CMLL held a press conference to talk about their plans for the 09/27 CMLL Aniversario show:
- Microman & Chamuel will meet in the first-ever Micros mask match.
- the previously announced Dalys title challenge
- Ciber the Main Main vs Ultimo Guerrero vs Gilbert el Boricua vs Volador Jr. vs Barbaro Cavernario vs Big Daddy vs Negro Casas in a cage match, the loser losing their hair.
The bit with the main event is Panico was ready to sign just Ciber vs UG, had the contracts and everything, but everyone else wanted their singles matches. The only way to handle it was a cage match. (There are other ways to handle it.) UG teased walking out over not getting his match but came back anyway.
This outcome was telegraphed on Friday though not particularly before then, which suggests a late change in plans. CMLL’s been committed to Ultimo Guerrero vs Ciber but hasn’t been able to get a finish to it. This cage match is less about camouflaging that quality of those matches and seems more about hiding the fact they can’t get a result out of it. They didn’t do a good job of it: this press conference was all about building up 1v1 matches which probably aren’t happening later.
Not sure if anyone’s ever main evented the Aniversario show after one Friday night before Big Daddy. He was entertaining promo in the press conference but not a soul in Mexico knows who he is, something Negro Casas pointed out. Big Daddy is there to be a tall American and also so CMLL can say they didn’t give the worst outcome. The guy who’s been in the promotion a month is not losing his hair (more because why would they give him the payoff instead of someone else). CMLL can hold up Casas or Gilbert losing as giving the fans a big moment by setting up the possibility of a much worse moment.
Volador being in this match sort of flies in the face of Volador challenging for the ROH World Heavyweight Championship on Saturday. The winner is supposed to defend against Rush, only that show is the same day as the Aniversario. Rush can’t be in both places and neither can Volador. Few believed Volador was winning the ROH title anyway – ROH doing a CMLL vs CMLL match for their title would be strange. It’s also something CMLL could’ve addressed with a single line and didn’t do the detail work. Maybe it’ll come up on Informa now.
The Micros match got a more favorable reaction. It should be a good match, Microman is a rare tecnico that the Arena Mexico crowd uniformly supports. (Note the only true tecnico in the cage match is Volador, who was booed last week.) It still does feel too soon for the mask match – what exactly do you do with the Micros next if you blow off the Chamuel/Microman feud? – but at least they’re going to get to do it on the biggest possible stage.
The rest of the Aniversario show will be announced on today’s CMLL Informa card.
CMLL also announced a special Sunday show on 09/15. Mexico’s Independence Day on 09/16. Most places are typically closed on Independence Day Eve 09/15 and CMLL’s moved their shows in recent years. Nothing was announced.
CMLL (TUE) 09/03/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, Ovaciones, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
1) Acero & Aéreo b Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Olímpico 
Tecnicos took 2/3. The third fall fell apart after referee Pompin counted down Nitro on an obvious kicked out.
2) Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo, Nitro b Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Oro Jr.
rudos took 1/3.
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. b Dark Magic, Misterioso, Vangellys
tecnicos took 1/3
4) Pólvora b Guerrero Maya Jr. [lightning]
Polvora won in 6:30 via Polvora Driver
5) Atlantis, Audaz, Flyer b Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
Audaz replaced Atlantis Jr. Tecnicos took 2/3.
6) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Volador Jr. b Cavernario, Cuatrero, Terrible
Volador won via foul on Cavernario to tease a hair match.
Not a good show. Atlantis is falling apart. CMLL’s going to keep booking him until he can no longer walk but that seems disturbingly close to happening. It’s hard to believe a doctor has looked at Atlantis’ knee and honestly believed he’s good to wrestle.
Polvora talks being undefeated streak in lightning matches. Polvora’s won all his lightning matches except for the one he lost to Flyer in February that he keeps forgetting. It was a Flyer match so that doesn’t seem impossible.
CMLL (TUE) 09/03/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Maléfico, Paymon, Sádico b Fugaz, Johnny Dinamo, Rielero
rudos took 2/3
2) Sonic, Star Black, Súper Astro Jr. b Cholo, El Coyote, Guerrero de la Muerte
Star Black replaced Magnum. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) La Jarochita, Marcela, Silueta b Amapola, La Infernal, La Metálica
Silueta’s first match here since May. La Infernal replaced Tiffany. Tecnicas took 2/3, with Jarochita challenging Metalica to a title match.
4) Diamante Azul, Kráneo, Volcano b Forastero, Negro Casas, Sansón
tecnicos took 1/3.
5) Dragón Lee, Místico, Rush DQ Gran Guerrero, Mecha Wolf 450, Último Guerrero
Munoz took 2/3, the last when UG fouled Dragon Lee.
Magnum being off the show and Silueta being back lends a lot of credibility to rumors that Magnum has been removed from his role as head of programming for Arena Coliseo Guadalajara. Silueta’s brief indie run in June was followed by an El Planchitas story of Magnum telling others that Silueta would need to pay him a sexual favor to get booked back on shows (which Planchitas acknowledged may have been meant as a joke, but still not a great joke to make) and that the younger local wrestlers were being required to kick back some of their match payment to him to keep getting booked. Silueta soon reappeared in CMLL as part of the CMLL Universal de Amazonas announcement on CMLL Informa, with both herself and Julio Cesar Rivera stating Sofia Alonso had specifically reached out about including her. Magnum had booked himself on cards about once a week while in charge. He hasn’t appeared since the beginning of August. (It may be related that the building is hinting at significant changes on their locals-only Sunday shows too, though that may have to do more with new posters and Atlantis Jr & Hijo del Villano III being in..)
Back in 2010, Gran Cochisse was removed from his role as Arena Coliseo Guadalajara trainer. His son, Saturno, and his daughter, La Magnifica, were quickly no longer booked in the building. I’m not sure if the family decided to leave or CMLL deciding to no longer book them once their father lost power. The situation comes to mind because Magnum’s son is Esfinge, and that seemed to be a reason why he was featured above other Guadalajara wrestlers. Esfinge has not appeared on a CMLL Mexico City show since July 19th, though he’s still was on the Guadalajara shows as recently as last week. I’m not sure if it means anything but it’s something to watch. Triton, Esfinge’s friend and tag partner, leaving CMLL is also a bit interesting in this context but likely unrelated.
Mecha Wolf replaces Templario on Friday. Some wires got crossed for him to be in the promo for next week but then not on the card.
Ciber is getting his title match with Ultimo Guerrero – on a spot show in San Luis Potosi on September 25th.
Rush is also getting his title match, for the ROH World Heavyweight Championship against Matt Taven, on 09/27 in Las Vegas. This was heavily teased on the last Ring of Honor and the only question was if Jeff Cobb (who later won a title shot) would be added to this match or challenge sometime later. ROH’s already done Taven/Cobb and Taven’s uncertain future with ROH heavily hints at the outcome of the match. There’s been a lot of skepticism about ROH going with Matt Taven over Marty Scurll as ROH champion. My guess is ROH wanted to get to this Rush/Taven match, so it’s got some pressure to work.
Bandido is entered in ROH’s #1 contenders tournament. His first-round match-up against Jay Lethal (on 09/28) may determine the entire tournament winner, who faces the champion on ROH’s December PPV. The winner of Bandido/Lethal faces Scurll (may not be long for ROH) and Cabana (usually not headlining ROH PPVs.) There’s no overwhelming favorite in the other half either.
There was a press conference in Puebla for Sunday’s AAA TV taping. These never have much news. Dr. Wagner Jr. was again announced as being added to the show, though no idea what he’s doing. The Twitch stream of the show is now 6:30, the usual bit of AAA moving the start time back a half-hour to squeeze in a dark match before it starts.
AAA people, including Marisela Pena & Psycho Clown, visited the Fundacion Casa de Maria yesterday. AAA had donated tickets to the charity, which supports disadvantaged children, and the charity was able to sell those to raise money for bunk beds for 30 children. AAA brought gift packages for the kids.
The AAA crew attending included Keyra, so she’s at least no longer confined to a wheelchair. She still hasn’t been listed in a match since getting hurt in Tijuana in July.
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the debuts of Karis La Momia Jr. & Hijo de Silver King. Karis La Momia Jr. is La Parka (AAA)’s son but the identity of Hijo de Silver King wasn’t as clear. The identity of Hijo de Silver King still isn’t clear, but it is now clear he isn’t Silver King’s sons. One of them wrote a post on Facebook calling this Silver King a fraud and threatening a lawsuit. (Via SuperLuchas) The son also has questions for Dr. Wagner Jr. about being involved with this, though he carefully stops short of accusing him of something.
Hijo del Pantera won the Wrestle-1 Cruiserweight Championship on Sunday, defeating Andy Wu (who trained with the Panteras in Mexico long ago.) Pantera is the forgotten Mexican abroad, wrestling near full time in Japan but doing it for a promotion that doesn’t get much attention even in its own country. He’s been a frequent participant there since 2014, in other promotions to 2012, and this is his first championship win.
Nacion Lucha Libre has a match scheduled as part of activities as a Mexico City this Saturday race track this weekend. Nacion Lucha Libre hasn’t announced a next TV taping yet; they need to tape by next weekend to avoid going into repeats. There are persistent rumors of money issues, something Alberto referenced in a +LuchaTV interview following their last taping.
LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.
Lineups
AAA TV (SAT) 10/05/2019 Palacio del Arte, Morelia, Michoacán
1) Eclipse vs Iron Kid vs Mr. Iguana
2) Aramis & Toxin vs Cíclope & Miedo Extremo [TLC]
3) Lady Shani & Myzteziz Jr. vs La Hiedra & Látigo
4) ???, Faby Apache, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
5) Aerostar, Murder Clown, Niño Hamburguesa vs ??????, Monsther Clown, Texano Jr.
6) Dr. Wagner Jr., Pagano, Psycho Clown vs Blue Demon Jr., Chessman, Rey Escorpión
This was mentioned as a Culiacan taping, so it did get moved. The main has names but it drops off a bit more quickly after that. I think it’s cool Latigo is working a tercera but I’m not sure AAA fans know him at that level yet. (It’s also possible Latigo won’t even be here since he’s in China until at least the 4th.) This is the same weekend as AAA is in Colombia, so perhaps that’s a reason why.
Doing a TLC match is strange. None of those four guys are around much or known to the casual AAA audience, there’s no reason to have a TLC match, and they’re just burning out their bodies for the second match on a card that’s probably not going to sell many extra tickets. I don’t get it. Hopefully, it gets saved for a day where it might mean something.
Note the AAA card is announced more than a month ahead of time while the US card isn’t announced even 10 days before.
Lucha Time (SUN) 09/15/2019 Gimnasio Nuevo León Independiente, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon
1) Hell Raider vs Black Rider, Príncipe de Oro
2) Batab, Mummy, Última Sombra vs Medico Brujo, Muerte Extrema, Sick Boy
3) Azrael vs Draego
4) Lady Flammer & Reina Obscura vs Perla Lagunera & Sucii Love
5) Demonio del Aire & Fly Star vs El Divo & Star
6) Emperador Azteca (IWRG) vs The Tiger [KAOZ CRUISER]
7) Bandido (Indie) vs Hijo Del Espectro Jr. vs Dragón Lee (CMLL)
This was the show set up by Espectro calling out Bandido & Dragon Lee for not working hard in Mexico.
Klandestino (MON) 09/16/2019 Arena Lopez Mateos
1) Fandango & Multifacetico vs Chilango & Mr. Pachuco
2) Alas de Oro, Alas De Plata, Centella Oriental, Mexica vs Impulso, Leviatham, Sádico, Yoruba
3) Emperador Azteca, Imposible, Último Legendario vs Aeroboy, Trauma I, Trauma II
4) Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, Rey Fénix vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Lee (CMLL), La Bestia Del Ring
5) Rush vs LA Park vs Penta 0M
The Independence Day week shows are starting to roll out. This has a lot of big names and also La Besita del Ring.