Sangre Azteca leaves CMLL, Caristico out cheats Rush, Super J Cup

CMLL (MON) 08/12/2019 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha CEntral]
1) Asturiano & Retro b Black Tiger & Policeman 
Tecnicos took 1/3
2) El Malayo & El Perverso b Halcón Suriano Jr. & Tigre Rojo Jr. 
rudos took 1/3
3) Amapola, Dalys, La Comandante b La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Marcela 
La Magnifica replaced Mystique (injury). Rudas took 1/3.
4) Dulce Gardenia, Fuego, Stigma b Olímpico, Pólvora, Universo 2000 Jr. 
Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Soberano Jr., Último Guerrero b Cuatrero, Forastero, Místico, Sansón [Relevos Increíbles] 
Guerreros took 1/3, UG stealing Mistico’s mask in the third. This set up a rematch for next week.
6) Carístico DQ Rush 
Rush unmasked Carisitco in the first, then Caristico tossed his mask to Rush to draw the DQ in the second.

Caristico & Rush was better than those finishes suggest. There was less to the semi-main but they’ll get another chance next week. This show was helped by another loud and big summer crowd in Puebla.

Tonight’s Arena Mexico is in-between feuds. The main event has Los Ingobernables against Caristico, Soberano and Stuka. It would be weird for CMLL to repeat the same feud in a different building so close together, but I guess we can’t totally rule out another Caristico & Rush issue. Atlantis, Kraneo, and Blue Panther are scheduled to face Negro Casas, Felino, and Hijo del Villano III. The younger Panthers team with Audaz vs Disturbio, Hechicero, and Misterioso in a usual midcard match. Reina Isis gets a lightning match with Marcela. That feels like a repeat but hasn’t happened before: it was scheduled on a show canceled due to the 2017 earthquake. The second match has Fuego, Pegasso and Stigma against Hijo del Signo, Nitro and a spot that is still listed as Sangre Azteca but probably won’t be. Metatron & Sonic versus Espanto Jr. & Grako opens the show. It starts at 7:30 pm.

Guadalajara has Mistico versus Cavernario, which is often pretty good.

Sangre Azteca announced he had decided to leave CMLL yesterday during a Facebook live stream. Azteca said he had the option of staying with CMLL but decided to leave for lack of opportunities and economic reasons. Azteca said he had talked to one promotion in particular about joining which would be announced soon and had not talked to AAA. CMLL rarely notes the departure of wrestlers and has said nothing about this one. Sangre Azteca came up with the name before coming to CMLL and says he owns it; the trademark database confirms this (though the address used is Arena Mexico so maybe there’s something more going on there.)

Sangre Azteca had been with CMLL a very long time: he debuted in 1997 and became a regular starting in 1998. Azteca looked like a future start around the turn of the century, including getting a lightning match with Ricky Marvin on the Villano III vs Atlantis mask match show. CMLL was much slower about pushing new people than they are even now, but Azteca rose to the level of a secondary champion by the mid-2000s. My favorite Sangre Azteca run was as part of Poder Mexica, first with Dragon Rojo & Black Warrior and later with Rojo & Misterioso. They were an effective unit against CMLL tecnicos and worked well together. Dragon Rojo got pulled up out of the group to become a Guerrero in 2010. That was something Sangre Azteca complained publicly, including saying he was angry at Ultimo Guerrero about over. Storyline that didn’t go anywhere, coincidence or something else, that was the end of Sangre Azteca being a notable upper-level luchador. Misterioso & Azteca did a break-up bit, which led to an Azteca unsuccessful year as a tecnico in 2011. He flipped back in 2012, and hasn’t really done much of note since. He wrestled a Friday night opener just a couple weeks ago, the first time in a long time Azteca been back in openers. That, and CMLL using Dark Magic to work twice instead of him, probably contributed heavily to this decision. Sangre Azteca was also doing training classes in France around the turn of the decade, which seems to have been passed over to Nitro.

There are not many people left from Sangre Azteca’s generation who are still in CMLL, especially among those who aren’t really pushed. Most of them have another role or have changed to them. Nitro is one. Having the head of the union job probably is the reason why. Virus is a trainer. Metalico just became a referee. Olimpico is the exception, though I wonder if there is another story beyond just being an old Ultimo Guerrero tag partner with that. Sangre Azteca was just getting about one booking a week and getting less for that one booking when they decided to put him back in the openers.

It probably would’ve been better for Sangre Azteca to leave around the time they proposed that tecnico turn, if even a little earlier. There just wasn’t anywhere for him to go. He’s never got a style or shown a personality that would be a natural fit in AAA and there weren’t a lot of other steady options. 2011 was also just at the end of the Mistico-led boom, which meant most everyone was making good money working in CMLL and no one was in a hurry to strike out on their own. The safer choice was to just keep his head down and hope that things would get better. They never really did.

It is unfortunate that a 2010 Sangre Azteca wasn’t coming onto the indies now. The big increase in the middle class of promotions – both the MDA/Generacion XXI types trying to a couple of dozen shows per year – would be all over a guy like that. Even this Sangre Azteca might be in a demand for promotions always looking for new names, at least for one time thru, because there’s seems to always be spots to fill. Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria were pushed in AAA before they left, unlike Sangre Azteca in CMLL, but they don’t seem like that much bigger stars. I’ve got Scoria getting at least 36 matches so far this year, so he’s hitting the one match a week mark pretty easily, and they get to do a more variety of matches that someone stuck in the lower midcard of CMLL. It’s probably a lot more work to get those bookings but it can be done. Sangre Azteca sounds like he’s already worked out one; I’m guessing we’ll see him in Nacion Lucha Libre soon.

(Who would be the 2010-ish Sangre Azteca who are still on the CMLL roster? Fuego & Drone are the two who always come to mind, but Black Panther might fit even better bet. Even a guy like Guerrero Maya seems like CMLL has given up on doing anything with. Puma King definitely was in that situation and did leave. But it’s hard to leave behind CMLL if all you’ve wanted to be since you were a kid was to be a wrestler in Arena Mexico, and it takes many years of small indignities to make that move.)

The full bracket for NJPW’s Super J Cup has been announced. In the first round on 08/22 in Seattle, Soberano Jr. faces Rocky Romero, Caristico faces BUSHI and Dragon Lee faces YOH. Caristico & Soberano would meet in the second round (08/24 in San Francisco), though it’s unlikely they’ll both win their first-round matches. The final is on 08/25 in San Francisco. Dragon Lee has the best chance of being in it.

Dr. Wagner Jr. was announced for the Impact tapings in Mexico City. He’ll just be on the Friday show; they’re running Thursday as well. AAA isn’t running this week because they lend support to these Impact tapings. I’d expect more AAA wrestlers to be part of the show; Impact’s slowly rolling out matches for these tapings on social media today.

Sangre Chicana lost his hair to Satanico last night in Nuevo Laredo in what was billed as his farewell match.

09/07 The Crash lineup

• Dan Moloney vs Mesias vs Ricky Martinez – new
• Los Traumas vs Sanson & Cuatrero
• Super Astro, Super Astro Jr. & Mr. Iguana vs Triple Amenaza
• Trent Seven & Tyler Bate will appear

Pro Wrestling Mexico announced they’ll be back on 09/22.

An article on lucha libre in Cancun, which has four promotions at the moment.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

+LuchaTV has a new edition of their podcast.

Lineups

CMLL (SAT) 08/17/2019 Arena Coliseo
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico
2) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Príncipe Diamante vs Cholo, Espíritu Negro, Inquisidor
3) Avispa Dorada, La Jarochita, Sanely vs Amapola, Dalys, Metálica
4) Stuka Jr. vs Felino [lightning]
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Titán vs Hechicero, Negro Casas, Templario
6) Carístico, Dragón Lee, Místico vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero

The fifth match is this week’s promising Arena Coliseo match we won’t see. Dalys & Metalica teaming one day after they fight.

CMLL (SUN) 08/18/2019 Arena México
1) Retro & Sangre Imperial vs El Coyote & Yago
2) La Guerrera, La Jarochita, La Maligna vs Dalys, La Comandante, La Seductora
3) Black Panther, El Audaz, Rey Cometa vs Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr., Vangellys
4) Tritón vs Hijo del Villano III [lightning]
5) Diamante Azul, Kráneo, Titán vs Dark Magic, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón vs Dragón Lee, Soberano Jr., Valiente

If Villano III is beating Black Panther, he’s probably beating Triton. Main event looks fun.