While none of the ciberneticos hit the high end this year, the Gran Prix week still is enjoyable just for being something different than usual. This wasn’t the best selection of foreign talent but any different and capable people changing up the usual matchups in CMLL is a plus. Especially if you watch a lot of it.
(I initially had the Gran Prix as 08/31, as it didn’t really go on VOD until the next day and I use air dates. But I think that’s too pedantic even for me.)
The second RIOT show took place on the Saturday of this week. It was slightly better than the first night with the best match of the weekend, so maybe it’s the one to get if they offer them separately.
Carístico, Dragón Lee, Hechicero, Stuka Jr., Terrible, Último Guerrero, Valiente vs Dark Magic, Jay Briscoe, Kenny King, Matt Taven, Mecha Wolf 450, Okumura, Oráculoin a cibernetico match
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-26
2019-08-26
good
Microman vs Chamuel
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-30
2019-08-30
good
Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente vs Cuatrero, Sansón, Templario
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-30
2019-08-30
good
Cavernario, Diamante Azul, Dragón Lee, Forastero, Negro Casas, Rush, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. vs Big Daddy, Delirious, Jay Briscoe, Kenny King, Luke Hawx, Matt Taven, Mecha Wolf 450, Oráculoin a CMLL Gran Prix Tournament match
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-30
2019-08-30
Other Matches
rating
matches
TV Show
taped
ok
Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr. vs El Perverso & Fuerza Chicana
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-26
2019-08-26
ok
Ángel de Oro, Flyer, Niebla Roja vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Templario
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-26
2019-08-26
ok
Místico vs Soberano Jr.
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-26
2019-08-26
ok
Robin vs Grakoin a lightning match
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-27
2019-08-27
ok
Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Cancerbero, Raziel, Vangellys
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-27
2019-08-27
ok
Audaz, Carístico, Stuka Jr. vs La Bestia Del Ring, Mr. Niebla, Terrible
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-27
2019-08-27
ok
La Jarochita & Marcela vs Dalys & La Metálica
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-30
2019-08-30
ok
Atlantis Jr., Audaz, Flyer vs Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero, Tiger
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-30
2019-08-30
ok
Carístico, Místico, Último Guerrero vs Ciber the Main Man, Gilbert el Boricua, Titán
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-30
2019-08-30
not rated
La Jarochita & Lluvia vs Amapola & Tiffany
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-26
2019-08-26
not rated
Angelito & Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-27
2019-08-27
not rated
Pegasso, Star Jr., Súper Astro Jr. vs Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo, Nitro
CMLL YouTube: 2019-08-27
2019-08-27
not rated
Kráneo, Rey Cometa, Volcano vs Ephesto, Hechicero, Luciferno
Mexa Wrestling , BELLO (SAT) 09/14/2019Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Sobredosis & Torito Negro b Kalibus & Zika and Baby Star Jr. & Shere Khan
2) Astrolux & Freelance b Príncipe Aéreo & Puma de Oro
3) Cinthia Moreno, Hahastary, Hija De La Gatubela b Black Fury, Guerrera Isis, Morgana
4) Black Terry, Centvrión, Fly Warrior b Hijo Del Rey Pantera (Veracruz), Rey Pantera (Veracruz), Slayer (Veracruz)
5) Ciclón Ramírez Jr., Súper Nova, Último Legendario DQ Herodes Jr., Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Sangre Chicana Jr. DQ for Herodes Jr. foul
6) Hijo del Fishman, Rocky Santana, Romano García b Fly Star, Toxin, Wotan Romano got ina foul on Toxin.
7) El Bandido b Emperador Azteca, Mr. Iguana
Sounds like this was a pretty good show. The semi-main might have gotten biggest reaction, with the main event struggling a bit with the ring.
Dragon Lee defeated Bandido & Hijo del Espectro Jr. in the main event of the Lucha Time show. Bandido was feared to have picked up a neck injury in the match but reports are he’s ok.
Fugaz posted an update on his Facebook. He was knocked out for a couple of minutes after the top rope snapped on him in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara. (Video here.) He says his neck was checked and is ok. He’s listed on Tuesday’s lineup, though that would’ve been done before the injury.
AAA Invading NY will air on AXS TV this Friday at 7 pm. The press release mentions the four advertised matches. Not sure if that means just those four, or if they just didn’t know the other matches when they wrote the press release. I would assume this is the Hugo/Striker version of the show. AAA’s relationship with Impact, whose parent company also owns AXS, is probably the reason this is happening. AXS currently airs NJPW, Women of Wrestling and will be adding Impact in October. They seem to be dropping a lot of their original programming, especially on the MMA side, so there may be an opening for affordable programming. AAA’s got English language programming from every taping that currently isn’t really being used. This could be just one show (or two shows with the LA one), but it could turn into more.
It’s hard to have paid for a $30 PPV air on a Sunday, then see it air on TV on a Sunday. It’s possible AAA/AXS didn’t reach the TV deal when they had the PPV on sale, given how recent the AXS deal is. I probably would end up buying the LA show anyway, but others who aren’t in a hurry would probably wait to see if it’ll air next time. I’m actually not sure if the AAA Invading LA show is on PPV; I think only the NY show was announced for that deal. Obviously, it’d be a really nice deal if the LA show was live on AXS for free as it was on Space in Mexico this time (and made available internationally somehow as well.)
This might be pilling on, but just to have it in print somewhere: the AAA people listed in a May press for the AAA show who didn’t appear: Averno, Dinastia, Golden Magic, Hijo del Tirantes, Hijo del Vikingo, La Hiedra, La Parkita, Lady Maravilla, Lady Shani, Mamba, Maximo, Myzteziz Jr., Nino Hamburguesa, Pagano, Piero, Pimpinela Escarlata, and Villano III Junior. La Parka was also pictured in the advertisement used for months for this show (and even wrote a column about how he was getting his visa.) Everything is not in AAA’s control or even their fault. It is still useful to remember that when they announce people, that doesn’t mean they’re sure they’ll be there. That’s a reality of AAA.
Puebla is three hours earlier today, starting at 6 pm due to the holiday. It’s not a super interesting card. Caristico, Mistico, and Terrible take on Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas, and Soberano Jr., following on Terrible and Casas having issues last week. Things don’t always get followed up on here, so it’s just as likely to be any other combination feuding.
Atlantis teams with his son & Flyer against Hijo del Villano III, Templario and Vangellys in the semi-main. Rey Cometa, Stigma and someone (it’s listed as Triton; he says he’s in Jalisco) face Okumura, Olimpico, and Perverso. Tiffany, Metalica and Amapola meet Lluvia, Sanely, Skadi is a rare Arena Puebla trios women’s match; maybe a result of a lot of people being booked elsewhere. Policeman is in the opener. This show will be up on YouTube, whenever you choose to watch it. Or choose not to watch it.
Shoko Nakajima, of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, is coming to CMLL for a couple of weeks in November. Everyone seems to say positive things about her in response to this news. Everyone always says positive things about Japanese women when they’re heading to Mexico. I’m not sure what that means or why that occurred to me in this case.
Lineups
CMLL (TUE) 09/17/2019Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Fugaz, Johnny Dinamo, Principe Daniel vs Frezzer, Furia Roja, Gran Kenut
2) Explosivo, Oro Jr., Príncipe Diamante vs Cholo, Difunto, El Coyote
3) Metálica vs La Jarochita [MEX WOMEN] 1st defense
4) Kráneo, Titán, Volcano vs Hechicero, Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
5) Atlantis, Carístico, Diamante Azul vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
6) Último Guerrero vs Dragón Lee
Both singles matches were clear after last Tuesday’s show, though the full lineup hadn’t been out. Metalica/Jarochita being in fourth from the top means it is unlikely to air.
CMLL (SAT) 09/21/2019Arena Coliseo
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Universo 2000
2) Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Robin vs Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo, Inquisidor
3) Fuego, Magia Blanca, Pegasso vs Dark Magic, Disturbio, Nitro
4) Marcela vs Reyna Isis [lightning]
5) Diamante Azul, Kráneo, Volcano vs La Bestia Del Ring, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
6) Carístico, Místico, Titán vs Mephisto, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
A Saturday card.
DTU (THU) 09/26/2019Arena Aficion
1) Mandala vs Samuray Jr., Gran Cobra, Vengador Radioactivo, Dragón Suicida, Jitsu
2) ? vs ?? Torneo Alto Impacto de Jos Jovenes
3) Sobredosis vs Lunatik Fly, Mc Hardboy, Hijo De Dr. Pólux Jr., Hard Boy
4) Exótico & Pesadilla vs Hijo Del Picudo & Nigma and Brazo Celestial & Brazo Cibernetico Jr.
5) Aero Panther, Dragón Bane, Drolux vs Fight Panther, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Moria
6) Blue Panther Jr. vs Calibus, Brazo De Oro Jr.
7) Camuflaje & Penta Zero M vs Crazy Boy & Crazy King
Announced last week but I’m behind on lineups. Seems like a long time since Penta’s made an appearance in DTU, but it helps that they run Thursday shows. No names are listed in the second match. It looks like an all rookies match. The fourth match is maybe setting up a tag title match.
Ciber the Main Man, Gilbert el Boricua, Titán beat Carístico, Místico, Último Guerrero
(9:57 [1:41, 2:41, 5:35], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Cavernario, Diamante Azul, Dragón Lee, Forastero, Negro Casas, Rush, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. beat Big Daddy, Delirious, Jay Briscoe, Kenny King, Luke Hawx, Matt Taven, Mecha Wolf 450, Oráculoin a CMLL Gran Prix Tournament match
(49:05, good, VideosOficialesCMLL)
16:55 Rush corner dropkick Oraculo
19:45 Kenny King Royal Flush Forastero
23:55 Delirious top rope splash to the back Soberano
26:04 Cavernario reverse springboard splash Luke Hawx
28:17 Rush corner dropkick Delirious
29:21 Diamante Azul German suplex Kenny King
32:33 Mecha Wolf 450 splash Diamante Azul
34:28 DQ Rush [weapon usage]
38:43 Dragon Lee Descondora Mecha Wolf 450
42:23 Jay Briscoe Jay Driller Dragon Lee
44:03 Volador top rope huracanrana Matt Taven
45:41 Cavernario Rosa suplex Jay Briscoe
47:18 Big Daddy Rainmaker Cavernario
48:28 Negro Casas casita Big Daddy
49:05 Volador Jr. backcracker Negro Casas
What happened:
Team Mexico eliminated three of Team World in a row, leaving them down to Mecha Wolf, Big Daddy, Matt Taven and Jay Briscoe pretty quickly. Team World remained behind most of the match. For reasons unclear, Dragon Lee threw a whole bunch of television cable in the ring after Rush hit the corner dropkick on Matt Taven, leading Rush to whip and choke Taven with it until he was disqualified.
Negro Casas beats Big Daddy as the last man on the foreign team, after a Cavernario trip (mostly missed by the cameras.) Everyone celebrates as if the match is over, except Volador attacks Negro Casas because the match isn’t over. Casas still gets in a casita on him, only for Big Daddy to pull the referee away. Volador wins via backcracker. He gets booed. Promos go back and forth, teasing some combination of Volador & Big Daddy vs Casas & Cavernario.
Zacarias seconded the Ultimo Guerrero team, as seemingly part of paying him to work this show despite not wanting him to be ringside for the Gran Prix. Gilbert stole a pin from Ciber in the first fall. Gilbert tried to do the same in the third fall but UG kicked out. This led to a smart use of CMLL’s usual obstinate refereeing. Both Ciber and Gilbert tried to cover UG, the referee got Gilbert to stand up and back off because only one person is allowed to cover, and Ciber used the distraction to get in a foul for the win. Ciber & Gilbert faced off, with both issuing challenges to Ultimo Guerrero.
Chamuel barreled into referee MicroAngel to take him out, then tossed his mask to Microman to draw the DQ. Mask challenges followed.
Thoughts:
The hottest moments of this year’s Gran Prix are the initial scrums. The match never completely dies off but the crowd doesn’t seem to be loudly into much until the last few minutes. The action is kind of just fine most of the time, with everyone trying and no one really clicking. There just wasn’t a really strong stretch, and the end was flat. There was enough action to make it worth watching once but it’s not something I’d need to invest all that time in again. I think having an unknown group of wrestlers played a factor in the reactions, though it seemed like there was a similar problem last year. Mecha Wolf was the standout on the foreigner side, meshing well enough with Dragon Lee (outside of one spot) that you’d want to see them get a chance to do it again. I thought Jay Briscoe was good too, though his elimination spot takes three trios to sort out. Diamante Azul seemed like the worst guy in the match – his sequence with Kenny King was cringy and it wasn’t on King. Big Daddy might have actually been the least but they went out of their way to protect him, having him barely in before he was needed for the finishing sequence. Why Big Daddy is needed is an entirely different question. The idea here seemed to be emphasizing his size by putting him in the with talented small guys, but I’m not sure he really impressed. Not a lot here did, and this will just go down in the record books as having happened.
The semi-main was one of the lesser Ciber/UG and friends matches because the angle to get Gilbert involved with the feud derailed the match frequently in the first two falls. The third fall was solid if not exciting. Titan getting to work rudo, or at least do all his usual stuff and also some mask pulling, was a little different.
Microman & Chamuel was a good exhibition of Microman spots, though it could’ve benefited from a bit more aggression typical to mask match feuds. This wasn’t a great time for a Chamuel guillotine legdrop, need more clobbering instead. Chamuel really laid out MicroAngel on the referee bump, maybe the hardest hit of the magic. They’ve got room to go higher in the mask match.
The tercera got a little bit of time, enough to give a showcase for everyone. Templario’s agility stood out among the usual NGD/Chavez fighting. The match didn’t get too deep, there were no real near falls, but it was better than the average match in this spot.
The second match never really hit second gear. The big stuff they tried to didn’t come off as big; the stage dives were set up by some hard to ignore standing around by the rudos waiting to hit. Cuatrero was at least selling when Angel de Oro did the spot later. Atlantis Jr. came across as the best of the tecnicos, with Audaz never putting together a big moment. Flyer seemed the most focused on, an odd choice, but it also didn’t help that he was working with Rey Bucanero. They were on different pages in the third fall. This was usual trios filler and could’ve been more.
The women’s match featured that good psychology where the tecnicas won the second fall and started the third fall on the defensive. Dalys has to get in her moves, which seemed like the entire portion of the match. I wish they didn’t get in the brutal guillotine spot. This match wasn’t terrible and Metalica didn’t collapse so it was at least better than the last Friday women’s match. It seems a waste to use up an Aniversario spot on something that is clearly not over but I guess that could apply to many things.