Month: September 2019

There is an additional change to the CMLL Aniversario show. Marcela is off the show and off all shows for at least two months due to a fractured ankle. Metalica will instead defend her national championship against Dalys tomorrow.

Marcela was on CMLL Informa explaining the situation. Marcela believed she suffered the injury on a sponsored show on a day before she left for Japan. She continued to wrestle on it and didn’t get it checked out until this past Sunday. She’ll be getting a brace on it today. If the injury had gotten worse, she could’ve been out for a full year, so Marcela had no choice except to tearfully give up her match. Two months is the hoped recovery time but it didn’t seem certain.

Marcela remains the CMLL’s Women’s Champion, though it was noted that could still change (probably depending on how the recovery goes.) Dalys is from Panama, but the concept is she’s been in Mexico long enough be considered Mexican and so eligible for their national championships. She’d previously challenged for this title in 2014 against Estrellita. Dalys was surely defeating Marcela for the women’s championship on Friday. Dalys is surely beating Metalica every other occasion. The only reason Dalys might lose this time is if there’s a concern winning the national title would prevent her from winning the world title when Marcela returns. Dalys might just win everything. She does already.

Ultimo Guerrero retained the CMLL Heavyweight Championship Wednesday night in San Luis Potosi. The show doesn’t look to have drawn well with that as the main feud on the show, though CMLL spot shows have generally not drawn well. The top match was actually announced as Voaldor & Caristico vs Dragon Lee & Mistico. Terrible stepped in for Dragon Lee, who seems to have been pulled from this show as well. I think it’s possible Dragon Lee will end up on ROH’s show on Friday now, but he wasn’t off Tuesday & Wednesday shows because of ROH.

Rush is launching a YouTube channel on Monday.

La Presna interviewed Chamuel at the Wednesday interview session. They thought they were talking to Microman, which makes for some weird quotes. In Reporte Indigo’s interview, Microman says he looks at tomorrow’s match not just as an apuesta match, but a chance to prove the micros deserve more. His goals include a Micro Universal tournament and their own championship. Microman notes his feud with Chamuel is the most popular rivalry going into the Aniversario. In an interview with +Lucha, Microman mentions he was originally training to become the new KeMonito before they decided to let him wrestle.

Laredo Kid & Myzteziz Jr. finally turned up on Exatlon Mexico. Technically, they only appeared in a “debuting tomorrow” trailer, but they’re part of the cast on opposing teams.

If you avoided this subject last year, Exatlon tends to eliminate people on Friday nights, so that’ll be the day to pay attention to if you just care about when these guys return. The show does tape at least a week in advance, but it took Dragon Lee a couple of weeks to get back into wrestling shape when he was eliminated (due to injury.) We’ll have an idea when they might return if/when they get eliminated, but it’ll still be a wait. The end date of Exatlon is not known in advance – there’s seems to be a bit more making it up as they go for Mexican reality TV. Last year’s season started about the same time as this one and ended in February.

Barbaro Cavernario will be part of RevPro’s British J Cup on 11/24 in the UK. RevPro is NJPW’s ally in the UK, so probably not a problem for Cavernario to be involved. CMLL might even post a photo of it. Flamita & Bandido participated last year, when it was a multi-day tournament.

Guadalajara’s Star Black is out a couple of months with a tibia break. A video clip indicates he hurt it on a tornillo the floor, though the injury isn’t evident in the clip. Ring Tapatio spotted this first.

Vampiro’s next Lucha Fight Club Las Vegas show is 11/01. They’re just running one show this time, instead of the three shows they tried the previous run.

Johnny Mundo is returning to WWE. Mundo’s last date in Mexico was the Pro Wrestling Mexico show on 07/21. He was originally announced for the AAA InvadingNY show back in March, and presumably didn’t appear due to getting his knees worked in preparation for his next move. He’d pretty much stopped appearing in Mexico after the fourth season of Lucha Underground wrapped (and obviously is out of contract there, along with everyone else.)

Taya is believed to be under contract to Impact thru 2019, so the Mundo news does not immediately affect the Reina de Reinas status. Taya’s not on any of the three AAA Mexico shows in October. She figures to be on the InvadingLA card, should that show ever have a lineup. She’ll probably also be on the 12/14 Guerra de Titanes card, which would be the time to do a title change if AAA feels they need to do one.

RIOT’s “420” show on 11/02

• Kill Korton vs Madness

Dave the Clown says he was paid only 60 pesos ($3 USD) for his first match. Still too high.

LuchaTalk has the latest edition of the podcast.

Lineup

IWRG (SUN) 09/29/2019 Arena Naucalpan
1) Cheff Benito vs Neza Kid
2) Atomic Star, Auzter, Puma de Oro vs Dragón Fly, Marado, Mosca
3) Alas de Oro, Alas De Plata, Dick Angelo Jr. vs Ángel Tormenta, Canibal Jr., Death Metal
4) Herodes Jr. & Hijo de Pirata Morgan vs El Hijo del Medico Asesino & Warrior Jr.
5) Black Terry, Dinamic Black, Eragón, Lunatic Extreme vs Ave Rex, Hip Hop Man, Karaoui, Zumbi
6) Hijo De Dos Caras, Imposible, Súpernova vs Dragón Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Pirata Morgan
7) Fresero Jr. vs Demonio Infernal © [IWRG Rey del Ring]
2nd defense

The main event is going to have a lot of hard contact. Dragon Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus and Pirata Morgan is some team.

AAA TV (SAT) 10/26/2019 Domvs Zina, San Miguel Zinacantepec, Estado de México
1) ? vs Mini Psycho Clown, Dinastía ©, Demus, ????? [AAA MINI]
first defense
2) Bengala, Big Mami, Mr. Iguana vs Keyra, Lady Maravilla, Último Maldito
3) Máximo, Niño Hamburguesa, Octagón Jr. vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
4) Drago, Murder Clown, Puma King vs Abismo Negro Jr., Súper Fly, Texano Jr.
5) Pagano, Pentagón Jr., Psycho Clown vs Averno, Chessman, Rey Escorpión

This is about 20 minutes west of Toluca by the usual promoters there (so maybe they couldn’t find a venue in town?) A minis championships match is a nice bonus, though the rest of this doesn’t immediately stick out as notable. It’ll also be the fourth stream in four weeks, including the LA show, so I could see people skipping out on this one.

Ultimo Maldito as Ultimo Maldito is interesting; he seemed certain to be regimmicked if his brother was changed over to being Bengala. Maybe he still will be by the time this match goes on. These aren’t always in sync. I assume the Octagoncito on Heroes Inmortales is one of the mystery wrestlers here. The La Parkita Negra, who hasn’t been seen on TV in months, also has popped back up on spot shows.

CMLL (TUE) 09/24/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, Ovaciones, R de Rudo, The Gladaitores]
1) Retro & Sangre Imperial b Cholo & Yago 
2) La Seductora, Metálica, Reyna Isis b La Guerrera, La Jarochita, Maligna 
La Guerrera replaced Princesa Sugehit, who still has not returned from injury. Rudas took 2/3.
3) Magia Blanca, Pegasso, Star Jr. b Cancerbero, Raziel, Universo 2000 Jr. 
Tecnicos took 2/3.
4) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Fuego [lightning] 
6:23 via Sacrifico Maya
5) Kráneo, Stuka Jr., Volcano b Ephesto, Luciferno, Templario 
tecnicos took 2/3
6) Atlantis, Carístico, Soberano Jr. DQ Felino, Forastero, Mr. Niebla 
Caristico replaced Dragon Lee, Felino replaced La Bestia del Ring. Forastero unmasked Caristico.

Last Arena Mexico show prior to the Aniversario. The third match was said to be good on an otherwise normal CMLL show.

La Maligna explained her green mask was in tribute to Green Demon, the first of her very large family to get into lucha libre. Guerrero Maya says Fuego is great but Maya is better.

CMLL (TUE) 09/24/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Demonio Maya, Demonio Rojo, Guerrero de la Muerte b Cosmos, El Alteño, El Divino
Rudos took 2/3, the last when Alteno hit Divino by mistake.
2) Átomo, Gallito, Microman DQ Chamuel, Guapito, Perico Zakarías
straight falls, Chamuel unmasking Microman once again. Set up a rematch here.
3) Esfinge, Flyer, Star Black b Difunto, Okumura, Vangellys
tecnicos took 2/3, despite Star Black getting hurt in fall 2.
4) Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Terrible b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán
rudos took 1/3. Hechicero replaced Felino (DF)
5) Místico, Valiente, Volador Jr. DQ Cavernario, Cuatrero, Sansón
tecnicos took 2/3, Cavernario fouled Volador

The main event is the expected, but it also looks like they’ll be taking the Microman/Chamuel match here in a week or two.

CMLL will have Negro Casas, Marcela, Microman, Stigma, Templario, and Soberano on Informa today. CMLL still hasn’t announced what the plans are for the Aniversario beside it not airing live. Those announcements have come on Informa in some years.

It doesn’t feel like there’s any buzz for the Aniversario this year. CMLL’s going to be fine, the last few years have shown they can put a wide range of matches in the Aniversario spot and do OK because the show means a lot. But I wish it was a show people were excited for.

A strange La Bestia del Ring & Rush appearance, I guess to build up the ROH show on Saturday.

Goya Kong debuted in Nacion Lucha Libre last night. I haven’t seen results anywhere for that show. There are some photos on Facebook, with the building looking a little less than half full. That seems fair given the short notice and lineup.

The El Rey Network logo was conspicuously part of the rotating advertisements on the video board during AAA’s InvadingNY show. I listened to the Spanish commentary so I wasn’t expecting anyone to reference it there, but it didn’t appear anyone explained it on the English side either. It turns out the show will air, apparently complete, on the El Rey Network on 10/06 at 8 pm CT, according to programming guide data. Neither El Rey nor AAA has announced this yet. This is the same show that aired on FITE/PPV and aired on AXS; it’s a fun show but you probably already found a way to watch it.

El Rey and AAA obviously have a history with Lucha Underground. (Lucha Underground is still repeating on the network; it looped around to episode 1 this past week.) El Rey & LU investors were part of the Invading LA press conference, so that show might end up on that network too. If LU is never coming back, which appears to be the case, just airing AAA instead would give El Rey some affordable wrestling programming and AAA a US outlet. Both sides have had that option for a while though and haven’t pursued it until now. Like AXS, this may be an option for AAA to get on TV in the US but it also might just be a thing that happened and isn’t mentioned again.

AAA will have a mass for Antonio Pena on 10/03.

The former Triton picks up Laredo Kid’s booking, teaming with Hijo del Santo against Hijo del Solitario & Taurus on 10/01 in Queretaro. Triton may be switching from Rey Triton to Tritton as his post-CMLL spelling.

Vampiro says he’s off a show in Nova Scotia because he couldn’t get there from his AAA show the previous day. The show the previous day is Verano de Escandalo, which we had assumed he was on for a while. No direct flights from Orizaba to Nova Scotia.

The Indy Corner has a useful review of the Vampiro documentary.

LuchaWorld has the latest news report.

El Fantasma says he taught the Mexico City police conditioning, not self-defense. This seems a deal not about Fantasma and more about criticizing the woman who brought him in.

CMLL (MON) 09/23/2019 Arena Puebla [Lucha Central]
1) Astro, Dark Soul, Último Dragóncito b Asturiano, Espíritu Maligno, Joker 
debut of Dark Soul, who looks like a missing La Secta member. Asturiano replaced Mercurio (who left the promotion weeks ago.) Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Lluvia, Sanely, Skadi b Amapola, La Metálica, Tiffany 
straight falls, with Sanely now feuding Metalica
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Rey Cometa b El Malayo, Okumura, Pólvora 
Tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Místico, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. b Big Daddy, Dark Magic, Hechicero [Relevos Increíbles] 
Mistico & UG had issues. Hechicero team took 1/3.
5) Carístico b Negro Casas 
Caristico took 1/3.

Haven’t seen it, but seemed like an ordinary Puebla show with not special. Mistico & Ultimo Guerrero might be the next singles match or they might change their minds twice more as they seem to be doing with more feuds here. Casas is losing all of his matches going into the cage match.

Dark Soul talked post-match, seems to be a local Puebla luchador.

CMLL tonight in Arena Mexico has about a normal card. The main event is now Atlantis, Caristico, and Soberano facing Felino, Forastero, Mr. Niebla. Dragon Lee & La Bestia del Ring were dropped from the match, which is probably not going to be much with Niebla on a Tuesday.

Kraneo, Stuka, and Volcano take on Ephesto, Luciferno, and Templario. They probably should’ve put Templario up in the main when they changed the card around to work with Soberano. Guerrero Maya and Fuego will be in a tecnico versus tecnico lightning match. Maya’s won the previous two times this match was held.

Magia Blanca, Pegasso and Star Jr. face Cancerbero, Raziel and Universo 2000 in the tercera. The segunda has La Seductora, Metalica and Reyna Isis listed as facing La Jarochita, Maligna and Princesa Sugehit. Sugehit is being specifically advertised as returning today, but she was advertised Sunday as well. Retro & Sagnre Imperial open the show against Cholo & Yago. The show will start streaming on CMLL’s YouTube channel at 7:30 pm.

Guadalajara has Mistico, Volador, and Valiente against Cavernario, Cuatrero and Sanson.

Ciber blames Gilbert for the lack of a singles match on Aniversario. He totally would’ve done it had Gilbert stayed out of it. Totally.

Nacion Lucha Libre returns tonight in Cuatitlan. It’s going to be a tough battle: their biggest names (Alberto & LA Park) are not wrestling, whatever benefit the foreign wrestlers provided is now gone and this show was announced on short notice. The card has Hijo de Dos Caras & La Mascara vs Mesias & Jack Evans as the main event. It should start airing this week. They probably need to announce a next show at this one if they’re going to stay on the rails.

Humberto Garza (Ultimo Ninja) faces Angel Garza (Garza Jr.) tonight on WWE’s 205 Live. There’s been speculation for months that this show may be the final episode of 205 Live, with WWE’s schedule changing around next week. It’s still just as unclear if that’ll be happening, but at least the Monterrey cousins get a singles match before whatever’s next.

 

 

Myzteziz may have been cast on Exatlon with Laredo Kid. I’m not able to confirm the rumor going around (seems to have started here) that Myzteziz also started with the show on 09/16. The AAA luchadors have not yet appeared on TV; that show apparently tapes far in advance. Myzteziz missed shows in Ciudad Madero & Arena Lopez Mateos, and seemed to be off the Denver show he was booked for as well. Myzteziz hasn’t been known to be on a show since Laredo Kid was also around and has disappeared from social media; the pieces seem to fit. Exatlon is still among the top shows in Mexico but the ratings have been down this season, luchadors have been big characters in the past seasons, so perhaps the showrunners wanted to add two of them. Like Laredo Kid, this would mean Myzteziz is out of wrestling for an unclear length of time; it might be a few weeks, it may be into 2020.

With Myzteziz out of action and Golden Magic now Octagon Jr., the trios titles are in limbo for a while.

One of the other shows Myzteziz was advertised for was in Denver for Hugo’s Lucha Libre. Jesus Zuniga posted video of the meet & greet. Myzteizz doesn’t appear to be there. Lady Shani, Golden Magic, and Parka Negre are there, which suggest they now have visas to come to the US. AAA hasn’t announced a card for Los Angeles yet, seemingly because they’ve been waiting for those visas.

I don’t have full (or most) results from Pro Wrestling Mexico’s show on Sunday, but the show ending angle was a fight between Vampiro vs Konnan. It was something to think about watching Bandido win a tournament in the US while another Konnan & Vampiro bit was happening in Mexico. Anyway, they teased a singles match but the promos seemed to indicate it’ll be something along the lines of Konnan & Daga vs LA Park & Vampiro.

An AAA TV taping has been locally announced for 11/09 in Torreon. This matches up with the dates +LuchaTV had. AAA has been announcing lineups about a month in advance, so nothing more for a half of month.

A man known as Dr. Wagner was arrested for money laundering and drug trafficking in Italy. It is not the luchador Dr. Wagner or any other member of his family.

Lucha Memes announced a Battle of Puebla tournament and show on 11/03. Makabre is the first name announced. Not sure if this will turn up since the similar Battle of Naucalpan didn’t show up.

Galactico took Indio Cherokee’s hair in Guadalajara. Angel Negro lost his mask to Makabre on a different show in Guadalajara. Angel Negro is Angel Miguel Gaitan, 20 years a wrestler.

+LuchaTV has a new edition of their podcast.

CMLL (SAT) 09/21/2019 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Acero & Aéreo b Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Universo 2000
2) Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo, Inquisidor b Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Robin
rudos took 2/3, then unmasked the tecnicos
3) Dark Magic, Disturbio, Nitro b Fuego, Magia Blanca, Pegasso
rudos took 1/3
4) Marcela b Reyna Isis [lightning]
win via tapatia
5) Diamante Azul, Kráneo, Volcano b Máscara Año 2000, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
Mascara 2000 replaced Bestia del Ring. Tecnicos took 2/3.
6) Carístico, Místico, Titán b Mephisto, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
tecnicos took 2/3.

La Bestia del Ring seems to be off of cards at the moment. I’m not if that has anything to do with other thing going on.

CMLL (SUN) 09/22/2019 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Arkalis & Bengala b Apocalipsis & Príncipe Odín Jr.
tecnicos took 2/3
2) Amapola, La Infernal, La Seductora b La Guerrera, Reina Isis, Silueta
Reina Isus replaced Princesa Sugehit, presumably not cleared after all. Rudas took 2/3.
3) Dark Magic, Universo 2000 Jr., Vangellys b Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Rey Cometa
rudos took 2/3.
4) Luciferno DQ Stuka Jr. [lightning]
Stuka accidentally unmasked Luciferno
5) Ephesto, Mr. Niebla, Templario b Soberano Jr., Titán, Valiente
Rudos took 1/3, when Templario was eliminated but illegally cost Soberano the match. Challenges followed.
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja
NGD took 1/3.

Princesa Sugehit was just on CMLL Informa talking about her return, so it’s strange she ended up not wrestling and on so short notice that Reina Isis ended up in her spot. She hasn’t said anything on Twitter about it.

Puebla is coming up by the time you read this, so no sense in previewing it. Caristico vs Negro Casas is the scheduled main event.

An article on luchadors and their injuries mentioned KeMonito arriving to Arena Mexico in a wheelchair. He can walk but is trying to reduce the impact on his knees as much as possible.

Night 2 and Night 3 of this year’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles since the last update. Bandido won the tournament after finishing as the runner-up. The tournament was full of lots of great matches, as it is every year. Last year’s seemed a bit better than this one though. The story of Bandido’s meteoric run thru the tournament was something that could not be replicated this year. People still very much wanted Bandido to win this year, but they also knew he could win. Bandido showing he was capable of so much made last year’s tournament a bit more special. The inevitable and inescapable talent drain is also a factor, even just year on year. It’s created openings for new people, but those new people are typically much earlier in their development than in past years. Aramis was great and got stronger reviews, yet he’d still be probably two or three years from making this sort of tournament in a pre-AEW and pre-NXT world.

Aramis also made this tournament specifically because Barbaro Cavernario did not. At the time, there were two stories going around: that CMLL needed him for the Aniversario and that CMLL had put pressure on both Barbaro Cavernario and Dragon Lee to not participated based on AAA affiliated wrestlers (and specifically Penta & Fenix) being on the same show. Cavernario did end up pulled into the Aniversario mix. The second part seems like it may also be accurate. Dragon Lee’s decision to work PWG’s BOLA appears to have frozen him out for CMLL for the moment. Not one outside of CMLL management, not even Dragon Lee himself, has been told why Dragon Lee was pulled off the Aniversario show. Everyone assumes CMLL pulled him for working these shows without approval. (It is possible he’ll now end up on ROH’s PPV Friday night, but that was not something Dragon Lee knew was happening when his name was off the Aniversario card.) Dragon Lee is expected to be in the NJPW Super Junior Tag League next month and had previously scheduled time off at the end of the year for personal reasons, so he might have not been around Arena Mexico much the rest of the year anyway. Things like this tend to blow over in time, and Dragon Lee’s had chances to leave CMLL in the past that he’s passed on. Those options are still out there though.

(Dragon Lee never did face Penta & Fenix. PWG was careful about that. Meanwhile, an actual CMLL vs AAA encounter took place in Mexico City on Sunday without anyone noticing.)

This could also be a chilling effect on future CMLL wrestlers in PWG – or maybe not since Penta & Fenix appeared to finish up in the promotion last night. The fans certainly believed they were done and the Lucha Brothers accepted that reaction. Their contractual status still remains murky to me. The farewells were a common theme on this show; Janela had one too and I think the wrestlers were trying to spark a Thank You bit for Jungle Boy but the fans didn’t pick up on it. Or didn’t want to say goodbye a fourth time. Excalibur did not appear to be finishing up. Neither did Rich Knox.

Stray thoughts

• Aramis will return. This is not a reported news item but an obvious fact.
• Jake Atlas was the MVP of people who only had two matches. He had great matches with Jungle Boy and Dragon Lee. They stood out on their own, and even more so with the emotion of their own. Atlas/Jungle was two California guys trying to have signature singles match in PWG, in what was going to be Jungle Boy’s last try. I’m uncertain how many people knew the backstory to Dragon Lee vs Jake Atlas – Atlas was designed to win this year’s King of the Indies, Dragon Lee decided he was not losing, and here Atlas was dealing with that guy again – but maybe Jake Atlas’ shined thru anyway. The emotions felt authentic, Atlas challenging his anger into the fight while not letting it detract from his performance. Some people may have pouted and tanked the match, Atlas set up to show he was just as good as Dragon Lee. I think he pulled it off.
• I saw Tony Deppen at GCW and didn’t really get him. I think I get him now.
• I have questions about Lucky Boy’s entire deal. (This is not a negative.)
• Darby Allin didn’t seem to get a farewell, not one that I recall. It might be because the David Starr/Allin semifinal felt more like David Starr/referee Aubrey Edwards, an effort to build heat for Starr going into the main event. This is the first I’ve seen Edwards on an indie show, and it felt too much like seeing face Hijo del Tirantes for those who go back far enough with AAA. I don’t really want to have opinions on wrestling referee, I’d prefer they be something close to invisible. Edwards goes a different direction; she’s very good at what she’s attempting to get across, though it means she’s sometimes noisy in the match that’s going on. Others seem to think she’s more additive and the PWG fans definitely reacted to her like a star when she came out for her match. Maybe I’ll get used to it, but and maybe the long argument and shoving bit in the Starr match was more to give Starr a breather before going into the final, but that’s one you can skip on the DVD.
• don’t skip the ten-man tag on Night 3.

There’s more to say but this seems like a heavy digression in a lucha libre text. If you are a lucha libre fan, there is stuff worth checking out on night 1 (MexaBlood/Lucha Brothers) and night 2 (Aramis/Fenix most of all) in addition to the final. You’ll get your money’s worth if you get all three DVDs.

Results elsewhere

• Cibernetico won the three-way match with Michael Elgin & Ultimo Guerrero in Lucha Libre Real. KAOZ also created some women’s tag team championships on the show so Sexy Star would have a belt again, I guess.
• Satanico won via foul in his return to action in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara.
• Negro Casas replaced Mr. Niebla in DTU. Joe Lider also filled in for Crazy Boy, and it can’t be good if Crazy Boy is unable to wrestle on his own show.
• Ultimo Dragon won on the Ultimo Dragon show.
• Team Mexico defeated Team Foreigners in IWRG
• The big angle on the Pro Wrestling Mexico show was a Konnan/Vampiro fight.

LuchaWorld has the latest news update and this week’s Poster-Mania.

RIOT announced their next show is 11/02. It’s named “420” because it’s their 20th show in their 4th year, and surely for no other reason besides that. RIOT champion Arez should be back from China by then.

An article bringing up the story of Audaz choosing between lucha libre and a soccer team points out the soccer team has since been relegated out of Mexico’s first division. I think CMLL is still a first division wrestling promotion.

In an interview hyping his mask match, Chamuel mentions he owns the current design. Maybe he didn’t own the clown version?

Ciber has gotten himself involved in a celebrity fight in a way I don’t have the patience to understand today.

The Mexico City police department brought in El Fantasma to teach a class, which was the source of derision for an article.

A national lucha libre celebration was held in Oaxaca. And in Morelos. A Veracruz history of lucha libre includes an Intocable but not that Intocable. An article about the history of the Laguna luchadors.

“Yeye”, a documentary on Chica Yeye, airs as part of a Queretaro film festival.

Elegido made a surprise appearance at a lucha libre photography exhibit.

A story about Juarez luchador Johnny Rey.

An interview with Chef Benito.

Lineup

CMLL (SAT) 09/28/2019 Arena Coliseo
1) Fantasy & Kaligua vs Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Violencia
2) Eléctrico, Príncipe Diamante, Súper Astro Jr. vs Espanto Jr., Espíritu Negro, Grako
3) Oro Jr. vs Hijo del Signo [lightning]
4) Black Panther, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Disturbio, Olímpico, Sagrado
5) Flyer, Kráneo, Stuka Jr. vs Felino, Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
6) Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Terrible

A show.

CMLL (SUN) 09/29/2019 Arena México
1) Arkalis & Sonic vs El Coyote & Inquisidor
2) Fantasy, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Universo 2000, Pierrothito
3) Audaz, Drone, Flyer vs Dark Magic, Luciferno, Vangellys
4) Dulce Gardenia vs Tiger [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. vs Ephesto, Hechicero, Templario
6) Carístico, Diamante Azul, Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón

Templario & Soberano on opposite sides, so the singles rematch may be coming on a Sunday.

CMLL (SUN) 09/29/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Javier Cruz Jr., Leo, Omar Brunetti vs Guerrero de la Muerte, Joker, Sádico
2) Reina Dorada vs Dark Silueta [lightning]
3) Gallo, Hijo del Solar, Star Black vs Exterminador, Maléfico, Ráfaga
4) Solar I vs Satánico
5) Gran Kenut & León Blanco © vs Neutrón & Rayman [OCCIDENTE TAG]
6) Ciber the Main Man, Scharly Rock Star, The Christ vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero

An oddly loaded up card and a new name spelling for Zorro. Maybe Dark Silueta is Silueta but a ruda? I dunno.

CMLL (FRI) 09/20/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Sonic & Súper Astro Jr. b Espíritu Negro & Grako 
tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Átomo, Gallito, Microman DQ Chamuel, Mije, Perico Zacarías 
Chamuel unmasked Microman again
3) Felino, Hechicero, Hijo del Villano III b Atlantis Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Flyer 
Rudos took 2/3
4) Soberano Jr. TLDRAW Templario [lightning] 
the two continued to fight after the time ran out, and neither one was particularly saved by the time.
5) Big Daddy, Gilbert el Boricua, Último Guerrero b Cavernario, Ciber the Main Man, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles] 
neither team got along
6) Carístico, Místico, Valiente b Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas 
tecnicos took 2/3.

I haven’t seen much of this, but it sounds like everything but the semifinal was good. I saw about half of the lightning match trying to see if the feed was working and they did a lot in that match again, and then did some more after. It felt like the kickoff to a feud if CMLL did those things.

There’s a lot of promos on CMLL’s video channel that I have no time to link to.

Lucha libre results from PWG Night #2

• Fenix beat Aramis
• Bandido beat Puma King
• Pentagon beat Tony Deppen

For me, Jake Atlas/Jungle Boy was the match of the night (and perhaps better than the opening night tag match.) Fenix/Aramis was very good, but hurt by Aramis being so new to most of these fans. There were finisher teases and the first time Aramis went for La Desnucadora del Mosquetero there was no reaction. There was a good reaction when he got to actually show off the move, and when he did his rope walk springboard dive, but it sometimes came off like Aramis was a talented guy brought in to showcase Fenix rather than Aramis being a future star on his own. Fenix put Aramis over post-match as a future star and Aramis talking about having watched PWG (on YouTube oops) and telling his parents he’d be there someday got a strong reaction. I think that’s why BOLA & PWG is still relevant; it’s definitely not the buzzed-about tournament on the internet as it was a few years ago, but now there’s a generation of young wrestlers who’ve gotten into wrestling knowing of it is a big thing and it’s still an important career goal.

I didn’t know how Deppen and Pentagon would match up but I thought Deppen ended up looking great. (Even if Penta keeps cheating in chop battles, with his top making those shots not sound as hard.) Puma was working hard in his match with Bandido, saving the comedy for post match. Bandido & Puma did a title switch with the DDT title on the finish of this match, and then Puma won it back after. They limited that to backstage on the AAA show. It didn’t seem like the PWG people were all the way clued in on that happening; it was called the “DDT 24/7 title.”

Aramis, Rey Horus, Black Taurus, and Puma King may appear on Sunday in the traditional 5v5 match. (Flamita’s already gone.) That leaves Dragon Lee, Fenix, Penta, and Bandido. It’s going to be tough for any of those Mexican luchadors to go all the way, because all are tied to companies and may or may not be able to come back long term. On the other hand, that’s the case for most of the wrestlers, that’s just the general situation now. I’m leaning towards Brody King based on his interactions with Jeff Cobb in the main event. I think Jake Atlas would be a popular pick.

The full AAA InvadingNY show aired last night on AXS. At least part of it also aired on Azteca in Mexico. Unsurprisingly, there was a bit more social media talk about the show (positive!) than there had been when the show was live.

Laredo Kid still hasn’t debuted on Exatlon, which should tell you how far in advance they tape that thing.

Lineup

CMLL (FRI) 09/27/2019 Arena México
CMLL 86th Aniversario
1) Audaz, Rey Cometa, Stigma vs Misterioso Jr., Tiger, Virus
2) Diamante Azul, Dulce Gardenia, Titán vs Hechicero, Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero
3) Dalys vs Marcela © [CMLL WOMEN]
fifth defense
4) Ángel de Oro, Mephisto, Niebla Roja vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Soberano replaced Dragon Lee on the Friday previous.
5) Microman vs Chamuel [mask]
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © vs Carístico, Místico, Valiente [MEX TRIOS]
13 defense
7) Último Guerrero vs Big Daddy, Negro Casas, Cavernario, Volador Jr., Gilbert el Boricua, Ciber the Main Man [cage, hair]

The only change here is Dragon Lee off and Soberano on. I didn’t notice it, but this change was made the same time Dragon Lee was pulled off the Tuesday show, Friday morning. Dragon Lee wrestled Friday night, so it’s not injury. It could be that CMLL changed course and is now sending him to the ROH show after all. It could be that Dragon Lee is on vacation or decided a meaningless trios wasn’t worth working, even for the Aniversario show. I hope he’s not in trouble for working the PWG show but I guess that’s also a real possibility.

(May not be another update until Monday.)