CMLL (TUE) 07/16/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Magnus & Retro b Akuma & Espanto Jr. 
Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Drone, Fuego, Magia Blanca b Disturbio, Misterioso Jr. Hijo del Signo, Sagrado
Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., El Audaz b Dark Magic, Okumura, Virus
Tecnicos took 1/3
4) Felino b Blue Panther [lightning]
5) Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Vangellys b Kráneo, Stuka Jr., Titán
Rudos took 2/3
6) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente b Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Mr. Niebla
Tecnicos took 2/3
Felino talked about his win. Which was an odd one; Pompin signaled the submission win and Felino reacted like normal, but Blue Panther seemed confused. He never physically indicated he gave up. It wouldn’t have mattered if he did since Pompin was looking at Felino instead of Panther. My guess is that was intended to be the finishing hold but perhaps Panther was planning to hold out for a few seconds longer. This is all more interesting than the rest of this show.
Box Y Lucha posted interviews with Blue Panther, Felino, Hechicero and Stuka.
CMLL (TUE) 07/16/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Alteño, Luminoso, Star Black b Furia Roja, Gemelo Pantera I, Gemelo Pantera II
2) La Comandante, La Seductora, Tiffany b Avispa Dorada, La Guerrera, Mystique
rudas took 1/3.
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa, Star Jr. b Difunto, Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr.
Difunto replaced Kawato. Tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Fantástico b Capitán Cobra [lightning]
5) Cavernario, Negro Casas, Pólvora b Esfinge, Soberano Jr., Tritón
Rudos took 2/3.
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Volador Jr. DQ La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible
straight falls, Rush fouling Volador in the second.
Luminoso returned from injury in the openers. The Tuesday lightning matches continue to get added as a surprise (or after they submit the lineups to Mexico City for the posters.)
Mascara 2000 made an appearance on El Voz Senor, a Mexico version of US singing show The Voice. He was not chosen to move on. He also did not seem to be identified as a luchador. El Voz Senor is a TV Azteca show and CMLL is a Televisa product, so that’s an unusual cross over.
Liger is on his way to Mexico.
AAA on US PPV
PWInsider reports AAA’s 09/15 New York and 10/13 Los Angeles shows are scheduled to air on US PPV. No price is mentioned. The PPVs are said to be on all platforms, which sounds promising for an internet competent but that’s not confirmed. Dorian Roldan had previously said these shows would not air on Twitch but would be televised. I took that to mean a television channel, but it’s possible Roldan meant PPV all long.
Running PPVs on those dates present some issues. PW Insider says there are already WWE PPVs on both those days. The 09/15 is already announced as the Clash of the Champions show in North Carolina. PW Insider believes the 10/13 date will also end up a PPV, which also means it’ll be the show WWE is running in Anaheim, California opposite the AAA Los Angeles show. The WWE dates for these shows were public for months and people in the PPV industry presumably have an idea when WWE is running shows. WWE PPV buys are a fraction of what they used to be with every show also airing on the WWE Network, but they still seem to be the most purchased shows by people still buying WWE PPVs. Their existence at all means the AAA PPVs will be shuffled to secondary PPV channels; anyone wanting to buy these shows will have to do a little extra work and be reminded they have a WWE option. AAA picked the 09/15 date to be close to Mexican Independence Day. It’s unclear how or why they ended up on 10/13 for the Los Angeles show. Running a PPV in Madison Square Garden also adds significant extra union labor costs, a reason why WWE’s previously refrained from using the arena.
AAA’s last US PPV was 2015’s TripleMania, a broadcast memorable for severe technical issues to the point where refunds were offered after the show. The plan then was to broadcast ever major AAA show on PPV, but it was abandoned after the failure of that show. The ensuing internal strife over the failure seemed to contribute to lead booker Konnan’s exit (among others) from the promotion by the end of that year. The specific production issues that happened to that show should be fixed with another production crew. I’m still increasingly worried about this all being a similar level of disaster that leaves fallout for years. AAA is really good right now, even their “bad” shows are OK, I would really prefer for everyone not to lose their mind and the promotion return to the “Dalton Bragg versus Joe Lider” days. This has a chance to cause everyone to lose their minds.
The general perception is AAA is going to cancel these shows at some point. It does not seem like that’s close to happening. Beyond the PPV announcements, Dorian Roldan was posting video from inside Madison Square Garden on Instagram yesterday. The other general perception is this is an AAA funded event. I think that’s not true – AAA doesn’t promote most of the events it runs in Mexico, and every US incursion has included some outside investors getting involved. I’d guess that’s the same this time, even if it’s never been the same, and these are something along the lines of sold shows. Perhaps there’s a business plan somewhere noting the number of subscribers AAA has on YouTube (915,363 when I checked), the number the Young Bucks have (390,699), AEW’s ticket sales, and a demographic breakdown of the latinx population that makes a compelling case. It’s hard to match that up with the reality of the situation.
I don’t think AAA would want to poison their TripleMania build by cancelation these shows prior to it. And I don’t think AAA’s interested in actually building these shows up before TripleMania. So, let’s hope to not talk about all of this for a few weeks.
Other AAA notes
Or maybe it’ll just bleed into the next section. This past weekend’s Arena Neza AAA show set up a Psycho Clown & Maximo vs Traidor Clowns match for 09/15. You might notice that’s the day of the AAA show in MSG. Maximo was specifically advertised for the MSG show. You can’t be in New York and Neza at the same time. Maybe it’s a mistake? (I thought at first they meant August 15th, but that’s a Thursday and there are no Thursday Arena Neza shows.) That might be the first real sign of the MSG show being canceled. But then why would Dorian Roldan be in MSG?
The bigger takeaway here is it seems like Mexico City promoters are going to run on September 15th. Independence Day Eve has been treated as an impossible day to draw in recent years and so a dead day for lucha libre. It is a Sunday this year, so that may cause a different approach. It also means that if you’re a person planning to go to Mexico for that weekend – which could also be the CMLL Anniversario weekend – you might be able to find shows for all the days. I just wouldn’t suggest you actually going to Arena Neza specifically, that area is unsafe for foreigners.
(related: Canelo Alvarez is now not boxing on September 14th.)
Fenix has been announced as appearing on the 08/10 TV taping in Saltillo, Coahuila. That would be Fenix’s first appearance on a regular AAA TV taping since last September. They were headed to a title match program then and probably will be again for Heroes Inmortales. AAA’s talked about Fenix & Penta appearing more often in the second half of the year. This is at least one more appearance.
That next TV taping card is typically out by now and might turn up at any point.
DTU
DTU (TUE) 07/16/2019 Arena Aficion [+LuchaTV, Cuadrilatero TV]
1) Samuray Jr. b Fight Panther, Kunay, Vengador Radioactivo, Aero Panther, Dragón Suicida
2) Gran Cobra b Drolux, Fly Danger, Calibus, Estudiante Jr., Sindrome
Gran Cobra is the former Pequeno Cobra.
3) Baronessa, Calibus, Low Rider b Jitzu, Moria, Sagitarius
4) Brazo Celestial, Brazo Cibernetico, Brazo De Oro Jr. b Exótico, Kaleth, Pesadilla
sets up the Brazos challenging Kaleth & Tiburon (not mentioned) for a DTU NEXO title match
5) Hijo del Solar & Solar I b Camuflaje & Kevin
money thrown in
6) El Diablo Fly Star b Hard Boy, Ultrasonico (Veracruz), Malakraido
Fly Star earns a title shot at some point.
7) Damián 666 & Demus b Hijo De Dr. Pólux & Kunai and Crazy Boy & Crazy King and Carta Brava Jr. & Fresero Jr.
Fly Star attacked Crazy King before the finish. Demus also wants a title shot, setting up a Demus/Fly Star/Crazy King DTU title match with barbed wire.
DTU often struggles for fans, so a strong turnout at Arena Aficion is worth noting. I’m not sure why this did better than usual; Damian and Demus being included helped but it seems more than I’d expect just from them. This seems like it’ll turn up on +Lucha at some point.
The next DTU at Arena Aficion will be Casta de Campeones on 08/15. The poster lists five championship matches along with Puma King. They set up two title matches here. There will probably be some random title matches, but DTU also might be getting around to resolving their Alto Impacto situation. That secondary champion has been held by now MLW/Impact wrestler Ace Austin since last April. There’s no sign of him being back for that champion’s show so far.
Nacion Lucha Libre
There’s a second lineup!
NLL (SAT) 07/27/2019 Centro de Convenciones, Fresnillo, Zacatecas
1) Baby Xtreme vs Dual, Azrael, Batab El Guerrero
2) Dulce Sexy & Lady Flammer vs Reina Oscura & Stephanie Vaquer
3) Emperador Azteca (Indie) & Séptimo Dragón vs Súper Nova & the Tiger (Tamaulipas)
4) Galeno Del Mal, Hijo De Wagner, Hijo Del Espectro vs Brazo De Oro Jr., Fresero Jr., La Park Jr.
5) Hijo del Fantasma & La Máscara vs Carlito & Chavo Guerrero
6) Alberto el Patrón & Hijo De Dos Caras vs Bram & MVP
Maybe the third match will be OK. Nacion hasn’t actually announced this show yet but Lo Mejor de Lucha had it. The promotion is concentrating on hyping the TV debut, which is Saturday at 10:30 pm. Kamille and Ricardo Rodriguez are also advertised though not wrestling.
Razon says Chavo Guerrero is officially Nacion Lucha Libre’s “director of operations.” That article mentions Nacion Lucha Libre promising health care to their wrestlers; I believe that’s more marketing hype than reality.
Other Notes
There’s a Twitter thread calling Billy Boy and Faby Apache the most toxic couple ever.
Dragon Lee versus Kenny King has been added to the 07/21 Ring of Honor show.
Warrior Wrestling announced Dragon Lee vs Andrew Everett for their 09/01 show outside of Chicago.
Segunda Caida writes about CMLL’s Juicio Final.
LuchaWorld has their latest Lucha Report and a new edition of their podcast.
One of the many Huracan Ramirez Jr.’s – this one also wrestled as Shogun – passed away earlier this week.
El Universal has a history of Mil Mascaras.
Lector 24 has an interview with Goya Kong.
Lineups
CMLL (MON) 07/22/2019 Arena Puebla
1) Arkalis & Tigre Rojo Jr. vs El Malayo & Policeman
2) Marcela & Skadi vs Dalys & La Metálica
3) Perverso, Stigma, Virus vs Eléctrico, Kairos, Toro Bill Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr. vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
5) Soberano Jr. © vs Negro Casas [MEX WELTER]
8th defense
6) Carístico, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero vs Euforia, Valiente, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
That’s a mixed up main event. And maybe a set up for a tag title match.
Soberano/Casas was good the last couple times they did it.
Karios is a new name for Arena Puebla. He’s not a new name for Puebla itself, where he’s been wrestling as an indie wrestler. He also popped up in Arena Coliseo in 2017 in a special singles match against Demasiado. That was presented as two hopefully getting a tryout at the time. It was also presented what in the Nuestra Lucha Libre documentary TV series, which had me suspicious the true reason they got the match was to create a storyline for an episode. Neither has been back in CMLL since. Kairos himself hasn’t been much of anywhere. It seems to be at least partly a spelling issue, but he’s not worked a lot since then and showing up in a tercera is a bit random.
Women’s tag match seems headed to another Marcela/Dalys title match.
CMLL (TUE) 07/23/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black vs Carlo Roggi, Fúnebre, Paymon
2) Hijo De Mano Negra, Príncipe Diamante, Vaquero Jr. vs Difunto, Hijo del Signo, Sangre Azteca
3) Esfinge, Fuego, Rey Cometa vs Disturbio, Sagrado, Vangellys
4) Místico, Titán, Valiente vs Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
5) Volador Jr. vs Rush
Volador and Rush seems like it should be an ultimate match in CMLL but also feels like the one most likely to be mailed in.
Hijo de Mano Negra is CMLL Mexico City trainee popping up here, so he’s likely (though not definitely) headed to the main roster shows before long. CMLL was lacking another family member being invovled.
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