Month: February 2020

CMLL streamed their Homenaje a Dos Leyendas press conference Wednesday.

The Arena Mexico Homenaje a Dos Leyendas will be on March 20th. Most of the card was announced, with one match saved for Informa

CMLL (FRI) 03/20/2020 Arena México
1) Átomo, Gallito, Microman vs Chamuel, Guapito, Perico Zacarías
2) Diamante Azul, Stuka Jr., Titán vs Mephisto, Negro Casas, Terrible
3) Ángel de Oro, Flip Gordon, Niebla Roja vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
4) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [hair, mask]
5) Carístico, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero © [CMLL TRIOS]
fourth defense
6) Bárbaro Cavernario vs Felino [hair]

Sangre Chicana will be honored. He said he’d like his children to be there, including AAA’s La Hiedra

CMLL’s done the best they could do with a Felino versus Barbaro Cavernario match-up. Everyone knows the outcome but both men are selling it very hard. It still seems like they’d have a stronger draw if CMLL didn’t give away a Negro Casas hair loss at last year’s Aniversario and could run that match instead.

The trios title match is a repeat from last year, only Valiente replacing the since fired Dragon Lee. The good thing about CMLL right now is you never have to feel bad about missing a show because they’ll probably run the same match again soon enough.

There are no hints on the second apuesta match. I put hair/mask up there just to have something to fill the space, but they could mean a title match instead. It does bring to mind that out of nowhere Oro Jr. & Leono vs Signo & Espanto feud in Arena Coliseo last Saturday. They’re not booked together again on anything we’ve seen, it would be a terrible match, it seems more like a New Year’s Day match, but I still can’t rule it out.

The other arenas will also get Homenaje a Dos Leyendas shows, as has been common in recent years. They’ll follow the Arena Mexico one. Puebla’s show will take place on 03/23, with the deceased La Fiera honored. Gran Cochisse, who recently took over as lead programming in Guadalajara, will be honored in that arena on 03/24.

CMLL also will bring back the Mexican National Tag Team Championship. This championship started in CMLL, migrated to AAA. Octagon & La Parka last won in 2003 and it quietly disappeared from TV as AAA focused on their own championships. The last defense was in 2011, but it had not been on TV since 2007. CMLL brought back the Mexican Heavyweight Championship after Hector Garza died while champion, and are following with the tag team titles.

The tournament to start the new champion will take place on Fridays, starting even as CMLL has another tournament. (CMLL programming appears unaware they run shows other than Fridays.) The tournament will kick off on 02/28, the same day as the incredible pairs final ends, and end on 03/13. It appears to be the usual 16 team format.

There’s no word as to the status of the Arena Coliseo Tag Team championships, which have been vacant since Triton quit CMLL last year. (Esfinge was the other champion.) Those belts had previously filled the gap of the secondary tag team championship. The return of the National Tag Team belts would mean the elimination of the Coliseo ones in most promotions, but CMLL seems to only add. I count 21 CMLL championships (9 CMLL, 3 NWA, 7 Mexican National, the CMLL Lady’s Ring title and the Arena Coliseo Tag Titles) but I’m afraid I’m missing one. CMLL is never getting to 16 champions of the men’s Universal tournament again.

CMLL (TUE) 02/11/2020 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
1) El Coyote & Grako b Sangre Imperial & Sonic 
Rudos took 1/3
2) Átomo, Gallito, Microman b Chamuel, El Guapito, Perico Zakarías 
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Audaz, Fuego, Rey Cometa b Dark Magic, Pólvora, Tiger 
tecnicos took 2/3
4) Ephesto, Luciferno, Vangellys b Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. 
rudos took 2/3
5) Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Terrible b Kráneo, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr. 
rudos took 1/3
6) Carístico DQ Sansón 
straight falls, the last when Sanson fouled and unmasked Caristico

CMLL promos: Micro tecnicos & Sanson, who says his feud with Caristico isn’t over.

Press interviews: Rey Cometa & Sanson.

Sanson getting saved from the direct loss Cuatrero took is moderately interesting, though it’s unclear if CMLL puts that much effort in their depth charts. Nothing else sticks out from this show.

CMLL (TUE) 02/11/2020 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Frenético & Ráfaga b Johnny Dinamo & Luminoso
rudos took 2/3
2) Silueta b Valkiria [lightning]
added lightning match
3) Avispa Dorada, Sanely, Tsukushi b La Comandante, Metálica, Tiffany
Tecnicas took 1/3. Tsukushi added to the match (with others moved to a lightning match)
4) Furia Roja, Okumura, Universo 2000 Jr. b Drone, Esfinge, Fugaz
rudos took 1/3
5) Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr. b Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas
straight falls due to Pesta Negra falling apart
6) Diamante Azul b Gran Guerrero
Azul took 1/3

CMLL switching matches around to accommodate foreigners is common. Normally, that’d mean people bumped from the card entirely, so it was kinder than usual to just move Silueta & Valkiria to their own singles match. Neither women’s match figures to air under normal patterns.

Guadalajara has a cage match on Sunday.

Stuka Jr. would like to feud with someone, anyone. He seems to be in the wrong promotion for that.

Vampiro posted a video urging the AAA roster to rise up and overthrow Konnan, and then deleted it. I think this is an angle. It always is with Vampiro, it’s just that it’s less clear if it’s a bit AAA asked him to do or if it’s Vampiro doing his own thing in hopes others jump on board (like the failed attempt at a Jericho/Vampiro match.) It does broadly fit with where the Konnan/Vampiro storyline was last year at TripleMania Regia, but there’s no follow up on that bit in between shows named TripleMania. Maybe we’ll see him at Rey de Reyes. AAA hasn’t acknowledged this video, but it was slightly more effective than the second Psicosis/Konnan fight. Vampiro recently mentioned he won’t be returning to his paranormal TV show, so maybe he was just looking for something to do.

Vampiro dropped another Facebook video, but it was during the CMLL press conference so I haven’t watched it. He is listed as special referee on an AAA 03/14 show in Saltillo.

03/28 RIOT (“Trusa”)

• Demonio del Aire vs Jack Evans

03/29 PWG (“Kobe”)

• Jude London & Paris de Silva vs Aramis & Rey Horus
• JD Drake vs Brody King vs Black Taurus vs Caveman Ugg
• Dragon Lee vs Flamita
• Jonathan Gershman vs Bandico (c) vs for the PWG World Title

ROH is rebooting their women’s division with a title tournament starting on 04/24 in Philadelphia. Participants aren’t announced. The press release says “talent from all over the world” and “some new faces who have never competed in Ring of Honor”, so I guess there’s a chance of CMLL involvement.

A Tinieblas Jr. related game is available on Steam. I think this must be the game that was attempted to be kickstarted a while back, though the (very little shown) gameplay looks very different. It’s $12, making me wonder if I can get $12 of internet content out of it.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

LuchaTalk has this week’s podcast.

CMLL (MON) 02/10/2020 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) El Asturiano, Rey Samuray, Tigre Rojo Jr. b Centella Roja, Espíritu Maligno, Fuerza Chicana 
Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Chamuel, Mije, Perico Zakarías b Átomo, Gallito, Microman 
Rudos took 2/3
3) Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto b Audaz, Flyer, Star Jr. 
Rudos took 2/3
4) Felino, Negro Casas, Volador Jr. DQ Ángel de Oro, Cavernario, Niebla Roja [Relevos Increíbles] 
Straight falls. Cavernario fouled Felino.
5) Carístico b Cuatrero 
Caristico took 2/3. Cuatrero tossed his mask to draw the DQ again, but Caristico just cradled him for the win.

Nothing much on this show.

The Caristico/Cuatrero match wasn’t strong, which gives Sanson a solid chance of topping it tonight in Arena Mexico. It’s still a non-title match, Caristico is still likely to win. Hopefully it’s fun because there’s not much else that pops out from this card.

Rey Bucanero, Terrible and Shocker take on Kraneo, Soberano and Stuka Jr. in a semi-main. The Panthers continue their domination of Tuesday nights against Vangellys, Luciferno, and Ephesto. There’s a trios match with Audaz, Fuego and Rey Cometa, another Micros match and Sonic in the opener. This starts at 7:30 pm but seems like a show for completists only.

Guadalajara has Diamante Azul versus Gran Guerrero.

CMLL announced a Homenaje a Dos Leyendas press conference for Wednesday. These normally start a bit after noon and stream on CMLL’s YouTube channel. It’s the first time CMLL’s second-biggest show of the year has come up. Barbaro Cavernario & Felino has been ticketed for that show for a while, but there’s not even a date for the show yet. It’s not much harder to guess the date than the main event though. Here’s where it’s been lately:

2019: March 15
2018: March 16
2017: March 17
2016: March 18
2015: March 20
2014: March 21
2013: March 15
2012: March 02
2011: March 18
2010: March 19

Outside of the weird 2012 year, it’s always the third Friday. That’s March 20 this year. It’s close enough that CMLL might give a full card tomorrow (though perhaps half of it saved for CMLL Informa.) The legend being honored is usually announced at this press conference too. +LuchaTV has some ideas; Paco Alonso being honored would heal some visible wounds.

I’m not sure what else to expect. Usually, there’s even less than expected, so maybe that’s good. It’d be helpful to know if Homenaje a Dos Leyendas will be streamed live; the last couple of major CMLL shows have not been. This should be expected to also not be available live unless CMLL explicitly says something. Non-H2L topics might include the second block of the incredible pairs tournament.

The possible disappearance of Roshfrans as a CMLL sponsor seems like something worth talking about at a press conference, though maybe CMLL would prefer to talk about other things. Roshfrans, a car products manufacture, has been a CMLL sponsor since late April 2016. They go back longer with AAA. Roshfrans Officials from their company have appeared at AAA press conferences. They’re more synonymous with CMLL because Arena Mexico is plastered with the Roshfrans logos and the CMLL streams air the same commercial around three times a night. Roshfrans has been the primary sponsor on the mat for both AAA & CMLL in recent years.

The Roshfrans was still on the canvas Saturday night for AAA. It was not for Friday night for Arena Mexico. CMLL was still airing the commercials, so it wasn’t clear if anything changed. It does appear something’s changed in the relationship now, as the Arena Puebla edecanes wore non-sponsored outfits for the first time. (Arena Puebla did not have ring girls regularly before the Roshfrans sponsorship; it appeared the positions were added just to find another surface to put the Roshfrans logo on.) Sponsor relationships inevitably come to a close, but it’d be a financial hit for CMLL if they don’t have another company ready to replace it. CMLL can stand financial hit, though mostly by passing on that pain to the luchadors. This might have been something Sofia Alonso would’ve handled a year ago this time and it’s unclear who’d be in charge of that now.

CMLL announced yesterday that Héctor Fedérico Lutteroth Camou passed away. They didn’t give any details on who he was, outside of the strange use of the (presumably) individual holding companies for the different arenas as the ones announcing the death instead of simply CMLL. (They’re listed as “Promociones México, Coliseo y Revolución S.C.”, “Promociones Coliseo de Occidente S.A. de C.V.”, and “Promecor S.A. de C.V.” – that last one’s Arena Puebla.) Héctor Lutteroth appears to have been the son of CMLL founder Salvador Lutteroth, which makes him the brother of the older Salvador Lurrertoth II seen at Arena Mexico (and the uncle of the Salvador Lutteroth who’s thought to be in charge of the promotion.) Héctor is part of the family who moved to Baja California and ran successful businesses there; a commentary on Twitter mentioned he ran hotels and food chains including Carl’s Jr. (which is everywhere in Mexico.) I found a mention of Lutteroth running for governor of Baja California at one point and held other political offices. It’s unclear how much he worked in lucha libre but being a Lutteroth family member is the important thing.

SuperLuchas looks back at 20 years of Mascarita Dorada.

+LuchaTV has a new edition of the En+carados podcast.

Laredo Kid’s Twitter is now @laredokidpro1. I think he’s on his third one.

LuchaWorld his this week’s Poster-Mania.

Lineups

TC (FRI) 02/14/2020 Arena Naucalpan
1) Destino & Hard Boy vs Osiris & Puma de Oro and Ciclón Infernal & Dragosth [semifinal]
2) Fly Star & Sobredosis vs Impulso & Lunatik Fly and Dement Extreme & Lapida [semifinal]
3) ? vs ?? [final]
4) La Heroína & Sadkia vs Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria and Diva Salvaje & Yuriko
5) Demus & Joe Lider vs Galeno del Mal & Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Paranoiko & Tóxico
6) Pagano vs Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Mr. Águila [TC HEAVY]

There’s a random promotion (Producciones TC) debuting at Arena Naucalpan on Friday night. These shows are Dr. Wagner’s home now, I guess.

CMLL (SUN) 02/16/2020 Arena México
1) Retro & Robin vs Cholo & Yago
2) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Súper Astro Jr. vs Akuma, Espanto Jr., Nitro
3) Black Panther, Star Jr., Volcano vs Cancerbero, Raziel, Virus
4) Titán vs Templario [lightning]
5) Kráneo, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr. vs Ephesto, Rey Bucanero, Shocker
6) Atlantis Jr., Carístico, Volador Jr. vs Negro Casas, Terrible, Último Guerrero

Assuming Templario can make it here from Chicago in time, that match with Titan should be great again.

x

IWRG (SUN) 02/09/2020 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Águila Oriental Jr. & Cheff Benito b Dick Angelo 3G & Voltrex
2) Legendario b Rey Halcón Jr.
3) Diosa Quetzal, Ludark Shaitan, Lunatik Xtreme b Hades, Lolita, Puma de Oro
4) Fresero Jr. DCOR El Hijo del Medico Asesino
5) Big Chicoche, Big Mike, Big Ovett DQ Capo del Norte, Shun Skywalker, X-Fly
Capo del Sur ran in for the DQ.
6) Demonio Infernal, Dragón Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus b Emperador Azteca, Fuerza Guerrera NG, Relámpago
Lupus beat Fuerza. Money thrown in. Bane & Lupus thanked the fans for their support.
7) Chicano, Mamba, Tiago b CIMA, Lindaman, T-Hawk
Debut of El Imperio. Moved to the main event. Divina seconded Imperio and kissed CIMA, setting up Mamba for the win.

The Golepadors head to NOAH later this week. This is the last show for the Stronghearts for now.

The AYM feed of the show is blocked on YouTube due to music issues. I wouldn’t expect it to get fixed. It’ll likely turn up on +Lucha later on in the week. I had the stream on while working on other things and the semi-main seemed very hard-hitting. It also had a long moment where everyone stood around looking to see who was going to start the finishing sequence which wasn’t much good.

Caristico has two days of singles matches against NGD members. Tonight’s match is against Cuatrero in Arena Puebla. They met three months ago in Arena Coliseo where Cuatrero won. That was a title match (and an untelevised one), and the outcome is likely to be different this time. One positive of CMLL running basically the same main event two nights in a row is an easy comparison of where Cuatrero and Sanson are at as singles match luchadors.

The Peste Negra breakup continues in the semi-main, with Cavernario on the opposite side of Felino & Negro Casas. They team with Volador, caveman teams with the Chavez Brothers. The micros are also back from last week, following Chamuel once again unmasking Microman. That has a chance of setting up a singles match for next week.

The tercera has Audaz, Flyer and Star Jr. against the Hijos del Infierno. Asturiano, Rey Samuray and Tigre Rojo open the show against Espiritu Malgino, Fuerza Chicana and Centella Roja. The show streams at 9pm on CMLL’s YouTube.

The AAA/MLW/EMW poster for their 03/13 taping includes LA Park, Psycho Clown, Pagano, Texanoa Jr., Averno, Chessman, Texano Jr., Rey Escorpion, Nino Hamburguesa, Jinetes del Aire and Poder Del Norte along with some MLW people. Not as many MLW people as you might expect, though these photos aren’t exactly binding to a lineup

This appears to be a poster for a 03/28 AAA TV taping in Torreon, though it’s possible they’re just using the generic graphic for a non-televised event.

Record has a video feature on the farewell to La Parka from the AAA show in Mexico City.

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 02/11/2020 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Johnny Dinamo & Luminoso vs Frenético & Ráfaga
2) Avispa Dorada, Sanely, Silueta vs Metálica, Tiffany, Valkiria
3) Drone, Esfinge, Fugaz vs Furia Roja, Okumura, Universo 2000 Jr.
4) Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas
5) Diamante Azul vs Gran Guerrero

I wonder how long Peste Negra will still be teaming up.

CMLL (SAT) 02/15/2020 Arena Coliseo
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) Mystique, Skadi, Stephanie Vaquer vs La Comandante, La Infernal, Tiffany
3) Diamond, Pegasso, Stigma vs Disturbio, Misterioso, Sagrado
4) Drone vs Tiger [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Flyer, Niebla Roja vs Pólvora, Shocker, Vangellys
6) Diamante Azul, Titán, Valiente vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Terrible

Drone/Tiger seems fun.

IWRG (SUN) 02/16/2020 Arena Naucalpan
1) Biosferia, Luemira, Spider Fly vs Blue Monsther, Príncipe Jr., Zika
2) Carnicero vs Neza Kid, Tromba, Ángel Estrella Jr., Noicy Boy
3) Baby Star, Dinámico, Príncipe Aéreo vs Atomic Star, Canival King, Especie Maligna
4) Mary Caporal & Miss Delicious vs Lady Cat & Miku
5) Ambu, Hijo De Payaso Purasanta, Manchas, Pantera Jr., Payaso Purasanta, Rayado, Rudigo, Verzal vs Águila Oriental Jr., Cheff Benito, Chicanito, Legendario, Puma de Oro, Rey Halcón, Voltrex [Copa Higher Power]
Gym Tepito (Rugido) vs Gym FILL (Puma de Oro)
6) Shun Skywalker vs Súper Nova
7) El Bandido & Fuerza Guerrera NG vs Emperador Azteca & Toxin

This a FILL show but Bandido’s around so they added some non-fill shows. The second match has the Mexboys and Skywalker gets a singles match, so this might be an interesting show.

DTU (THU) 02/27/2020 Arena Aficion
1) Dariux vs Fly Danger, Destino, Flayer Boy
2) Aero Panther, Fight Panther, Gran Cobra vs Hard Boy, Samuray Jr., Vengador Radioactivo
3) Shun Skywalker vs Aaron Sykes, Pesadilla, Calibus, Tiburón, Kaleth
4) Delirio & Xtreme Fly vs Black Golden & Ultrasoniko and Hijo De Pólux Jr. & Malkriado
5) Brazo Celestial & Brazo Cibernetico Jr. vs Apolo Estrada Jr. & Demonio Infernal
6) Hechicero (CMLL) vs Camuflaje
7) Damián 666 & Halloween vs Avorto & Chaneke and Crazy Boy & Paranoiko

Hechicero showcases on indie shows seem like good ideas.

AAA TV (SAT) 02/08/2020 Auditorio General José María Arteaga, Querétaro, Querétaro [AAA, Lucha Central, MedioTiempo, thecubsfan]
1) Drago Kid, Iron Kid, Laredo Boy b Látigo, Low Rider, Parkita Negra 
9:03. Drago Kid pinned Latigo.
2) Big Mami, Dinastía, Mr. Iguana b La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla, Parka Negra 
8:22. Dinastia beat Parka Negra.
3) Myzteziz Jr. & Octagón Jr. b Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr. and Súper Fly & Villano III Jr. 
12:24. Myzteziz beat Villano III Jr. but was once again attacked by Argenis. Parka Negra also attacked Hijo de LA Park.
4) Hijo Del Vikingo, Puma King, Rey Horus b Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Texano Jr. 
13:18. Vikingo beat Taurus, but the rudos beat up the tecnicos after as a prelude to their trios title match at Rey de Reyes. Puma and Taurus are feuding (and apparently had been feuding before this?)
5) Monsther Clown, Murder Clown, Psycho Clown b Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana 
9:31. Monster Clown was the surprise luchador (but was announced as such early in the show). First Psycho Circus match as a team since 2017.
6) La Bestia Del Ring, LA Park, Rush Toro Blanco b Fénix, Laredo Kid, Pentagón Jr. 
18:12. Laredo Kid returned earlier in the show and was attacked by Los Ingobernables. LA Park said Laredo Kid let down wrestling by not winning on Exatlon, while Rush said his brother Dragon Lee was a much bigger star. This set up Laredo Kid replacing Wagner (who was not mentioned) in the main event. Averno attacked Pentagon Jr. late in the match and Los Ingobernables took Fenix & Laredo’s masks to set up the win. Psycho Circus made the save and challenged Los Ingobernables to a match.

This was a very strong show; nothing was even just average. The fourth and fifth matches were the best, but the effort level for a random middle of the cycle TV taping was very strong. It’s a talented roster but more so a motivated one. There also seems to be more obvious set up for matches ahead of time, though that’ll only really matter if it’s followed through upon.

The turnout seemed good. There weren’t long shots of the show, but it seemed full from what was shown. The Psycho Circus being put together came off strongly and the teased match with Los Ingobernables seemed like a big match.

It’s hard to tell who’s playing what games with Dr. Wagner & AAA, but it appears in retrospect that AAA did not expect Wagner to be on the show for at least a while. Wagner was on the poster – AAA never changes the poster – but they hadn’t promised him by name in social media as they did with other people. Wagner releasing that statement saying he’d be there made sure he wouldn’t look unprofessional for not showing up, but he may have known AAA wasn’t using him by them. No one’s saying anything negative about the other side publicly, which is for the best given Wagner will inevitably be back in AAA again.

03/21 Rey de Reyes so far

• Kenny Omega (c) vs TBA for the AAA Mega Championship
• Pentagon Jr. & Fenix (c) vs TBA for the AAA Tag Team Championship
• Los Jinetes del Aire (Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagon Jr.) vs Mercenarios (Taurus, Rey Escorpion, Texano) for the AAA Trios Championship
• a Rey de Reyes tournament
• likely Los Ingobernables versus Psycho Circus
• maybe Taya (c) vs Keyra for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship (but likely with more people involved)

That’s already a pretty full card! It means Rey de Reyes will likely be a gauntlet or a battle royal; the traditional five four-way matches would make this too long. People like Blue Demon, Pagano, Drago, Aerostar, Poder del Norte could either be in other tag matches or part of the tournament.

Averno’s post-match promo makes it clear he wants Penta in a singles match and wasn’t going after the tag titles. That doesn’t quite fit into Rey de Reyes. Neither does the Puma/Taurus issue. Maybe AAA is building to the May show already or maybe these things will just happen along the way.

There was a slight tease of a Laredo Kid/Dragon Lee for Rey de Reyes. There’s a NJPW show earlier that day which Dragon Lee might be on. It also might be better saved for another show which could use the help more. Laredo Kid might be planned to fill one of those spots too. Laredo & Puma King face Daga & Taurua and Fenix & Penta on the next taping, which could easily set up the tag title match. Laredo’s also talked about wanting to challenge for the heavyweight title and would be a reasonable Omega opponent.

CMLL (SAT) 02/08/2020 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Fantasy & Kaligua b Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Violencia
2) Leono, Oro Jr., Retro b Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo, Inquisidor
Rudos took the first, then lost the second by DQ when Signo unmasked Oro Jr. and the third when Signo did it again while Espanto fouled Leono
3) Cancerbero, Espíritu Negro, Raziel b Fuego, Magia Blanca, Súper Astro Jr.
rudos took 1/3
4) Misterioso, Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr. b Diamond, Pegasso, Stigma
rudos took 2/3
5) Atlantis Jr., Flyer, Volador Jr. DQ Mephisto, Shocker, Terrible
tecnicos took 2/3, the last when Shocker fouled Volador.
6) Bárbaro Cavernario b Ángel de Oro
Cavernario took 1/3

Angel de Oro & Barbaro Cavernario talked about their match.

That second fall finish sounds concerningly like the set up to a double apuesta match. Two straight disqualifications usually means they’re going somewhere with it.

CMLL (SUN) 02/09/2020 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Arkalis & Sangre Imperial b Akuma & Cholo
tecnicos took 2/3
2) Amapola, La Comandante, Tiffany b La Guerrera, La Vaquerita, Skadi
rudos took 2/3
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. b Misterioso, Sagrado, Vangellys
tecnicos took 1/3
4) Hechicero b Drone [lightning]
Drone replaced Rey Cometa, still lost to a conjuro.
5) Kráneo, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr. b Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
Rudos took 2/3. Tecnicos beat Ephesto in the third fall, but Mephisto was the captain and surprised Soberano with a roll up.
6) Diamante Azul, Valiente, Volador Jr. DQ Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas, Último Guerrero
tecnicos took 2/3, with a Casas foul on Volador.

Maybe Casas/Volador in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, Hechicero asked for bigger competition.

It wasn’t a great afternoon for Mexisquad in ROH. The Briscoes defeated Bandido & Flamita and Rey Horus lost to Brody King on the Free Enterprise show. That tag match was great, helped by an invested crowd, and is worth tracking down either on Honor Club or whenever it airs on TV.

Ryu/Dragon Lee didn’t far any better in NJPW, but his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match against Hiromu Takahashi was a good addition to their rivalry. It was the same style of match even after Takahashi’s knee injury, including a couple of teases of the same move which injured Takahashi a year and a half ago. (Lee didn’t finish the move; I don’t think he’s actually done the move since that injury and I’d be surprised if he did again.) Lee is under NJPW contract so he’ll be available to work any NJPW tour, but he might be off while they run their heavyweight focused NJPW Cup tour. Dragon Lee’s next known match is on the 22nd for Crash, then on the 28th for ROH.

Bandido is hanging around Mexico wrestling all weekend. He’s in the incredible pairs tournament on Friday, then working a CMLL staffed show in San Luis Potosi on Sunday and now will be on next Sunday’s Arena Naucalpan show. A few weeks later, he’ll be joining Taurus & Puma King in wXw (Germany)’s 16 Carat Gold tournament.

Mascara 2000 promotes a concert for next Sunday. He notes that when he appeared on the Mexico version of The Voice, he got nervous and forgot the lyrics.

DTU announced Hechicero vs Camuflaje for their 02/27 Arena Aficion show.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.j

CMLL (FRI) 02/07/2020 Arena México [+LuchaTV, CMLL, ESTO, Lucha Central, Marca, Ovaciones, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan, TUDN]
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito b Pequeño Nitro & Pierrothito 
9:27. Tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Tsukushi b Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis 
17:27. Tecnicas took 1/3. Debuting Tsukushi beat Dalys with the casita she learned from Negro Casas
3) Atlantis Jr., Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr. b Okumura, Pólvora, Tiger 
15:35. Tecnicos won in straight falls.
4) Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja b Euforia, Gilbert el Boricua, Negro Casas 
15:29. Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Bárbaro Cavernario b Felino 
9:55. Felino took 1/3, the last by DQ when Cavernario was (quickly) disqualified for holding onto the cavernaria too long. Negro Casas fought off Cavernario post match. Felino & Cavernario to a hair match.
6) Carístico, Valiente, Volador Jr. b Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón 
11:51. Tecnicos took 2/3.

CMLL promos: Dalys, Barbaro Cavernario, Felino, NGD, Caristico & Valiente.

Press interviews: Tsukushi, Felino, NGD, and Caristico.

This was not a good show. The crowd didn’t really know what to make of Felino & Cavernario; the angle after made it clearer who they were supposed to be rooting for, but the match could’ve been worked to make it clearer. The hair match is definitely happening but neither the luchadors nor the announcers actually mentioned Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. All the upcoming attention is on the incredible pairs tournament instead, building one thing at a time.

Tsukushi made a first impression mostly about being so much smaller than the CMLL women. The casita plays off Negro Casas leading an Ice Ribbon training session and teaching Tsukushi and others how to properly do the move. No word if Dalys made him sleep on the couch after being beat by it. If Tsukushi is really only around for two weeks, there doesn’t seem to be enough time to do a title match in Mexico. Maybe Japan.

My idea of a CMLL normal match length is “between 12-15 minutes” and not a single match was between 12 and 15 minutes. It was strange.

AAA is live on Twitch tonight at 8 pm CT. The card is vaguely similar to the previous show, with all six person matches. There are only three more shows until Rey de Reyes, including tonight, so angles to more definitively build to matches on that card might be helpful. It also just might be a tournament dominated show anyway and there won’t be much room for other story.

The story of the main event is supposed to be Dr. Wagner Junior’s final match in AAA. Wagner announced he’d be going back to the independents after this match. That may not be happening now; Dr. Landru suggests Wagner won’t be showing up after all. It’s not clear as to what happened.

This is pure speculation on my part, but today also saw a clip of Konnan attacking Psicosis II circulated to lucha libre sites. It’s transparently an angle, but perhaps it’s an angle to set up Psicosis in Wagner’s spot tonight. There is a limited life span on the Psicosis/Konnan beef, maybe there’s a rush to run with it. (This video bit hasn’t gotten spread around nearly as much as the original actual incident, so maybe the beef is already spoiled.) A Psicosis/Konnan on-screen feud doesn’t seem to set up good matches and it sets a precedent that will be problematic later on. It would fit AAA to turn real-life emotions into an angle to get attention. I also may be connecting unconnected things at this point.

The main event has Lucha Brothers teaming with whoever against Faccion Ingobernable. That may be headed to a tag title match, with or without Wagner. Poder del Norte take on Psycho Clown, Murder Clown and a mystery luchador in the semi-main. The surprise is probably Monster Clown reuniting Psycho Circus, and the team getting a win together again. Poder del Norte have their own stretch of victories (8 wins and 1 DQ loss to the Parks since TripleMania) but they’re not in a title picture right now. The trios title challenges instead appear to Los Mercenarios, who face Hijo del Vikingo, Puma King and Rey Horus. That should continue to move along to a title match at Rey de Reyes.

The third match is the only non-trios match, but it’s simply a 2v2v2 tag instead. The Park brothers face Super Fly & Villano III Jr. vs Myzteziz & Octagon. Big Mami and Lady Maravilla again meet in the segunda, with Mr. Iguana, Dinastia, La Hiedra and Parka Negra involved. The opener is scheduled as Drago Kid, Iron Kid, and Laredo Boy against Latigo, Low Rider and Parka Negra, which might be the craziest match on the show.

Lucha Central previews the show.

Psycho Clown mentions a recent AAA photo shoot in his album.

Ryu Lee versus Hiromu Takahashi takes place Sunday in NJPW and streams on NJPW World. The show begins at 1 AM CT. Takahashi & Lee is match 6, so I’d guess it takes place at least two hours into the show.

Ring of Honor has Bandido & Flamita against The Briscoes and Rey Horus vs Brody King at 2 pm. The show airs on their Honor Club service.

Lineups

CMLL (FRI) 02/14/2020 Arena México
1) Eléctrico & Oro Jr. vs Cancerbero & Raziel
2) Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Tsukushi vs Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis
3) Atlantis Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas
4) Carístico & Forastero vs El Bandido & Último Guerrero and Diamante Azul & Gilbert el Boricua and Felino & Niebla Roja and Mephisto & Titán and Flyer & Hechicero and Dulce Gardenia & Okumura and Guerrero Maya Jr. & Universo 2000 Jr.

They’re back to calling this “Torneo Nacional Increible de Parejas” despite the teams not representing any particular area and two people in this block born in another nation. Teams are helpfully ranked in order of their chances of actually winning this thing. Felino & Niebla Roja may have better chance than usual given the recent feud, though this might be a set up for a second match at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.

The second match is a rematch. There’s usually a singles match along with this tournament this week, Dalys/Tsukushi for the CMLL Japan women’s title would fit, but it again didn’t sound like she was staying for that long.