CMLL Puebla: 2019-07-29

Volador superkick

Recapped: 07/30/2019

Matches:

King Jaguar & Meyer beat Policeman & Sombra Diabólika
(12:46 [6:06, 3:38, 3:02], 1/3, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Marcela beat Metálica in a lightning match
(9:08, double underhook piledriver, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

El Malayo, El Perverso, Virus beat Eléctrico, Millennium, Rey Samuray
(11:56 [6:35, 5:21], 1/2, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Felino, Hijo del Villano III, Tiger beat Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Stigma
(15:36 [4:02, 5:18, 6:16], 2/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr. beat Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
(12:12 [2:36, 6:07, 3:29], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

Dragón Lee, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush beat Carístico, Euforia, Volador Jr. in a relevos increíbles match
(12:47 [2:58, 3:36, 6:13], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

What happened:

Dragon Lee challenged Volador to a title match, as did Virus did to Electrico.

Thoughts:

Marcela laying in the double knees

It was strange to see Volador as the tecnico and Dragon Lee as the rudo in the main event, though that’s clearly what it had to be given their partners. Dragon Lee can play rudo fine, but Volador’s better at it and can control the pace a little better that way. They did a bit here to build to next week’s match, though not enough to give an idea of what it might be (and they might switch back to the other way when it happens.) Caristico seemed enthusiastic to face La Bestia del Ring, which is very weird, and there was more effort than usual for an Ingobernables Puebla main event.

Rating everything OK is dumb for many reasons, but also because it implies all the matches are about the same. They weren’t all the exact same matches this time. The Tiger led match was a hard-working match if just a bit too generic to stick out in any way. The Hijo del Infierno match had little going on, with the rudos doing just about nothing while in control, but had a loud crowd helping everything seem much bigger than it was.

The women’s match was the best of the three, though still had flaws that I couldn’t get past. This is a big advantage in hindsight, but the women’s lightning match feels like something not intended to set up a second match. Marcela & Metalica blow thru all the build up near falls in this match, with only the finishers left in a near ten-minute match. They also completely crush each other on the top rope moves, making the match feel a little brutal. There’s still too much getting in position for the next spot rather than fighting. Marcela totally whiffs on a springboard plancha bit to no reaction for Metalica, and Marcela’s brutal double knee drop gives her control for roughly ten seconds before it’s Metalica’s turn to do a spot. This did work for the live crowd and it was borderline match for me.

Virus and Electrico interactions actually seemed to be kept to a minimum in the trios setting up their title match. They were the key points of each fall but Virus wasn’t in a whole lot besides that, letting the locals take most of the match. Virus looked super impressive in his time, Electrico less so. The biggest reaction of the match was really for King Jaguar getting knocked out of the ring and seemingly knocking the tray out of vendor’s hands at the end of the first fall. CMLL never acknowledge it but the crowd sure got into the mess.

TripleMania ratings, Mistico/Cavernario set up in GDL

a villian

CMLL (TUE) 08/06/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha CentralR de RudoThe Gladiatores]
1) El Coyote & Grako b Arkalis & Robin LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 6 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
rudos took 1/3
2) Cancerbero, Difunto, Raziel b Star Black, Star Jr., Súper Astro Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 6 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
rudos took 1/3.
3) Blue Panther Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso b Olímpico, Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 6 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
tecnicos took 1/3. Blue Panther was listed but Blue Panther Jr. wrestled.
4) Hijo del Villano III b Black Panther [lightningLUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 6 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
5) El Audaz, Kráneo, Stuka Jr. b Felino, Pólvora, Vangellys LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 6 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
tecnicos took2 /3
6) Rey Bucanero, Templario, Terrible b Atlantis, Carístico, Soberano Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 6 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Templario replaced Gran Guerrero. Rudos took 1/3. Soberano seem shook up after a dive his the top rope.

Soberano’s injury didn’t look took serious. It’s also tough to take these stretcher rides totally serious when the previous match had Polvora getting one after taking a Kraneo splash on the floor.

Hijo del Villano III celebrates a slightly cheating win. Black Panther is greatly disadvantaged from Art Barr not having a son who became a luchador for him to feud with him forever. (Or maybe the Villano V kids not making it to CMLL?) Grako & Coyote also got promo time to do the required “I want new challenges” promo.

CMLL (TUE) 08/06/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Capitán Cobra, Gran Kenut, Maléfico b Joker, Metatrón, Mr. Samurai
Rudos took 2/3.
2) Magnum, Magnus, Príncipe Diamante b Cholo, Furia Roja, Hijo del Signo
tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis b Marcela, Mystique, Sanely
Rudas took 2/3.
4) La Bestia Del Ring, Máscara Año 2000, Mr. Niebla Mephisto b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente
Rudos took 2/3.
5) Dragón Lee, Místico, Rush DQ Cavernario, Negro Casas, Último Guerrero
Munoz took 1/3, the last when Cavernario unmasked Mistico for the DQ and to set up a singles match next week.

That sets up another Mistico/Cavernario match, though it’ll be the first time in this building.

AAA announced some positive stats from their TripleMania broadcast. Nielsen rated them as the most-watched show on both free TV (Azteca) and Pay (Space). They also say they had more than 50,000 people watching on Twitter along with 18,000 in person, and call it the most-watched event in the history of Mexican wrestling. Lucha Central says the Azteca airing drew 1.63 million viewers. Leo Riano wrote last year Televisa drew 1.25 million for TripleMania. HR Media said 8.2 million watched some part of the show. AAA’s move to Azteca has seemed very successful and this show did especially well.

One other thing that interested me from Lucha Central’s ratings numbers is Nacion Lucha Libre, which aired against the last 60-90 minutes of TripleMania, still drew 204K viewers. It’s the lowest number they’ve done so far (310K and 298K the first two weeks), but doing any viewers against Triplemania is a bit amazing.

Penta was announced as part of PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles yesterday. That makes 8 Mexican luchadors or about one-third of the field. One spot remains. I don’t think it’s Hijo del Vikingo.

Vampiro announced his first Lucha Fight Club Las Vegas shows as August 23-25 with Dr. Wagner Jr. appearing. The poster lists tickets on Ticketmaster. I couldn’t find them or find the schedule on a list of events. I’m sure it’s being worked on.

ESPN has photos of Cain Velasquez’s TripleMania trip.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Tabasco luchador El Monarca passed away. The founder of the Ciudad Juarez Lucha Libre Hall of Fame passed away.

Lineups

NLL (SAT) 08/24/2019 Centro Cultural Las Americas, Ecatepec, Estado de México
1) Heddi Karaoui vs Relámpago
2) Black Terry & Negro Navarro vs Solar I & Súper Astro
3) El Bandido vs Súper Nova
4) Dulce Sexy & Lady Flammer vs Reina Oscura & Rossy Moreno
5) Chavo Guerrero, Hijo de LA Park, LA Park Jr. vs Cuervo, Dark Scoria, Galeno Del Mal
6) Hijo De Dos Caras & La Máscara vs Apolo & Bram
7) Alberto el Patrón & LA Park vs Carlito & El Mesías

Bandido was already announced as wrestling on ROH’s Atlanta show, so he won’t be there. This show is scheduled to honor Solar, Super Astro, and Ultraman but they’ll also still be having Tinieblas and Dos Caras there too. The same sort of matches underneath with the addition of the El Toreo tag; the only goal here feels like extracting as many paydays as possible while the promotion still exists.

AAA TV (SUN) 09/08/2019 Gimnasio Miguel Hidalgo, Puebla, Puebla
1) Aramis, Draztick Boy, La Parkita vs Chik Tormenta, Látigo, Low Rider
2) ?, Dinastía, Eclipse vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
3) ?, Big Mami, Lady Shani vs ????, La Hiedra, Villano III Jr.
4) Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid vs Ortiz (Lax) & Santana (Lax) and Arez & Daga
5) Aerostar, Murder Clown, Niño Hamburguesa vs Averno, Chessman, Texano Jr.
6) Drago, Psycho Clown, Taya vs Ayako Hamada, Blue Demon Jr., Rey Escorpión

This is the second taping out, with a big gap in August where nothing is going on. We knew about this taping originally because Toxin mentioned it on Instagram. Toxin’s not on the lineup. I dunno. Maybe he’s a mystery man in the third. Maybe “new people after TripleMania” might mean the same people in new outfits.

That fourth match should be worth watching, and the first couple matches look pretty good as well. It is now weird to see Daga on an AAA TV show without Tessa.

Ayako’s a ruda now, I guess? Ayako’s probably just the opposite of whatever Taya is as AAA goes back to that feud.

LAX still being LAX weirdly fascinates me. This has nothing to do with lucha libre so you can just skip this paragraph while I get it out of my system. LAX were a team with their own names before Impact. I’d figure we’d just see them revert those names once they left. It’s not as though AAA fans have seen so much of Impact that they have to be the LAX names. US people, perhaps. One of the things the current Impact management said after they took over is wrestlers would be able to use names they created in Impact elsewhere, as a way to make Impact a more friendly place to work. It hasn’t really come up a lot, with Impact not really creating many characters on their own and more just using people in their existing gimmicks, but I wonder if that’s actually being applied here.

The next AAA TV taping after this is the New York show. At least that’s still what is on the books. AAA still making no mention of that show happening seems like a pretty strong sign; please don’t buy flights, hotels or tickets unless they promote it again.

Electrico & Volador keep their titles (but challengers look better), AAA schedule, whatever the 3rd headline was supposed to be

Virus

CMLL (MON) 08/05/2019 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Centella Roja, Espíritu Maligno, Fuerza Chicana b Astro, King Jaguar, Millenium LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 5 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
rudos took 1/3
2) Fuego, Star Black, Stigma b Difunto, Misterioso, Okumura LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 5 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Star Black replaced Triton, Difunto replaced Tiger. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Eléctrico © b Virus [MEX LIGHTLA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 5 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
fifth defense, first in 21 months. Electrico took 2/3 to retain in a very good match.
4) Ángel de Oro, El Audaz, Niebla Roja b Ephesto, Mephisto, Vangellys LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 5 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Carístico, Diamante Azul, Valiente DQ La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 5 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Ingobernables took 1/3. Rush unmasked Caristico in the second for the DQ. Rush faked a foul from Caristico in the third. Challenges for a match followed. Diamante Azul’s return from injury.
6) Volador Jr. © b Dragón Lee [NWA WELTERLA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 5 DE AGOSTO DE 2019 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
third defense and first time match between the two. Volador took 2/3, won via flipping DDT.

Volador/Dragon Lee was the hardest Volador has worked in a while and it was still not close to Virus/Electrico. If you’ve got time for one match, that’s the match to see. Electrico’s not on the level of all the other three guys, but Virus put together a match showcasing the things Electrico can do well while making it very exciting in the third fall. Virus is easily the most underutilized luchador in CMLL after killing it in this match and Metalico one, and I hope there’s more coming for him.

Electrico called the win the most important of his career. I have no idea what CMLL will do with him or his title next and suspect the answer is “nothing again”, but at least he got one good moment for moving out of the minis division.

Dragon Lee was nearly literally running laps around Volador in their match, just moving so fast that Volador really struggled to keep up. Volador failed on a top rope move twice, something you hardly ever see from him. It was not a bad match, it had good moments, but it wasn’t the dream match people might have been expecting. Volador just can’t go at that level and got shown it last night. Volador won because CMLL has to have titles for everyone, but the better man definitely didn’t win.

They gave both title matches plenty of time and everyone worked hard in Puebla. It is possible.

It probably isn’t happening today. Arena Mexico has Atlantis, Caristico, and Soberano versus Gran Guerrero, Rey Bucanero and Terrible in a main event that doesn’t promise much. Audaz and Polvora find themselves in plenty of matches together and will be again with Kraneo, Stuka, Felino, and Vangellys. The Black Panther vs Hijo del Villano III match is the most interesting on the card. Blue Panther is in a tercera for some reason, teaming with Pegasso & Guerrero Maya against Olimpico, Tiger and Universo 2000 Jr. Not really sure why Olimpico is in that match either. The segunda has the all-star team of Star Black, Star Jr., and Super Astro Jr. against Cancerbero, Raziel and Difunto. Those rudos haved teamed a few times in Guadalajara. Arkalis & Robin face Coyote & Grako in the opener. The show streamed at 7:30 pm on YouTube but seems like one you can wait to watch if you’re going to watch.

Guadalajara has Dinastia Munoz (Dragon Lee, Mistico, and Rush) against Negro Casas, Ultimo Guerrero, and Cavernario. A Mistico/Cavernario match was teased last week.

+LuchaTV has a new edition of their podcast, talking about TripleMania a lot early. Feeding my easter egg hunt for info, Jose Manuel Guillen goes thru AAA schedule for the rest of the year around 1:03:00. This is what I got:

  • 08/10 (SAT) Saltillo
  • 08/16-17 Impact in Mexico City
  • 09/08 (SUN) Puebla
  • 10/05 (SAT) Culiacan
  • 10/19 (SAT) Orizaba
  • 10/26 (SAT) Toluca
  • 11/09 (SAT) Torreon
  • 11/17 (SUN) Ciudad Juarez
  • 11/30 (SAT) Veracruz
  • 12/14 (SAT) Ciudad Madero

Ciudad Madero will be the site of Guerra de Titanes (or at least that’s the plan.) Either Orizaba or Toluca will be Heroes Inmortales, Guillen wasn’t sure which one it’d be. The long break after Saltillo would sure explain why I haven’t been able to find another lineup in a while.

There was noticeably no mention of the AAA New York or Los Angeles shows. Perhaps JMG isn’t being flown to the US for those or he’s just sorted them into a different list because they’re US ones. There’s is just an increasingly. AAA has not mentioned their New York or Los Angeles shows on social media following TripleMania. They didn’t mention those shows during commentary on TripleMania. For most promotions, this would mean those shows are being changed or canceled. For AAA, there’s a decent chance they just haven’t gotten around to it. I was really expecting a hard push for those shows during TripleMania and after. Maybe my expectations are just incorrect. Tickets remain on sale at last check.

(The Colombia tour seems unmentioned as well and I’m not sure exactly where it would go. Maybe late November?)

El Planchitas column on TripleMania notes he got the pick of the main event incorrect. He also mentions Villano III Jr. picked up a concussion and was showing memory issues after the match. That doesn’t seem great. It could explain why the mixed tag finish was weird, Villano III Jr. just forgetting to kick out or something. Planchitas also says there was much-vocalized unhappiness between the women after the TLC match didn’t turn out the way they were expecting.

The Planchitas also includes the explanation of how Vampiro’s ended up wrestling. It turns out that when Vampiro said “I will die if I have another match“, he actually meant “the best thing for my mental health issues is to continue to get paid for wrestling while a lot of people cheer me.” You can see how those two things can be confused. The good thing is, if you believe Vampiro has the brian disorders he’s talked about, Vampiro also seems pretty set on taking no bumps or selling at all so that shouldn’t be a big issue. In a video today, Vampiro restates this idea of wrestling being good for his health in a Facebook video and talks about returning to AAA again in October. He also explains he pitched AAA and their wrestlers about coming to work his upcoming shows in Las Vegas, saying what good experience it would be for them.

There’s no attempt to explain how Vampiro didn’t end up announcing.

I missed (or misunderstood) AAA’s announcement of an online store coming soon.  That did get plugged again on social media. No idea when soon will be or if it’ll include international shipping.

Dragon Lee was announced as the 22nd participant in PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles. It’s his first appearance in that promotion. He’s got a strong record in California tournaments, though maybe some people would say too strong. There are two spots left. Penta is expected to be in because Fenix is, but he pretty much has to be #23 if he’s part of the tournament. The 24th name is usually saved for a big surprise.

Dragon Lee was also announced for Defy’s 08/23 show, facing Douglas James. That’s the off-day between Super J Cup stops.

I didn’t realize it, but when Flamita & Draztick Boy came back to Mexico from Dragon Gate, Jimmy ended up staying. He’s still on tour right now, eating a lot of pins but sounds like he’s enjoying it. Jimmy is scheduled for shows at the start of September so maybe he’ll be done in a few weeks, maybe after the August 24 Dangerous Gate show.

Hijo del Fantasma says he’s going off social media for a while. Alberto said Fantasma was going to WWE in a post-show promo, though Fantasma again did not say it himself. (I think it’s good enough to take “REPORT: ” off the headlines at this point though.) Nacion Lucha Libre also did some bit where the foreigners were being rough with the Mexicans, which may be a bit or may not be a bit, but probably doesn’t really matter either way.

Bandido is facing Marty Scurll on the 08/24 ROH show.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

14 people earned professional luchador licenses in San Luis Potosi, bringing the total licensed in the state as above 120.

Guatemala luchador Mascara Roja has passed away.

Lineups

CMLL (FRI) 08/09/2019 Arena México
1) Magnus & Oro Jr. vs Nitro & Sangre Azteca
2) Atlantis Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Titán vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Okumura
3) Dalys vs LluviaSiluetaLa ComandanteMystiqueStephanie VaquerLa JarochitaSkadiReina IsisLa Magnifica [CMLL Universal de Amazonas, semifinal]
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente vs Cuatrero, Negro Casas, Sansón
5) Último Guerrero © vs Ciber the Main Man [CMLL HEAVY]
fourth defense
6) Diamante Azul, Dragón Lee, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Forastero, Gran Guerrero

I think the best CMLL match on Friday is in Ring of Honor. The fourth match looks best on this show. Ultimo vs Ciber will be the latest attempt to try to get something out of that feud. A title change is definitely possible.

Metalica winning Block A normally suggests a tecnica coming out of Block B. I can not imagine Metalica versus Llucia or Silueta or whomever else happening. More likely Dalys eliminates nine people herself.

CMLL (SAT) 08/10/2019 Arena Coliseo
1) Angelito & Shockercito vs Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro
2) Eléctrico, Magia Blanca, Príncipe Diamante vs Disturbio, Hijo del Signo, Yago
3) Drone vs Tiger [lightning]
4) Black Panther, Fuego, Rey Cometa vs Dark Magic, Olímpico, Sagrado
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Flyer vs Felino, Hechicero, Rey Bucanero
6) Carístico, Místico, Titán vs Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero

Caristico & Hechiceor being back here suggests CMLL expects those wrestlers back from Toronto rather quick (or haven’t worked out how long that’ll take.)

Drone versus Tiger seems like a fun match for a show that’s recorded. This isn’t one of those.

CMLL (SUN) 08/11/2019 Arena México
1) Fantasy & Kaligua vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Violencia
2) Blue Panther Jr., Drone, Star Jr. vs Disturbio, Universo 2000 Jr., Virus
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Misterioso Jr. [lightning]
4) Blue Panther, Flyer, Volcano vs Dark Magic, Hijo del Villano III, Pólvora
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Kráneo vs Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
6) Carístico, Místico, Valiente vs Euforia, Negro Casas, Último Guerrero

Note this is the Minis Anniversary weekend. They’re celebrating by working openers.

NLL in Monterrey, Hechicero wins in IWRG, Dragon Lee/Volador & Virus/Electrico tonight

tonight

NLL (SUN) 08/04/2019 Gimnasio Nuevo Leon Independiente, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon [Lo Mejor de Lucha]
1) Batab El Guerrero, Desafio, The Mummy b Brujo, Muerte Extreme, Sick Boy
2) Emperador Azteca (Indie) & Súper Nova b Azrael & Hijo De Espectro
Hijo de Espectro replaced Baby Extreme & The Tiger, Septimo Dragon dropped.
3) Dulce Sexy & Reina Oscura b Baby Love & Christi Jaynes
Reina Oscura replaced Lady Flammer, then Baby Love replaced Stephanie Vaquer (CMLL?)
4) Fresero Jr. & Mr. Iguana b Bestia 666 & Damián 666 and Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria
5) Bandido (Indie) b Mecha Wolf 450Rey Horus
Bandido replaced Hijo de Espectro. Said to be great.
6) Hijo De Dos Caras b Bram
7) Hijo del Fantasma & La Máscara b Carlito & MVP
MVP replaced Chavo

Running a major show in Monterrey seems a risky idea at this time. This TV taping was run in the smaller of the two gyms in this building and still didn’t fill it. Didn’t come close, looking in the low triple digits. This wasn’t an especially strong card – I’m not sure who the market is for a Hijo de Dos Caras versus Bram match at any point in time –  but it does suggest none of the TV that’s aired so far has helped Nacion Lucha Libre come off as something must see over other choices. Nacion’s not announced their next taping but may not need another one for about three weeks.

The show ended with a moment of applause for Hijo del Fantasma, who had said this would be his last match as an independent wrestler. Fantasma hasn’t officially said he’s going to NXT, though that’s what everyone believes to be the case. It still will be a month or more before we hear anything official.

IWRG (SUN) 08/04/2019 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Neza Kid b Arquero
2) Apolo Estrada Jr., Mosca, X-Corpio b Atomic Star, Auzter, Puma de Oro
3) Herodes Jr. & Hijo de Pirata Morgan b Jessy Ventura & Pasion Cristal and Demonio Infernal & Eterno [lumberjack]
4) Hijo del Alebrije b El Hijo del Medico Asesino
5) Dragón Bane b ToxinSéptimo DragónFreelanceEl Diablo Fly Star
Toxin & Fly Star replaced Latigo. Dragon Bane defeated Toxin, who asked for a title match anyway.
6) El Mesías & Máscara Año 2000 Jr. b Pirata Morgan & Pólvora and Trauma I & Trauma II
Pirata Morgan & Polvora replaced Hijo de Dos Caras (Nacion) & Mr. Niebla (MIA). Ave Rex debuted to help Mesias’ team win via foul to Trauma I.
7) Hechicero b Hijo de Canis Lupus Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Hechicero mano a mano en la Arena Naucalpan (posted by Estrellas del Ring) IWRG vs CMLL (posted by Internetv Deportes)
Hechicero asked for a title shot.

Pretty strong crowd for an IWRG show. Naucalpan hasn’t drawn as well for the home promotion as for the outsider groups coming in, though I guess this one was promoted as a CMLL vs IWRG show. Hechicero missed out on doing a meaningless CMLL midcard trios match for this main event. No idea where Mr. Niebla has gone but the answers are usually not positive.

CMLL’s had Arena Puebla shows that have meant to be big but haven’t exactly worked out in the quality of matches. Today’s a great test to see if it’s even possible for Arena Puebla to have top-level matches, or if the luchadors are too disinterested in CMLL’s Monday night stop to deliver. Dragon Lee always has entertaining singles matches and Virus always has strong singles matches. They both get a shot tonight.

Dragon Lee versus Volador Jr. in the main event for the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship. The championship on the line already tells the finish – Dragon is already CMLL Welterweight Champion and so unlikely to pick up a second belt – but that’s the part we do know. We don’t know what Volador & Dragon Lee looks like in a singles match because they’ve never done it before. We don’t even know how they’re going to work it; Volador seems like the more natural rudo for the match, but Dragon Lee was the rudo last night. And we don’t know how much we’re going to see out of Volador, who hasn’t shown a lot in his recent big matches. There’s a problem if he can’t get up to face Dragon Lee, but there may indeed be a problem. This should still be worth seeing even at 75% of normal but could be outstanding at their best.

Virus is about two months removed from another excellent match. No one in CMLL has delivered better in big singles matches, he just doesn’t get them very often. That’s what makes tonight’s match exciting: Virus getting another one of those plus gets we all get the possibility of many more if he takes the national lightweight championship from Electrico. It’s a big match for Electrico too. He’s among many who seem completely ignored by the programming department. There have been no plans for him since moving out of the minis division to the main group, but he was excited when he was given a chance years ago. Virus should be a good match-up for him, regardless of the outcome.

The rest of the show is the usual trios. Diamante Azul is scheduled to return to the CMLL ring, following surgery to fix an undisclosed injury in early June. He teams with Caristico & Valiente versus Los Ingobernables in a match that will hopefully be over fast. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja team with Audaz against Mephisto, Ephesto, and Vangellys. Fuego, Triton, and Stigma face Okumura, Tiger, and Misterioso in another one of those matches that seem like a repeat but hasn’t happened in that specific alignment. King Jaguar, Astro & Millenium face Espiritu Maligno, Centella Roja, and Fuerza Chicana to open the show.

The Arena Puebla will air at 9 pm on CMLL’s YouTube channel.

AEW posted a video with Kenny Omega making his challenge to Fenix again. It will be in Mexico (not on those AAA US shows) and they don’t really have an idea of when it’ll be.

This Cody video being re-tweeted by AEW is an obvious hint towards using Cain Velasquez in that promotion, though it ends with Cody saying he wants to bring in his new pal Psycho Clown first. WWE was paying attention too and will be interested in bringing in Velasquez. AAA should plan on Velasquez not being available to him for the long-term, but I think they’ve already gotten a great deal with him.

Blue Demon is teasing a mask match with LA Park from that post-show attack. That seems like another big match where it would be a big deal but they don’t have a finish. Still, they can do the tags and singles encounters to tease it for the next six months.

There’s not a lot of other lucha stories to make it thru today. Any space that was going to lucha libre in media outlets went to coverage on TripleMania, and that turned out to be a lot of coverage. It made AAA come off as a big deal. They could’ve done more to push that attention going forward but this show helped their image tremendously.

Demon ends Wagner’s career at TripleMania, Wagner reveals career not actually ending, LA Park returns to AAA again

AAA TV (SAT) 08/03/2019 Arena Ciudad de México, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal [+LuchaTVAAA (Highlights)CageSideSeatsESPN.com.mxESTOLucha Central (English)Lucha Central (Spanish)MarcaMedioTiempoThe Gladiatores, thecubsfan, Voices of Wrestling]
1) Arkángel Divino, Astrolux, Dragón Bane b Aramis, Arez, Toxin  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
10:53. Pre-show match, aired on stream. Dragon Bane beat Arez via 630 senton.
2) Lady Maravilla & Villano III Jr. b Big Mami & Niño Hamburguesa © and Sammy Guevara & Scarlett Bordeaux and Australian Suicide & Vanilla [AAA MIXED TAG (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
12:38. Lady Maravilla fouled Nino Hamburguesa and pinned him to win the title (though Mami had Villano III Jr. pinned at the same time.) Champs fall on 12th defense, 5th on TV.
3) Golden Magic, Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr. b Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana and Mamba, Máximo, Pimpinela Escarlata [AAA TRIOS (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
14:38. Championships were technically vacant because of Laredo Kid being replaced by Golden Magic on the team, making this the start of Myzteziz & Vikingo’s 2nd reign (and Golden Magic’s 1st.) Vikingo & Myzteziz wore the belts to the ring anyway. Vikingo beat Carta Brava with the reverse 450 splash.
4) PaganoLa ParkaChessmanSúper FlyAvernoAerostarDragoPuma KingKonnanRey EscorpiónVampiroMonsther ClownDagaEclipse Jr. [Copa TripleMania]  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
26:45. About half the field were surprise names. Eliminations via people being thrown over the top or pinned. Konnan made his first AAA TV in-ring appearance since 2010. He did not do a lot before Vampiro also made a surprise appearance to throw him out. Vampiro eliminated himself. Dave the Clown distracted La Parka into being eliminated. Pagano beat Chessman to win. LA Park & his sons appeared in the ring post-match, destroying the trophy and Pagano, then challenging him to a mask vs hair match.
5) Tessa BlanchardAyako HamadaTayaFaby ApacheLady ShaniChik TormentaLa Hiedra [TLC, Reina De Reinas (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
10:32. Keyra appeared in a wheelchair to announce she was not medically cleared to defend the title but would take it from whoever won it here. Chik Tormenta knocked over the wheelchair. Ayako Hamada made the save, returning to the promotion. Tormenta was shoved by Tessa for a bump out of the ring onto a ladder, but missed the ladder and needed medical attention after hitting the floor hard. Tessa later climbed up the ladder to win the vacant title.
6) Cain Velasquez, Cody Rhodes, Psycho Clown b Killer Kross, Taurus, Texano Jr.  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
13:08. Velasquez submitted Texano to a kimura in his pro-wrestling debut. Kross was the mystery wrestler and heavily teased a future match with Velasquez.
7) Fénix, Laredo Kid, Pentagón Jr. b Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
18:47. Penta pinned Matt. Omega challenged Fenix to an AAA Mega Championship match, offered to do it in Mexico, then declared AEW was better than AAA.
8) Blue Demon Jr. b Dr. Wagner Jr. [mask, hair (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
14:47. An intense blood match. Blue Demon used a hammer to break Wagner’s hand and open up his cut, then repeatedly tried to get Wagner to submit. Wagner would not. Wagner used the Wagner Driver three times. Demon kicked out twice, then his son pulled out the referee on the third try. Wagner’s son and Demon’s son skirmished, and Demon smashed Wagner with a cinderblock while Tirantes was distracted. Demon got the pin. Wagner was shaved in the ring and announced his retirement.

This was a strong TripleMania, with plenty of memorable matches. The main event was the best possible version of the Demon/Wagner matches leading up to the point, playing off what they can do (bleed so much.) The Cain Velasquez was intended to get him over as a big star and did exactly that. The latest LA Park return got over huge, as did the Konnan/Vampiro moment in the match prior to it. Vikingo had cool moments in his match and the opener was really enjoyable to those people who were actually around to see it. The mixed tag story moved along as well and they integrated the people who weren’t involved in the storyline well. The women’s TLC match didn’t really come together with too much going on and no direction. The views on the Elite/Lucha Brothers/Laredo Kid match were all over the place, though the Mexican fans who were there to primarily see Omega in their home country seemed to get what they wanted out of it. (They really should do the Fenix/Omega match in Naucalpan, that crowd would be insane for it.) This show was successful for what AAA wanted to get done.

Can you name the team Nino Hamburguesa & Big Mami defeated to win the mixed tag title? I’ll give you a few paragraphs to think about it.

AAA wrestlers were doing post-match interviews for both Space and Azteca social media during the show. After the main event, Blue Demon and LA Park got into an argument backstage in front of this media. Park was angry that Demon ended his rival Wagner’s career with unprofessional tactics (the brick, the hammer.) That led into a fight, with the three Parks beating up Demon. Psycho Clown and Cain Velasquez made the save, seemingly teasing a match. Velasquez is hinting he’s close to being on the AAA US shows, but the Parks are probably not going to make him shine as much as Taurus & Texano & Kross did. LA Park and two of those partners seems more likely, with the Parks (at least one of which already has a visa) being on the undercard makes more sense.

There’s are question marks around those AAA NYC & LA shows to be solved first. AAA did not promote them at all during either English & Spanish broadcast. That could mean they’re going to be canceled or some people in AAA really screwed up. AAA should absolutely be focusing their attention on the MSG show this week and continuing to not mention it will be a sign.

Silver King, Joaquin Roldan, Antonio Pena, and Paco Alonso were added to the AAA Hall of Fame. The Silver King family came out to be part of that presentation and it was very emotional. I would’ve assumed Roldan & Pena were already in the AAA Hall of Fame (and in fact, Pena had been inducted back in 2007.) AAA acknowledging Alonso is mostly about AAA continuing to try to reach out by CMLL. I suspect the only way CMLL might ever acknowledge this would be complaining about AAA using Paco Alonso’s name.

Dr. Wagner Jr. posted a video on Instagram today, saying he was robbed in the match and had agreements with promoters for dates, so his retirement would be a process of at least a year. I like this idea that Wagner’s taken bookings in next June that just can’t get has to do. Wagner had plenty of chances to make this same statement last night but knew the dramatic retirement statement would make him a bigger star (and overshadow his loss), so he saved the rest of it for today. We’ll see Wagner on next year’s TripleMania.

During the pre-show, Jesus Zuniga announced TripleMania had sold out. There was no other mention of attendance during the night or afterward and I’m a little suspicious that might have been hype and not quite accurate. No number was every announced, though the building did look pretty full in the main event shots. There was no mention of next year’s TripleMania date. The English commentary was said to be better with Joe Dombrowski & Matt Striker, though Striker had a few Striker moments. My belief is Vampiro was told he was announcing to keep him from being complaining about it and made sure he came, then told the Copa TripleMania spot later. AAA weirdly didn’t give the English announcers Adrian or anyone else to translate promos, which left them hanging a few times.

Nino Hamburguesa & Big Mami got the Mixed tag championship in a decision match over Lady Shani & Venum. Guess that could’ve gone a different way.

LuchaTalk has a post-TripleMania show.

AAA’s Toluca promoter says they’ll have a TV taping soon, though they don’t know the date or the card yet. Though, their last post was also saying they would have a TV taping soon and that post is from January. The AAA Mexico TV schedule past Saturday’s taping has not been announced, though there was a mention of a September TV in Veracruz in the Twitch chat a while back.

CMLL (SAT) 08/03/2019 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Camorra & Yago b Halcón Suriano Jr. & Sonic
rudos took 1/3 in their first teaming since an apuesta match earlier this year
2) Amapola, La Comandante, Reyna Isis b Avispa Dorada, La Guerrera, Mystique
Mystique replaced Vaquerita (off for the second straight week)
3) Magnus b Cholo [lightning]
4) Difunto, Disturbio, Sagrado DQ Fuego, Star Black, Stigma
Tecnicos took 2/3, the last when Sagrado unmasked Fuego. Star Black & Difunto in from Guadalajara for an unclear time.
5) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. b Dark Magic, Máscara Año 2000, Mephisto
Panthers took 2/3
6) Hijo del Villano III, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush DQ Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Valiente
Villano III Jr. fouled Atlantis Jr.

Magnus did the usual lightning match victory promo, perhaps talking about shutting down Cholo as hard as he does trolls on Twitter. Villano III Jr. pushed his feud with Atlantis Jr.

CMLL (SUN) 08/04/2019 Arena México
1) El Coyote & Hijo del Signo b Magia Blanca & Robin
2) Príncipe Diamante, Star Black, Stigma b El Difunto, Nitro, Okumura
Inquisidor replaced Okumura (moved up). Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Rey Cometa DQ Misterioso, Okumura, Vangellys
Okumura replaced Kawato (???). Tecnicos took 2/3, Misterioso unmasking Maya for the DQ.
4) Felino, Rey Bucanero, Universo 2000 Jr. b Flyer, Stuka Jr., Titán
Hechicero replaced Universo 2000, and then Universo 2000 ended up in the match after all with Hechicero in Naucalpan. Rudos took 1/3.
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Valiente b Ephesto, Euforia, Luciferno
tecnicos took 2/3
6) Místico b Sansón
Mistico took 2/3.

Star Black and Difunto re-introduce themselves and Mistico talks about his win. That match looks good in the highlights.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.