijo De Bucanero Jr. & Snaiper

Guantaos Hardcore Crew is putting shows up on Independent Wrestling TV and selling DVDs, so I feel like I should mention these lineups even if I have don’t know enough about Guadalajara indie lucha libre to say anything.

CMLL Martes: 2019-07-02

down goes Edgar

Recapped: 07/02/2019

Matches:

Retro & Sangre Imperial beat Akuma & Rider
(11:41 [5:22, 3:22, 2:57], 2/3, ok,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis beat La Jarochita, Marcela, Sanely
(11:19 [6:39, 1:54, 2:46], 2/3, n/r,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Misterioso Jr. beat Universo 2000 Jr. in a lightning match
(7:15, ok,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Hechicero, Kawato San, Vangellys beat Blue Panther, Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr.
(14:32 [6:15, 3:36, 4:41], 2/3, ok,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Atlantis, Flyer, Stuka Jr. beat Felino, Mephisto, Templario
(10:43 [4:30, 2:34, 3:39], 2/3, ok,
VideosOficialesCMLL

Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Dragón Lee beat Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
(10:33 [2:02, 2:27, 6:04], 2/3 DQ, ok,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

What happened:

Felino finds out which leg is the bad leg

Cavernario fouled Dragon Lee, setting up a singles match for the following week.

Rider debuted.

Thoughts:

Cavernario and Dragon Lee were so fired up to fight each other for the random build up trios match. It gave me great hope for the title match, even with them not breaking out the biggest moves. It’s not just another Tuesday when they face. Casas & Angel de Oro, a long forgotten rivalry, showed they still had good chemistry here as well. This was still mostly about an effective build to next week’s match.

It is painful to watch Atlantis painfully limp around the ring. He was struggling to move on this show so much that I was hoping he was going from the show to the operating room for more surgery. Not sure that can actually be fixed but it feels like he’s reached the point in his decline where that match with Villano IV can’t actually happen without being sad.

 

Rider wins?

Guerrero Maya & Hechicero are beautiful wrestling together. I guess it would get old if they just faced each other all the time, but CMLL should try it much more than they do just to find out. Kawato seems to have gotten more confident after winning the super light championship, or at least is putting out that aura. The top rope double stomp still looks bad. Vangellys stealong Arez’s finish from Robin remains hilarious. It needs to get continue to be stolen by about two more people up the chain before it makes it to a relevant match.

Universo decided to wrestle his lightning match with his straps down. It was not an ideal look for him. As he stood visibly gassed in the ring, I reflected on how his cousins all seem to be in great shape and are pushed hard and Universo is neither. Misterioso is no cardio monster himself but was clearly carrying Universo thru the last few minutes. Universo is not terrible but he’s clearly established himself as a guy who is in CMLL because his family was in CMLL.

Rider fit in CMLL immediately as yet another bland luchador. He seems competent and he was willing to take tecnico offense but he didn’t show much. It is not recommended to make your big spot of your debut match “taking a suplex”, that doesn’t help you much. If you’re reading this back ten years from now and Rider is a star, it definitely wasn’t obvious he was going to be one someday. He was just a guy. I think he’s better than Retro, but Retro has size so he’s likely going to get a chance at some point. Rider didn’t show a standout attribute.