Day: January 7, 2020

CMLL (MON) 01/06/2020 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Fuerza Chicana, Guerrero Espacial, Sombra Diabólika b King Jaguar, Meyer, Millenium 
rudos took 2/3
2) Espíritu Maligno, Joker, Pierrothito b Astro, Kaligua, Shockercito 
rudos took 1/3
3) Drone, Esfinge, Príncipe Diamante b Akuma, Espanto Jr., Espíritu Negro 
tecnicos took 1/3
4) Dulce Gardenia, Kráneo, Volcano b Ephesto, Kawato San, Mephisto 
tecnicos took 2/3
5) Carístico, Diamante Azul, Negro Casas b Euforia, Titán, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles] 
Team Diamante Azul took 2/3

Nothing much on this show, with the usual lack of interest in Monday night wrestling, decreased even farther by the upcoming trip. That doesn’t promise much for tonight’s Arena Mexico show.

Caristico, Mistico and Soberano headline tonight against NGD. Many of the matches look good on paper but seem unlikely to have strong efforts given the situation. Mephisto is the only in the semi-main not heading to Japan. He teams with Euofria & Ultimo Guerrero against Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, and Stuka Junior. Villano III Jr. & Atlantis Jr. might feud in the fourth match since they’re still sticking around in the morning. Flyer, Titan, Lucifierno, and Polvora fill that out. Dulce Gardenia meets Okumura in a lightning match Gardenia should win. Audaz, Drone and Guerrero Maya Jr. against Kawato San, Tiger and Virus is a match that should be repeated on another day. Coyote & Grako open up against Arkalis & Robin. This streams at 7:30 pm.

Guadalajara has Diamante Azul and his smoke bombs teaming with Volador & Valiente against Gran Guerrero, Shocker and Terrible. That same rudo trio main events Arena Mexico on Friday, and everyone from that main event switches around places to face Sunday. CMLL doesn’t have many people they trust as main event rudo at this point.

The FantasticaMania cards have been announced. There’s eight total and these are the five that will stream on NJPW World. All shows start at 3:30 AM CT and will be available on-demand as part of their subscription service.

CMLL , NJPW (FRI) 01/10/2020 Osaka Prefectural Gym 2, Osaka, Japan
1) Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Douki & Kanemaru
2) El Audaz, Guerrero Maya Jr., Uemura vs Euforia, Luciferno, Namajague
3) Flyer & Soberano Jr. vs Negro Casas & Tiger
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Dulce Gardenia, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tsuji vs Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, Naito
6) Carístico, Kojima, Stuka Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Okumura, Último Guerrero
Okumura 25th Anniversary match

The tour opener is always tag matches with people getting title shots later in the tour happening to get wins to build it up. It’s also the only you will see Takahashi & Naito will be on the streams; they’re not on the Tokyo shows.

CMLL , NJPW (THU) 01/16/2020 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1) Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Douki & Namajague
2) El Audaz & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Kanemaru & Luciferno
3) Dulce Gardenia, Flyer, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bushi, EVIL, Takagi
4) Stuka Jr. & Titán vs Forastero & Okumura
5) Carístico & Kojima vs Bárbaro Cavernario & Último Guerrero
6) Euforia & Soberano Jr. vs Cuatrero & Sansón [CMLL FAMILY, semifinal]
7) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs Negro Casas & Tiger [CMLL FAMILY, semifinal]

Euforia & Soberano were a fun team in the CMLL version of this tournament so it’s nice to see them again. Tiger gets a real match, always neat and surprising.

CMLL , NJPW (FRI) 01/17/2020 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1) Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Douki & Luciferno
2) Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Kanemaru, Namajague, Okumura
3) Dulce Gardenia, El Audaz, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bushi, EVIL, Takagi
4) Titán vs Forastero
5) Carístico & Kojima vs Bárbaro Cavernario & Último Guerrero
6) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [CMLL FAMILY, 3rd place]
7) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [CMLL FAMILY, final]

Forastero versus Titan is one Forastero singles match CMLL hasn’t done, though it’s felt like we’ve seen all the possible Forastero singles matches in the build-up and better things could be done with Titan. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja versus Sanson & Cuatrero seems the likely final.

CMLL , NJPW (SUN) 01/19/2020 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1) El Audaz & Tsuji vs Luciferno & Namajague
2) Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr., Soberano Jr. vs Douki, Kanemaru, Tiger
3) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
4) Stuka Jr. vs Okumura
5) Dulce Gardenia, Fuego, Ryusuke Taguchi vs Bushi, EVIL, Takagi
6) Último Guerrero © vs Kojima [CMLL HEAVY]
7th defense
7) Carístico, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Euforia, Negro Casas
Kuroneko tribute match. Panico (Juan Manuel Mar) & Skandalo will appear

This is the only weekend start time, so I suspect it’ll be the one show most people might see. It is unsurprising but still disappointing Okumura gets singles matches on these shows every year while Audaz, Guerrero Maya, and Fuego are here with nothing to do. Even Soberano has nothing to do outside of the tag tournament. Euforia versus Stuka would’ve been a much better match.

The Kuroneko presentation is the first time Skandalo has appeared as Skandalo since his career ending injury as far as I can recall.

CMLL , NJPW (MON) 01/20/2020 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1) Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Douki & Kanemaru
2) Tiger Mask vs Tiger
3) El Audaz, Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Euforia, Luciferno, Namajague
4) Dulce Gardenia, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Uemura vs Bushi, EVIL, Takagi
5) Kojima, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Negro Casas, Okumura, Último Guerrero
6) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © [MEX TRIOS]
14th defense
7) Carístico © vs Bárbaro Cavernario [NWA MIDDLE]
3rd defense

Caristico gets the show ending match. Barbaro Cavernario will get the best out of him and it should be good, but it doesn’t feel special. The trios title match also seems good, but none of these title matches seem likely to be remembered unless there is a title change and there’s little chance of a title change on any of the three.

FantasticaMania started a tour where NJPW would do CMLL matches which had never booked, making it very exciting. That may not be possible now; the CMLL roster hasn’t made enough new stars to create new match-ups. The tour progressed to being one where the best stuff from CMLL got repeated for a different audience. That’s not really what’s happening now either. They are repeats but they’re not important repeats, even when the people are still available. (Titan’s two big opponents are here.) The one consistent thing is CMLL vs NJPW kept as a rarity. Kojima might bring something different out Ultimo Guerrero because Kojima can’t do the usually UG, but the rest of the intermixing is a lot of juniors trios match which might be better if any of it led to a singles match. The Tiger/Tiger Mask match is the kind of weird fun that is missing from most of these lineups.

There’s nothing here where I’d feel like I’d risk miss a big moment by not watching it live. It would be a big moment if Cavernario did win or the NGD title reign did come to an end, but it doesn’t seem likely to happen. These just look like more regular CMLL shows and more regular CMLL shows is not a great reason to get up at 3:30 AM.

The teaser for tonight’s episode of Exatlon ends with Laredo Kid getting hurt on an obstacle course and being taken away in an ambulance. It appears to be a knee injury. It’s a reality show teaser so it could be something minor. A significant injury would end Laredo Kid’s time on the show, though it’d also mean he’d still be out of wrestling for a while. Laredo Kid has not done especially well on Exatlon and is unlikely to win the competition.

There’s a blood drive in Monterrey for Galactar, who’s been battling health issues. They’re looking for A+ blood.

The goal of the commissioner of boxing, wrestling, and MMA in Tijuana, Carlos Labastida, is to have excellent ticket sales for all the shows in the city. In regards to lucha libre, they’re talking about “modifying obsolete regulations”, which haven’t been updated in a couple of decades, to help AAA & The Crash. That sounds like they’re going to re-write lucha libre rules for the city.

El Hijo del Santo will wrestle on the 02/02 Lucha Libre Boom show in Arena Naucalpan. He hasn’t wrestled in or around Mexico City since 2013 (Todo x el Todo) as far as I can tell, though he’s living there. He hasn’t wrestled in Naucalpan since 2008, which is surprising given the history. IWRG booking El Hijo del Santo, after CMLL had vetoed Santo, caused CMLL to block to their luchadors from working the arena for many years.

Lucha Memes vs MexaWrestling 02/03 @ Coacalco

• Jimmy (Lucha Memes) vs Toxin (MexWrestling)
• Garrobo Punk & Gremlin vs Fly Warrior & Principe Aereo – new

+LuchaTV’s podcast this week was a best of 2019 show, which is something I should listen to but haven’t yet. I haven’t even plugged my own 2019 awards yet.

Mexico City indie luchador Corsario Negro Jr. will return from injury on 02/01. He’s been out more than a year after suffering a knee injury.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

Puma King looks back at his year in 2019. The stats are interesting.

Box Y Lucha 3417 covers the many deaths this year.

Chessman, Keyra and Parka Negra visited children for Dia de Reyes.

Lineups

CMLL (SUN) 01/12/2020 Arena México
1) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Sonic vs Cholo & Príncipe Odín Jr.
2) Estrellita, Mystique, Skadi vs La Infernal, La Seductora, Reyna Isis
3) Pegasso, Príncipe Diamante, Stigma vs Dark Magic, Kawato San, Misterioso
4) Pólvora vs Universo 2000 Jr. [lightning]
5) Atlantis Jr., Rey Cometa, Valiente vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Templario
6) Diamante Azul, Shocker, Terrible vs Gran Guerrero, Místico, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

Same six people as on Friday in the main event, with Azul & Gran Guerrero traded. CMLL has other people, could push different people, just will not push other people. I think that means the system is broke but the booker isn’t going to be around to notice it anyway.

Anyway, CMLL could use some main event people during this stretch of time and there’s still no sign of Atlantis. It’s hard to imagine he won’t be back at some point but maybe we need to start imagining it.

final in a series. Previously: 

• Video streaming sites explode access to lucha libre
• +LuchaTV becomes the dominant force of independent lucha libre
• Lucha Underground & FantasticaMania bridges a chasm between lucha libre and the rest of wrestling
• Arena Mexico transforms into a tourist destination

The 16,000 fans at Arena Mexico united in one chant, one single word, during the biggest match of the year.

Unfortunately, that word was “FRAUDE!” It was September 13, 2013. Volador Jr. and La Sombra were fighting for their masks. Ultimo Guerrero & Atlantis were not, having lost a tag match earlier that night. That outcome led to the crowd melting down for the next hour. The anger never tripped over to rage – the fans were upset, but it never felt like a riot was going to break out. It did lead to a lot of discussion about how this angry response would affect CMLL going forward, what would happen to CMLL and lucha libre after such an adverse reaction.

That crowd reaction led in three unexpected directions. One, CMLL ran the Ultimo Guerrero/Atlantis mask match the following year. They raised prices. They still sold out. There were bad feelings between CMLL & their fanbase, another part of the knot of negative emotions between their most ardent fanbase and the management of the promotion. Still, CMLL didn’t seem to suffer a business cost. That night secondly, led to the creation of Los Ingobernables, a faction that would be a meaningful part of storytelling and merchandising in multiple countries. The final consequence was AAA staring across the city at that ticket money, and wondering why it wasn’t theirs.

AAA’s historically put more effort into the main event of TripleMania, tending to run big matches. (Cibernetico vs. Perro Aguayo, loser loses their hair for the very first time, was the main event in 2013.) It was consistently in Mexico City this past decade, making it their big chance to make an impression on the fans in the media capital. They’ve run Arena Ciudad de Mexico since 2012, and have already had room for more people than CMLL could draw in Arena Mexico. AAA should’ve owned the records for the biggest gate in the history of a Mexican wrestling event. CMLL instead passed them by with the Ultimo Guerrero/Atlantis match, becoming the first $1,000,000 gate in lucha libre history.

The number doesn’t matter much. (Why did we care about a US Dollar number in Mexico anyway?) CMLL outdoing AAA did. It showed AAA there was a higher ceiling than they had reached. It also showed a core group of fans were a lot more willing (and able) to pay for big matches than previously believed if the matches were big enough.

AAA tried to tap this market by bringing in a lot of suddenly available ex-WWE stars. This attempt started the short era of Myteziz, Alberto el Patron, and Rey Mysterio all coming (or coming back) to AAA. AAA took another approach when that ended unhappily. Instead of trying to bring a lot of different names, they’d throw a lot of money at one specific star, to give them the most significant match they could get.

Psycho Clown defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. in a mask match on August 26, 2017, in the most significant match of the decade, and one which may have never happened if the Sombra/Volador/UG/Atlantis match hadn’t raised the bar. AAA gave Wagner a reported $250,000, believed to be the biggest payoff for a mask match in history. They got the most meaningful win possible for the new face of the promotion, Psycho Clown. The match took place in front of perhaps the most massive television audience to ever see AAA, by the stroke of luck of the show airing on over the air TV directly after the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor fight. Parts of TripleMania were a disaster, but the main event came across well at the right time and raised the profile of AAA considerably.

It also changed the path forward for AAA. TripleMania is now the central focus of the promotion, with the last two main events being announced months in advance. Those matches raised expectations while giving AAA confidence they could meet those expectations and still profit. The following year with a four-way mask match, 2019 was a climatic apuesta meeting between Blue Demon and Dr. Wagner. The success of the Psycho/Wagner match has led to profits beyond just that day. The surprising rating number on Televisa increased AAA’s value as a television property, leading to deals with Space, Multimedios, and a previously unthinkable jump from Televisa to Azteca. It opened the door to a content deal on Twitch and opportunities outside of Mexico.

It’s hard to know if this sustains through the next decade. Dr. Wagner & later Blue Demon’s places as star attractions for these matches are hard to replace, and there’s not a prominent crop of slightly younger legends to replace them in epic matches. (People like Octagon, seemingly not on favorable terms with any promotion, may yet find themselves back in demand if they have a willingness to take a big payday.) The pressure to create mega matches each year will remain intense even as the opportunity shrinks. This decade still showed both a change in a willingness to do those ultimate dream apuesta matches and an appetite for them that was unseen before.