“Luchador Psycho Clown has had differences with AAA and has threatened to leave it, sources close to the luchador says,” leads off an article posted late Wednesday night. Cancha, the sports section of Reforma, initially reported this story. Reforma partnered with AAA on content in the past and cover lucha libre; there’s some seriousness to this. The article has no details about “the differences with AAA,” and Psycho Clown has not decided to leave. The only detail is Psycho Clown would be talking to his lawyers about the situation before deciding how to move forward. I’ve heard nothing else about any problems between Psycho Clown and AAA, this seems out of the blue and is tough to believe. Both sides would look to lose in a split – Psycho Clown is AAA’s most valuable luchador, Psycho Clown is a better fit for AAA than any other promotion – but it’s hard to evaluate a move without knowing the issues involved. AAA having problems with one of their top stars is a familiar story, but it’s hard to believe it’d be Psycho Clown.
Psycho Clown’s Facebook post yesterday might be a vague allusion to this situation or usual social media motivation stuff.
Monster Clown says he has no plans to retire after losing his mask.
El Planchitas says Octagon will soon file an unfair dismissal lawsuit against AAA, announcing it a press conference. Planchitas says the reason AAA fired Octagon was something “far away from the ring.” An unfair dismissal lawsuit could end up ugly for both sides.
The FantasticaMania tour kicks off early tomorrow morning, 3:30 AM Central Time. This show will stream live, though it is the least vital show of those that stream. All the matches are tags, and all set up for more significant matches starting next week in Tokyo. The main event is Caristico, Stuka, and Kojima against Barbaro Cavernario, Okumura, and Ultimo Guerrero, with three of the pairs for later on. Semi-main is Dulce Gardenia, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and rookie Tsuji versus BUSHI, Naito, and Hiromu Takahashi, the only time the last two will be on a streamed match this tour.
It appears CMLL has told the luchadors that the rudos and tecnicos are not allowed to take photos together while on this tour. The images I’ve seen on social media so far have kept to that, even when it’s reasonably apparent the rudos and tecnicos are together when you compare the photos.
Espiritu Negro & Rey Cometa pitched the idea of becoming a brother tag team, complete with matching face paint, on yesterday’s CMLL Informa. Feuds and partnerships on CMLL Informa rarely become a reality – that’s one of the reasons few people pay attention to Informa. Being a two-person unit doesn’t seem like a way to get ahead in CMLL, but Cometa & Negro have nothing to lose.
NXT’s Raul Mendoza included “NXT Mexico” as one of his goals for the year. Angel Garza mentioned the same idea, maybe in Monterrey or Mexico City in 2020. It seems like an inevitably there will be an NXT show in Mexico and perhaps this year. The NXT touring shows seem done with the idea of not losing a lot of money (not as much concerned with profits) while expanding their reach. It may be a question of handling the legal red tape of operating a US business in Mexico. Adding another country would be one more thing to boast about for that brand. If WWE can make it happen in 2020, it’ll happen.
On this week’s Keepin’ It 100, Konnan’s asked about his picks for breakout stars in 2020, and they barely get started before Disco gets bored and derails the conversation. It does open up a good line of discussion. Disco asks if there are any excellent promo guys in Mexico, but AAA has trouble doing promos. The TV ratings go down every time there’s a promo segment, which has led to Azteca just cutting the promos out of their cut of the shows. (Azteca edits the show which airs on their networks, AAA provides the version for the other TV networks and YouTube.) Konnan’s trying to convince Azteca to at least show soundbites to get their stories over.
Konnan names Hijo del Vikingo and Daga (in Impact) as 2020 breakout stars before he gets interrupted. Kevin asks him to go a bit deeper when they get back to it, so Konnan adds Arez, Latigo, Aramis, and Dragon Bane. He feels 2-3 of those will be working the US regularly in 2020. Arez, Aramis, and Dragon Bane seem to have US visas and have worked US promotions, though Konnan is probably hinting at bigger ones. Latigo does not have a visa last I’ve heard. Danny Limelight, Adrian Quest, Miranda Alize, Chris Dickenson are mentioned as people Konnan’s enjoyed using on the Tijuana shows. Still, spots on the AAA TV shows are packed – there’s not room for everyone he likes as it is. It sounds like Dickenson ended up on the AAA New York show via LAX recommendation, and Konnan’s been impressed. Konnan would like to do an MMA-themed Dickenson/Kross cage match in Tijuana, assuming Kross doesn’t get signed by AEW or WWE before he can build it up. This thought comes off as if Konnan believes Kross has made a decision between them, but Konnan doesn’t yet know the decision or when he’d be starting with them (and be done with AAA.) It is not an explicit confirmation of Kross signing but fits with everything else we expect.
Disco encouraged (or demanded sharply) that Kevin go to Spanish language lucha libre message boards to find out people who have complaints about Konnan’s booking and read those complaints on the show next week. Spanish language lucha libre message boards don’t exist unless you count Facebook as a message board. Disco specifically wanted to know what Mexican fans dislike about lucha libre so he can use it to offend Konnan. Non-Mexican fans sending their AAA criticisms to the Masked Republic Twitter so they can be easily found as content for next week doesn’t exactly fit. Still, it’s up to you to decide the importance of adhering to Disco Infierno’s wishes.
Dragon Lee is still notably announced as working the Expo Lucha shows in August even after being reportedly signing with Ring of Honor. I happened to notice the mention of it again, and wanted to point out I think that’s going to be OK even with ROH signing Dragon Lee. ROH seems to let wrestlers fill out already agreed upon dates, and likely will allow Dragon Lee to do so even that far into the future. There are also no details on what Dragon Lee signed with ROH; he may be not-exclusive. There’s no real news bit here, just something that occurred to me.
70s EMLL/El Toreo luchador El Marquez, Jesus Aguilera, passed away. His biggest win as defeating Karloff Lagarde for the Mexican Welterweight Championship, though he only held it for about two months. He lost his mask to Anibal in 1975 and wrestled as Batman/Betman in the early 90s.
Lucha Memes announced they’ll start putting their shows on Pivotshare. They’re beginning with the 01/01 show, and they’ll all be ringside videos from Black Terry Junior. Memes have not announced prices on release dates. It doesn’t seem like the back catalog will be included. RIOT was the first promotion based in Mexico to try Pivotshare; they’ve received money from the service, though I think they’ve been more seen via their partnership with the Highspots Wrestling Network. Lucha Memes isn’t part of Highspots at this point.
Warrior Wrestling @ 02/15, Chicago Heights
KAOZ @ 02/23, Arena Coliseo Monterrey
Lineups
Mexa Wrestling (SAT) 01/18/2020 Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Águila Oriental & Noisy Boy vs Sherkhan & Zika
2) Lady Cat & Lilith Dark vs Atomic Star & Baby Star
3) Diva Salvaje vs Black Terry
4) Fly Warrior, Príncipe Aéreo, Puma de Oro vs El Diablo Fly Star, Lunatik Fly, Lunatik Xtreme
5) Centvrión & Metaleón vs Black Warrior Jr. & Brazo de Oro
6) Toxin vs Perla Lagunera
7) Apolo Estrada Jr. vs Caballero de Plata [super libre]
This card is one of the (intentionally) lesser Mexa shows, with the most discussion coming from the poster accidentally listing Black Terry Jr. as the one facing Diva Salvaje.
Zona 23 (SUN) 01/19/2020 Av. Lopez Portillo, San Francisco Chilpan, Tultitlán, Estado de México
1) Tóxico vs Terremoto, Dement Extreme
2) Ovett vs Demoledor, Epitafio
3) Fly Star vs Toxin, Osiris
4) Último Gladiador vs Leviatham, Impulso
5) Aeroboy vs Lunatik Extreme, Yakuza
I think all the winners are facing each other as part of a King of the Backyard tournament, but I’m not sure.
Vanguardia , Zona 23 (SUN) 02/02/2020 Deportivo 11 de Julio, Pachuca, Hidalgo
1) Símbolo Azteca vs Lobo Blanco, Gasparin, Osiris, Amnesia, Aster Boy [royal rumble]
2) Deluto IV & Deluto Jr. vs Hijo De Halloween & X-Fly
3) Juan el Ranchero, Ovett, Terremoto vs Caballero De Atena, Dragón Boy, Falcón Fire, Jitsu, Rey Dragón
3 vs 5?
4) Jimmy vs Leviatham [submission]
5) Cobre & Draztick Boy vs Fly Star & Luantick Fly [tlc]
6) Joe Lider vs Último Gladiador
7) Cíclope & Psicosis I vs Miedo Extremo & Psicosis II [barbed wire]
This lineup is a bit more hardcore than usual, but Vanguardia does lean that way when Ciclope & Miedo Extremo are available.
