Month: July 2019

CMLL (MON) 07/08/2019 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger & Sombra Diabólika b Astro & Meyer 
Rudos took 2/3
2) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Sonic b Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr. 
CMLL results had Toro Bill in the match but Rey Apocalipsis did wrestle. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Cancerbero, Policeman, Raziel b Eléctrico, Millenium, Pegasso 
Rudos took 1/3.
4) El Perverso b King Jaguar [lightning] 
Perverso used the ropes to win. The two agreed to a hair match afterward.
5) Dragón Lee, Místico, Soberano Jr. DQ Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas 
Paco Alonso was remembered before the match. Tecnicos took 2/3, the last when Casas fouled Soberano
6) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible b Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón[Relevos Increíbles] 
Ingobernables took 1/3, and challenged for a trios title match next week.

The Trios title match and the hair match seem set for next week. If Soberano & Casas are on the show, then perhaps they’ll be facing off next week.

Dragon Lee and Cavernario meet tonight in the Arena Mexico main event, probably around 9:10 pm CT. There are some warning signs here of this being not what would be hoped: it’s a Tuesday show, Dragon Lee has wrestled pretty much a match a day for the last week (except for the day he wrestled twice), and it is a Tuesday match. Still, they’re among the best of what CMLL has to offer because they’re among the hardest working CMLL has to offer. They worked hard last week in the nothing trios match to set up this, which gives good hope for this match.

Dragon Lee and Barbaro Cavernario had 11 singles matches. Cavernario won the first two, both part of the 2014 En Busca de Un Idol tournament. Dragon Lee has won every match since, including the most recent match in January. Both are champions, though having no title on the line hides the outcome a bit. Still, Cavernario doesn’t seem to have great odds of breaking that streak.

The semi-main is Carsitco, Volador & Flyer against the non-UG Guerreros, which should be fine and quick. The Casas Family (Felino, Negro Casas and Tiger) get a rare chance to be a complete trio against Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja & Soberano Jr. The Panther brothers and Rey Cometa face Kawato, Polvora and Dark Magic, who hasn’t been seen on a stream since April. Super Astro pops up in the second match and Yago makes a rare appearance in the opener. The show starts at 7:30 pm on CMLL’s YouTube channel.

Guadalajara has an Atlantis, Kraneo and Valiente vs La Bestia del Ring, Rush and Terrible main event.

Ovaciones says there will be a public mass for Paco Alonso Friday at noon. It will be open to all. There will be a moment of remembrance tonight. LuchaWorld has an obit for Paco Alonso.

Kawato San says he has not told Jushin Thunder Liger that he won the Super Lightweight Championship, hoping to surprise him with the news when Liger arrives in Mexico. I hope Liger doesn’t read this blog! Kawato says his goal is to surpass Liger, which is an understandable goal if unlikely to achieve. He’s hoping to defend the title many times in Mexico before going back to Japan.

Mexico’s Televisa Deportes Network is changing their branding to TUDN. They air repeats of the CMLL show and will continue to do so, though it might be branded slightly differently.

AAA , ELITE (MON) 07/08/2019 Deportivo Morelos, Cuajimalpa, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal [+LuchaTV]
1) Faby Apache & Goya Kong b Keyra & Rossy Moreno
2) Astral, Demasiado, Zumbi b Mamba, Tigger Boy, Villano III Jr.
3) Dr. Karonte Jr. & Verdugo (Elite) b Argenis & Joe Lider
Verdugo, last see debuting on the Liga de Campeons show, was the mystery wrestler. Argenis betrayed Lider to save his brother.
3) Emperador Azteca & Golden Magic b Monsther Clown & Murder Clown
4) Eterno & Imposible b Australian Suicide & Bengala
6) Psycho Clown & Texano DQ Trauma I & Trauma II
Traumas attacked Brazo de Plata. Mr. Electro ran in for the DQ.

This seemed to follow the pattern of last year’s AAA vs Elite show: surprisingly decent turnout, matches of little importance with people you’ve forgotten existed and Elite defeating AAA. They took this 4-2, though I’m not sure if an Argenis & Lider team counts as AAA.

This is just about the end of Bengala or at least this version. Super Nova announced he’d be finishing up his appearances under that character in July and would be fully independent at that point. He’s listed in Xalapa this weekend and I don’t have any other AAA shows for him. Bengala has not appeared on a Twitch stream since January and hasn’t had a match air on TV in 15 months. Bengala is one of those guys who had been featured heavily on AAA TV in 2017 when Vampiro was in power and dropped in 2018 when Konnan returned. He’s continued to work AAA spots shows but has increasingly taken independent dates – he’s now teaming with the former Mascara de Bronce & Raptor, who have gone on the same rollercoaster and may be making the same “I’m leaving AAA” announcements soon if they haven’t already. I’m suspicious about the timing of this news lining up with the start of Alberto’s Nacion Lucha Libre but I don’t that’s more coincidence. The Bengala character passed from Ricky Marvin to Super Nova, so it’s possible AAA will give it a third person.

La Mascara says Nacion Lucha Libre will let him grow as a luchador. No match I’ve seen from him in let’s say the last five years has indicated La Mascara was interested in growing as a luchador. Maybe things have changed.

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

• Dragon Lee vs Bandido

This is the first Tr3s Caidas show at Auditorio de Tijuana, taking the place of The Crash show scheduled for the date.

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

• Arez vs Demonio del Aire in a first-round match
• Latigo, Iron Kid, Arez, Madness, Fuego del Sol, Belial, Drlaion, Douki, Tony Rodriguez, Aramis in first-round matches
• Lord Byron & Kaientai vs Fresero Jr. & Mr. Iguana
• Kratoz & Prometo vs Willy Banderas & Bryan Villa

Johnny Mundo has a promo talking about his Pro Wrestling Mexico match with Daga.

DTU has an interview with Vengador Radioactivo.

Ciudad Juarez’s Avispon Verde Sr. & Jr. will be part of a talk about lucha libre in the city on Saturday. It’ll be streamed on Facebook.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report and this week’s Poster-Mania.

Noroeste has a video feature on Mr. Iguana.

+LuchaTV talked a lot about Paco Alonso & Perro Aguayo on their podcast.

Lineups

CMLL (SAT) 07/13/2019 Arena Coliseo
1) Angelito & Kaligua vs Pequeño Universo 2000 & Pequeño Violencia
2) Eléctrico, Magia Blanca, Oro Jr. vs Inquisidor, Príncipe Odín Jr., Sangre Azteca
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Tritón vs Disturbio, Okumura, Universo 2000 Jr.
4) Star Jr. vs Tiger [lightning]
5) Blue Panther, Stuka Jr., Volcano vs Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Vangellys
6) Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas, Último Guerrero

Star Jr. versus Tiger seems like a fun lightning match we’ll never see.

CMLL (SUN) 07/14/2019 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Violencia
2) Avispa Dorada, La Guerrera, Lluvia vs Amapola, La Seductora, Metálica
3) Audaz, Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Vangellys
4) Flyer vs Rey Cometa [lightning]
5) Atlantis, Místico, Soberano Jr. vs Felino, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero
6) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible vs Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja

Flyer versus Rey Cometa could be the outcome I’m most stupidly upset about this week.

This is Pequeno Nitro’s first match in Arena Mexico since March. I don’t see a mention of a specific injury but I’d guess maybe there was one.

IWRG (SUN) 07/07/2019 Arena Naucalpan [The Gladiatores]
1) Auzter b Neza Kid
2) Canibal Jr. & Death Metal b Atomic Star & Brazo De Oro Jr.
Perro Aguayo was honored after the match.
3) Black Dragón, Dinamic Black, Hijo del Alebrije DQ Dragón Fly, La Mosca, Marado
4) Centurion & Fly Warrior b Fulgor I & Fulgor II and Cerebro Negro & Dr. Cerebro
5) Herodes Jr., Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Hijo de Sangre Chicana, Rokambole Jr.b Demonio Infernal, Diva Salvaje, Eterno, Lunatik Xtreme
Pirata Morgan got in a foul on Demonio Infernal, then challenged him to a title match.
6) Soy Raymunda L Óscar El Hermoso, Miss Gaviota, Demasiado, Lolita, Diva Salvaje, Pasion Kristal, Lilith Dark, Diosa Atenea, Jessy Ventura[cage, hair, mask] 
Raymunda lost her hair to Pasion Cristal. Last four were Lolita, Ludark, Pasion and Oscar. Lolila & Ludark left leaving Oscar & Pasion, but Raymunda came back to stop Oscar from losing and ended up losing.

Never go back in a cage after you’ve escaped. It always backfires on you. You can always get your revenge on someone later. An important lesson for a Monday.

Madriza (SUN) 07/07/2019 Centro de Alto Rendimento The Crash, Ecatepec, Estado de México [+LuchaTV]
1) Black Joe & Príncipe Perseo b Blue Win & Guerrero De Fuego
2) Gallego, Rocky Santana, Romano García b Karma I, Karma II, Máscara Oriental
3) Ancla b Drako, Misteryk
4) Bestia 666 b Demus 
Bestia used the ropes to win. Demus complained about it but Bestia said a win is a win.
5) Puma King b Kill Korton 
Kill Korton is the former Kronoz
6) Fénix (Indie) b Freelance 
7) Penta b Arez 

I watched Fenix/Freelance so I’d have something to say here instead of just gesturing at the video links. Fenix/Freelance is not a match you need to watch. It’s rough for a while, with both guys taking turns slipping at unfortunate moments. It got a bit better at the end but it’s clearly not the match they hoped to have.

Today’s Arena Puebla show has a King Jaguar versus Perverso lightning match, which seems to be setting up a hair match as soon as next week. King Jaguar originally became a tecnico (“turned tecnico” is not accurate) late last year opposite of Perverso, but the feud got dropped – or saved until this year’s Arena Puebla show. Having a deep memory of Arena Puebla locals feuds is something I will regret on my deathbed.

Dragon Lee, Mistico and Soberano face Euforia, Gran Guerrero and Negro Casas in the semi-main and best-looking match on the show. The actual main event has a Los Ingobernables versus NGD match. Sanson fouled Terrible last week so that might be a title match coming up soon. Electrico, Pegasso, and Millenium take on Policeman, Raziel, and Cancerbero in the tercera. Halcon Suriano & Sonic turn up in the second match against Espiritu Maligno & Rey Apocalipsis. The show airs at 9 pm on Arena Puebla.

Elite returns again tonight. Kind of. The lineup is another one of the AAA vs Elite shows that AAA was using a TV tapings last yet but has dropped as a concept in 2019. AAA’s mentioned the show but this seem to be sort of an Elite promoted show, whatever that means at this point. The poster indicates the show will be taped for TV and El Planchitas suggested this group really did have some of TV deal, but didn’t specify with who and there’s been no mention of it since. Australian Suicide & Bengala vs Eterno & Imposible sounds fun if it turns up, and it has a good shot of at least showing up in bootleg form.

Both of those shows will have moments of remembrance for Paco Alonso, as many shows did last night. There’s no more news on his death at this point. The Perro Aguayo death announcement included a mention of his wake. There was not the same in Alonso’s announcement, seemingly respecting his wish for privacy even after his death.

I keep thinking about what is next. Sofia Alonso is 28. She’s often compared to WWE’s Stephanie McMahon. McMahon was also running her own department at 28, being in charge of the WWE writers, similar to Alonso being charge of CMLL’s marketing. That’s a lot of responsibility at a young age, but not something that encompasses the entire business of the promotion. If Vince McMahon passed away when Stephanie was 28, I’m skeptical they would’ve put her or her husband fully in charge – they would’ve been in front of the promotion to assure their business partners of stability, but those same business partners would’ve wanted an experienced CEO and a team to be involved. I have no idea if Sofia Alonso is more capable of running CMLL at this point, but convincing the sponsors and TV partners and everyone else they’re working with is the more immediate challenge, not really the luchadors. The good news is WWE is a situation where everything runs thru Vince McMahon, while it has appeared that a lot of stuff in CMLL ran without Paco Alonso being involved and might still keep rolling along for a while no matter who’s in charge, buying ownership more time to decide what to do next.

+LuchaTV has an interview with Cuatrero, who did a good job of not tipping his hand to whatever he must be going thru right now.

Box Y Lucha #3392 has Perro Aguayo on the cover.

Pirata Morgan Jr. appeared to wrestle on a Contreras show Saturday. Assuming it’s the same one it used to be, that’s the first time he’s turned up on a wrestling show since he was found to have stolen from fellow luchadors on a US tour. Pirata Morgan Sr. had said this son would no longer be allowed to use his name. Six months might have been enough time for attention to die down, though I don’t think there was any people on that tour who was on this show.

Rocky Star and other Ciudad Juarez luchadors of the past appeared for a talk at the Ciudad Juarez lucha libre hall of fame.

Peridico la Voz has a bio of Monclova luchador Chicano Power.

Last Sunday in Puebla, Guerrero Espartaco unmasked Leone. Leone gave his naem as Leonardo Hernandez Vazquez, 41 years old, 3 years a wrestler. That’s a combination of age and experience I don’t hear much.