no shows in Mexico City until yellow light, Generacion XXI secret show, Zona23

On Mas Lucha’s En+Carados, Mexico City lucha libre commissioner El Fantasma said no shows will be permitted until the capital city reaches a yellow health light. Fans will likely not be permitted to shows until green. That fits with everyone explained recently. Mexico City is currently in orange conditions and those health lights will now be updated publicly on an every two-week basis, which may mean it’ll take longer for any place to reach yellow.

(I’m struck by the irony of Fantasma issuing the message of “no shows until Yellow!” on a platform that’s promoting and helping to produce many shows. But I’m writing about them too)

I think “updated every two week basis” means a new map this week, since there wasn’t one last week. I also think Mexico’s secretary of health is making that part up as he goes. It going to continue to change. Mexico City is still expecting to release their own health update on Friday, but are now breaking down the health color code by neighborhoods. This is not a positive development: while the city is in Orange, they’re moving areas back into Red. Those neighborhoods include Doctores (the home of Arena Mexico), though not Arena Coliseo or Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The entire Mexico City needs to be in yellow on Friday for any hope of it being open to fans on August 22nd for TripleMania. It seems unlikely that’ll happen. It seems likely the rules will continue to be modified, but we’re getting close to a month out and AAA should be announcing a new plan soon. Tickets for TripleMania remain on sale as of this morning.

Mexico’s secretary of health also endorsed the idea of a second surge of coronavirus cases starting in October. That’s hard to comprehend because there’s no sign of the first surge ending at any point. I think the best case of the current situation is shows opening up with fans in August. I think it’s also a real possibility that conditions do not improve by August, do not sufficiently improve in September, are crushed again in October, and there’s no governmental CMLL/AAA type show in front of fans until 2021 (and maybe not even early 2021.) This pause may not be half over. I hope I am wrong, I really do, but people need to prepare as if the current status quo will remain for a much longer time.

Xalapa luchador Pitufo Sr. passed away today. There’s also a report fellow Xalapa luchador Gabriel o Gabriela has passed away from an unfamiliar Twitter account, but I haven’t seen that confirmed elsewhere. Gabriel o Gabriela has been in intensive care for at least a week.

G21 (SAT) 07/18/2020 Irapuato, Guanajuato
1) Abagor vs Gallero
2) Gargajo, Lepra, Moco vs Dark Crazy, Irakundo, Lucifer
3) Black Marvel & Dr. Pólux vs Máquina Infernal I & Máquina Infernal II
4) Último Halcón vs Arlequín Fly, Arkángel
5) Negro García vs Angeluz Fly, Yanzan, Golden King [Copa COVID-19]
6) Ángel Caído, Hijo De Dr. Pólux, Maravilla Strong, Murciélago Plateado vs Fulgor I, Metaleón, Rencor Carbineo, Shere Khan

We haven’t heard much from Generacion XXI since their owner was murdered back in March. I’m not sure who’s running it now; maybe the wrestlers themselves. I’m not even sure where this show is, but that’s the idea. The Facebook post has account information and a Whatsapp number to buy tickets but no location. They’re trying to keep it secret. They don’t want media to get them in trouble, they don’t plan on taping the show to give away who was there and they’re being selective as to who they allow to purchase tickets and find out where they’re going. Fans in Irapuato, Leon, and Queretaro can pay 250 pesos to get on a bus to the mystery location, where they’ll still be required to go through temperature checks and wear masks. Anyway, this is what lucha libre has become in 2020. The only negative Facebook reaction has been “why isn’t there a bus from Celaya too?” (Angeluz Fly stated they’ll run one if they can get 15 people to sign up.)

Lucha Libre Vanguardia “Retos Continuos” July 25?

• Draztick Boy vs Eclipse Jr. (Lanzelot) vs Cobre for the Black Mask Cruiserweight Championship
• Los Fugitivos (Billy & Murdock) w/Dark Biker vs Falcon Fire & Misionero – new

Fugitivos are a new team. The update hints at seven matches for this show but I could just be misreading something.

ZONA 23 (SUN) 08/09/2020 Estado de México
1) Drako vs Lunatik Extreme
2) Terremoto vs Demoledor
3) Corsario Negro Jr. vs Sobredosis
4) Demus vs Impulso
5) Súper Mega vs Lunatik Fly
6) Epitafio & Leviatham vs Amenaza & Venganza
7) Ovett vs ?

I guess this is in the same junkyard as usual, but the poster is quiet on that. This is meant to be a no-fans show, which may require doing it some place unexpected. The poster indicates this will air on iPPV though only in Mexico; maybe it’ll be exclusive to IWTV elsewhere.

The packed Arena Margarita show got a write up in the local paper, though only as far as positively talking about the match results and not the health concerns everyone else had. Aerokid (Rubén Almendárez, 26 years, 12 years a wrestler) lost his mask to Nero, As Negro took Super Nono’s hair. Meanwhile, the same paper notes coronavirus cases in San Luis Potosi are on the rise, with the state in danger of slipping back into the red health conditions.

ESPN.com.mx has an interview with Hechicero, who says that Mexican wrestlers are taught from very early on that only a select few can live on wrestling alone and everyone else must have other ways of making income. He’s saved money and is selling items through social media, but it also seems like he’s supporting himself from another job during this pandemic. Hechicero mentions he came close to retiring in 2016 after suffering a cervical compression, which left him out for 14 weeks, and that emphasized to him the necessity of having some income source beyond wrestling.

CMLL Informa has Caristico, Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Olimpico, Marcela, Ampola and Ultimo Guerrero, so you’ll get some hamburger talk.

Furia de Titanes points out this short video feature on an Arena Mexico usher out of work because of the coronavirus

wXw announced their Catch Gran Prix is pushed back a year to 2021. wXw announced Laredo Kid as participating just before the shutdown.

Fantasma helped more Mexico City luchadors sign up for loans.

The president of Puebla’s young and sports commission proposed taking the money they were going to use to promote lucha libre in the state and splitting it among the 217 licensed luchadors in the city instead. The proposal will be voted on the next finance committee meeting and would give each luchador about 800 pesos.

Pasion Kristal says they’ve switched to being a YouTube influencer during the pandemic.

Jonathan Gresham and Lucha Memes announced a tie-up. Gresham’s current deal is he’s bringing back mat wrestling, and so the idea is Lucha Memes is getting into it. Memes have a history of announcing international promotional deals that don’t seem to go anywhere and it’s hard for anything to happen at the moment. I’m not sure why this was announced now when it’ll need to be reintroduced months from now when anything can happen, but everyone’s bored and hoping for the best.

El Ilegal, better known as Puerto Rico’s Chicano, wrestled under a mask in AAA late in 2010. He says he would’ve had a long term job in AAA only for Nicho Psicosis to go to the office and convince them not to hire Ilegal. This is a teaser of a longer interview coming out next week. Nicho worked with Ilegal in about half of the matches which made air so it’s certainly possible he had feelings about Ilegal’s ability. I don’t recall Ilegal impressing in that short time though.

Blue Demon Jr. says maybe he’ll retire in 2022. Retirement dates more than two years out are not serious.

Misterioso (California version) appears on NJPW’s Lion Break Collision streaming show this Friday.

An interview with Reynosa’s Khan RT. And Chetumal’s Sombra Azul.