AAA, through Azteca, announced they’ll have a press conference Monday to announce their plans for the next few months. The article does not list a time for the press conference and AAA hasn’t announced it themselves. TripleMania is scheduled for August 22nd, but it looks like it’ll be impossible to run anything like a normal show in Mexico City a month from now. AAA may choose to push it back a few months or move the event to another location. I think there’s a slim possibility they simply announce there will be nothing along the lines of a normal TripleMania this year; it’s the least likely of all things to be announced tomorrow but might still be the end result. I’ve to no inside information on the decision and I suspect we’ll all find out when it streams on Monday.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter brings up an AAA hope to run TripleMania outdoors in Monterrey in October, essentially rebranding the TripleMania Regia show as this year’s TripleMania. I’ve written about that as a possible solution here. I’m less certain of it being viable now than I was weeks ago; Nuevo Leon was doing better than Mexico City and the surrounding area at first, but medical experts suggested coronavirus was just going to reach that region of Mexico a little bit later. They appear to be correct; they’re running low on available hospital beds at the moment. Hopefully that’ll be better in October, but it’s just as much a question mark as anywhere else.
What we’ve seen elsewhere in the world is the decision of where a wrestling promotion will run isn’t directly correlated to the health situation in that state. The most important factor is the local government giving them AAA (or any other wrestling company) the freedom to do what they want, no matter what the situation may look around them. Nuevo Leon has seemingly permitted Kaoz and Lucha Time to run (empty arena) shows, and perhaps they’d be willing to let AAA go outside as well.
Local promoters long ago announced September 12 (Morelia) and October 10 (Torreon) TV tapings. AAA’s never confirmed those, and maybe we’ll find out if those will actually happen on Monday. It’s possible another round of empty arena studio tapings will take place, and AAA could announce those on Monday.
Mexico State and Ciudad de Mexico will remain in orange when the new health traffic light map comes out tonight. Nuevo Leon will remain in red. No states have reached yellow. The new concept is these color codes will be updated every two weeks, meaning those colors will stay that way until at least July 31st.
DTU streams a pool party wrestling show tonight at 8 pm CT. It’s a five match show with Camuflaje & Stuka Jr. versus Kaleth & Negro Navarro in the main event. They’ve got a ring set up on normal land and a second ring that’s in the middle of the pool, which I believe is for the Crazy Boy match. The show costs 70 pesos (if you haven’t bought in advance.) You can join a WhatsApp group here to sign up; you’ll need a way to send money to a Mexican bank account and a Facebook account to watch the show. The previous DTU show did get posted for free about a month after it took place, I don’t know if that’ll happen again. Camuflaje talked a bit about getting these chances to main event.
I’m not sure if there will be a third DTU iPPV; I suspect they’re going to show-to-show to see if this works. I hope that if they try for a third show, they open it up in a way to allow more international viewers. Whatsapp and sending money to a Mexican bank account are significant barriers, but it seems like getting Mexico promotions (and wrestlers) to sign up for a Paypal or any other cash sharing app seems equally a barrier. Maybe a different solution would be to sell these shows to someone like FITE or Highspots Wrestling Network to stream. DTU (& Mas Lucha) can raise the price for international viewers to accommodate whatever the international streamer is going to need to get paid, but those kind of sites are short on new content. This iteration of DTU doesn’t have many big names but it does have some striking visuals that might grab an audience in the same way some of the recent GCW outdoor shows have done. But this is pie in the sky thinking that probably won’t go anywhere.
Mas Lucha starts their premium channel with the Mas Lucha Torneo Suprema. You can get a month of access for 99 pesos (plus about 10 pesos in fees), though right now this is the only show definitely mentioned as airing in the next month. Mas Lucha stated this show will not go up on YouTube. I think Sexy Dulce is probably going to the final, and I’m guessing Zeuxis come out of the bracket to face her in the final and eventually win. Don’t have a good feel for it.
Lucha Libre Voz had an iPPV scheduled for Sunday but announced it was postponed back on July 4th.
I’m not sure if this week’s Arena Margarita show in San Luis Potosi is streaming. I do suspect they must’ve gotten some push back over the recent shows with a packed building; this week’s poster says facemask are now obligatory and they’ll be enforcing safe distance. This a slightly different promotion – there’s a MARKA who’s been running that building recently and this is a MARCA this week; it’s vastly confusing.
Salvador Lutteroth Lomeli, the older of the two Salvador Lutteroths in control of CMLL now, has been much less visible than Sofia Alonso in the same role. He will be making a public appearance on a panel on lucha libre at the virtual San Diego Comic Con on July 25th at 7 pm CT. Rey Misterio (Sr.) and the director of Tijuana’s Lucha Libre Museum will also appear there. The panel will air on YouTube; it looks like it’s already taped. These panels are typically aimed at people who don’t know much about lucha libre (paradoxically, because those people will watch something else) so I never expect deep insight. Still, Salvador Luterroth Lomeli is running one of the biggest wrestling companies in the world and we haven’t heard what he thinks about wrestling at all in quite a while so even a scrap of insight might be interesting.
Lutteroth Lomeli is again listed as “CEO of Promociones México, Coliseo y Revolución”, and not CEO or President of CMLL itself. There must be significance to distinction. Maybe Sofia got to keep the old title (but none of the power and) so they’ve created something new to put above it on the organizational chart? I have no idea.
CMLL Informa mentioned there were plans for a CMLL Women’s Gran Prix this year. The men’s Gran Prix usually is an 8v8 Mexico versus the World match. There are a few foreign full-time women in CMLL – this would’ve been a new thing for Dalys to win – but it would’ve been interesting to see where they would’ve pulled found new foreigners.
Ultimo Dragoncito, Blue Panther Jr., and Lluvia & Sanely handled CMLL’s virtual media tour. Dragoncito noted the minis had fallen behind the Micros and Women but also said he’d have no interest in moving to the main men’s division because those who have tried have failed to advance past the second match. Blue Panther Jr. complains about people trying to get famous as luchadors on Facebook, very old man speak for a younger wrestler. Lluvia & Sanely talk about how weird it will be to wrestle in empty buildings.
Box y Lucha posted a video interview with retired luchadora Neftali, who was far more open than most wrestlers. Among other interesting stories, Neftali claimed the match she lost the Mexican National Women’s Championship in an unplanned finish. The story goes that CMLL referee Roberto Rangel had told her earlier in the day that she’d be losing the title belt to La Sirenita, and Neftali protested. She had been told by the UWA/LLI it was their belt (so they’d decide when she loses it and who to), and she thought very little of La Sirenita. There was a tense confrontation between Neftali, Sirenita, and some of the male wrestlers on the show, trying to get Neftali to agree to lose but seemingly backing off it for now. Instead, Rangel just fast counted Nefatli to do the title change away, according to Neftali. There are a few other unusual stories in the interview.
Lucha Libre Vanguardia 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
- Alfa vs Mascara de Angel – new
- Simbolo Azteca & Gasparin vs Aster Boy & Amnesia vs Principe Aereo & Resplandor for the BMLL tag team championship – new
It took me until now to understand Vanguardia is doing different movie posters for each match because they’re doing a drive-in show. I’m slow.
Welcome To Mi Barrio announced a 24 man tournament for a newly created singles championship. They don’t know when the tournament will start at this point. I’m very excited they have a bracket. I’m disappointed in myself in that I feel like I follow lucha libre closely and have no idea who half the people are.
definitely know: Mara, Pantera Jr., Adrenlina, Hijo del Payaso Purasanta, Coco Rojo II, Rugido, Manchas, Purasanta Jr., Hijo del Purasanta, Payaso Purasanta, Camuflaje
name is vaguely familiar: Radical, Magneto, Jorge el Salvaje, Rayado, Verzal,
have no idea: Xerjes, Lobo, Carrillo, Charly Boy, Ambu, Criatura Azteca, Fire Boy, Secreto Negro
Some of these guys are probably good, I have no idea. If I knew Lobo I’d tell him “you need a better name then Lobo, there’s like five hundred Lobos.”
Arena Neza & Invasion Indy will have its own streaming event on August 15th (Saturday, 6pm). No matches are announced. I think the idea is you can purchase (via eTicket, credit card payment available) for 79 pesos before getting the lineup, 99 pesos after getting the lineup, or 125 on the day of the show. Add about 15 pesos to each in fees. Despite their being no lineup, you can sort of figure out the (tag) matches that are planned; the four guys in the center are likely facing each other, the four guy on the edge ar the semimain, the women are in a tag. None of the suggest matches look great; figuring out pricing and matches which are going to sell virtual tickets is still a learning process.
Arez has been added to the Jonathan Gresham/Lucha Memes Foundation group.
retired Mexico City area luchador Exorcista I passed away on July 13th, according to his tag partner.
Argentina luchador Enigma passed away on July 14th.
Diario de Xalapa has an obituary for El Pitufo, who took a Smurf gimmick and made a career out of it. There’s no update about Gabriel o Gabriela, which make some think the report of their death was too premature.
Licensed luchadors in Durango will be receiving a similar loan as to those in Mexico City. I didn’t think much of the Mexican wrestling licenses as meaningful items previously. The only time they seemed to come up were situations where luchadors didn’t have them and were wrestling anyway. It’s been the difference between getting assistance and getting nothing during this pandemic.
Octagoncito (not the current AAA one) says he’s desperate to get back to lucha libre.
SuperLuchas looks back Mil Mascaras & Arkangel de la Muerte.
Segunda Caida watches a Demus versus FLy Star match.