CMLL (FRI) 12/27/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, Marca, Ovaciones, Publicsport, thecubsfan]
1) Angelito & Shockercito b Mercurio & Pierrothito 
11:52. Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Estrellita, La Magnifica, Lluvia b Amapola, La Comandante, Reyna Isis
15:50. Tecnicas took 1/3.
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Okumura [lightning]
7:32. Maya won via Sacrifica Maya.
4) Hijo del Villano III, Pólvora, Templario b El Audaz, Flyer, Star Jr.
16:09. Rudos took 2/3.
5) Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas b Ángel de Oro, Titán, Valiente
14:34. Peste Negra took 1/3. Angel de Oro & Felino lightly feuded.
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Gilbert el Boricua b Carístico, El Bandido, Volador Jr.
10:29. Straight falls. Cuatrero stole Bandido’s mask to get the win and to set up a singles match.
CMLL promos: tecnicas, Peste Negra (honoring Mr. Niebla), Bandido & Cuatrero (building up their match)
Pressroom interviews: Caristico, Angel de Oro, Guerrero Maya Jr., and Okumura.
Nothing terrible this Friday, though nothing great either. A lot like most CMLL shows in 2019. The Audaz/Templario match was the best. Bandido/Cuatrero is going to be the real test as far as how this Bandido stint will go.
This show had an unexpectedly big turnout. Even CMLL seems surprised, there weren’t many wide shots of the building. It didn’t sound like a larger than usual crowd. This might just people on vacation taking in a show during the holiday period; attendance was up in Puebla on Monday and on the Christmas Day show, and that seems like the common reason.
The US ambassador to Mexico was at the show.
CMLL (FRI) 12/27/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CML]
1) Demonio Maya, Demonio Rojo, Difunto b El Divino, Fantástico, Mr. Samurai
rudos took 2/3
2) La Infernal, La Seductora, Metálica b La Guerrera, La Jarochita, Mystique
rudas took 1/3
3) Esfinge, Kráneo, Volcano b Furia Roja, Hechicero, Rey Bucanero
tecnicos took 2/3. Mr. Niebla was honored after the match.
4) Fugaz, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Atlantis Jr., Mephisto, Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Terrible © b Diamante Azul [MEX HEAVY]
Terrible took falls 2/3, the last via foul, to retain the title. 6th defense
Status quo in the main event. Nothing obviously set up for next Friday though details were light on the semi-main.
Lucha Azteca AAA gave out the second half of their 2019 awards on Friday
- Luchadora of the Year: Lady Shani & La Hiedra tied
- Best Dive: Hijo del Vikingo (at Heroes Inmortales, over Aerostar & Fenix dives)
- Most Spectacular: Nino Hamburguesa
- Special Mention: La Parka
- Match of the Year: Kenny Omega vs Fenix (over Demon/Wagner and Drago/Daga)
Again, not a lot of shows this weekend. Everyone’s saving their efforts for New Year’s Day. The Liga MX final is also Sunday night, something lucha libre shows tend to avoid generally and more so when it includes America in the final. There’s not even a show in Arena Naucalpan this Sunday.
Shows that are happening
- Octagon is in a mask match in Acapulco, against local (not CMLL mini) Mercurio. Or that was the plan; the Octagons posted a video saying they won’t be there.
- Principe Daniel (Cavernario’s brother) and Exterminador have a hair match in Guadalajara.
- Martinez Entertainment has a typically busy show. I wonder if they’re going to get away with Soberano Jr. vs Mr. Iguana vs Silver Tiger.
- Volador faces Gran Guerrero in Arena Mexico. This will be the 22nd of 23 singles matches Volador will have in a CMLL ring this year, about one every two weeks. He has only lost to Rush (twice) and Niebla Roja (the Universal tournament)
Alan Xtreme, who is now wrestling in the Pacific Northwest, suffered a bad knee injury. He’s looking to raise funds for medical bills on GoFundMe.
Sin Cara/Cinta de Oro will be the new director of international development for the Wolverhampton Wanderers, an English soccer team. He’s got a pre-existing relationship with the team that started when one of the players wearing his mask in a goal-scoring celebration. This seems to be reported only on the Spanish version of their site, not the English, which suggests it’s more a marketing figurehead thing.
Vanguardia has a great piece on Arena Obereos in Saltillo, an arena struggling to survive and being run by former luchador Costenito Moy.
Perfil has a story on a wrestling school class inspired by Titanes en el Ring. It’s more “how to take some basic bumps and do some rolls” rather than “how to be an undefeatable mummy creature.”
Segunda Caida writes about some newly posted 80s lucha.
LuchaWorld has a Mr. Niebla obituary.
Lineup
CMLL (FRI) 01/03/2020 Arena México
1) Sonic & Súper Astro Jr. vs El Coyote & Grako
2) Estrellita, La Jarochita, Marcela vs Amapola, Dalys, La Metálica
3) Atlantis Jr., Esfinge, Rey Cometa vs Misterioso, Pólvora, Vangellys
4) Soberano Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Forastero, Templario
5) El Bandido vs Cuatrero
6) Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
Last show for many of these people before FantasticaMania; for everyone in the main event except for Gran Guerrero. It’s unclear if the Angel de Oro/Felino thing has been dropped by CMLL or is being kept for Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, but the burner has been turned way down on that one.
Bandido’s probably winning the semifinal – three falls, not a lightning match – but it’s more about how he looks winning it.
The top three matches are really good. The rest is decent reason to tune in about a hour in.
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>It’s more “how to take some basic bumps and do some rolls” rather than “how to be an undefeatable mummy creature.”
somebody needs to make a knock-off My Hero Academia but it’s Santo et al teaching the next generation of luchadores how to fight low budget monsters
With Texano working WWC Puerto Rico next week, are AAA and WWC forming a relationship? Mesias is also back in WWC.
I’ve been watching CMLL for 5 years, but Friday’s finish has me puzzled. How does the match end with a pin on someone NOT the captain? For years, I thought the rule was that the match ends when the captain is pinned or his two partners. Caristico was the captain, but the match ended with Bandido getting pinned. What am I misunderstanding?
Nothing, they forgot who was captain.
No no, they yanked his mask off. That ends the match no matter who the captains are. They may have forgotten to announce the right captain but once you foul someone or unmask someone your team is DQ’ed, they don’t just consider you eliminated until someone else is pinned or submitted.