IWRG returns, Ultimo Guerrero pulled off all indie shows

IWRG (SUN) 08/23/2020 Arena Naucalpan [Lucha Central, Mas Lucha, The Gladiatores]
1) Freelance b Chicanito  
Freelance replaced Neza Kid
2) Puma de Oro b Fly Star 
3) Dragón Bane b Lunatic Xtreme  
4) Hijo de Canis Lupus b Death Metal, Chavin, Capo del Norte, Oficial AK47, Herodes Jr., Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Heddi Karaoui, Alas de Oro, Trauma I, Mike, Lolita, Séptimo Dragón, Ludark Shaitan, Diosa Quetzal [IWRG Rey del Ring, semifinal]   
winner faces Shun Skywalker in final. Names not announced until day of show.

Hijo de Canis Lupus winning was not much of a surprise when Dragon Bane didn’t win the other half of this qualifier. One point IWRG has going for it the last decade or so is they’re always trying to push a new luchadors who came through their training school and Los Golpeadors are that act right now. Canis Lupus is the heavy favorite over Shun Skywalker in the qualifier final (next week?) and a slight favorite over prior champion Demonio Infernal when that match happens.

Mas Lucha’s stream had problems through the night, as they had in the previous Rey del Ring show. The second and third match are missing parts and I think the rumble went the same way. You’re best waiting to see if Mas Lucha posts the full recording lately or checking another channel.

Mas Lucha mentions every luchador was tested for COVID-19. The ringside camera people all appeared to be wearing face shields or gas mask style masks. It probably would better if they were COVID-10 tests too but I’m not the one who has to pay for that. Fans were temperature checked and given sanitizer as they came in the building. A moment of silence was held for all COVID-19 victims after the Maine vent.

Turnout seemed close to the planned 30% but maybe a little less. It’s going to be tough to figure if empty spaces mean unsold tickets or spacing issues.

DTU, Legend, and the Chinampalucha shows individually announced Ultimo Guerrero and other CMLL luchadors were no longer on their upcoming cards on Friday. There’s no statement from CMLL about this, as usual. Ultimo Guerrero has not made a comment.

The changes to each card:

• 08/30 DTU (taped iPPV): the main event is now Dr. Wagner & Shun Skywalker versus Camuflaje & Baby Extreme. No replacement for Baby Xtreme in the six (now five)-way.
• 09/05 Chinampalucha (taped iPPV): most of the card changed, with Zumbido/Ciclonico main event. Looks like only Mosca added.
• 09/12 Legend (Arena Lopez Mateos): the main event is now Mesias & Sharlie Rockstar versus Dr. Wagner Jr. & Joe Lider

The 09/12 Legend show change was the first to come out. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero were to face Joe Lider & Dr. Wagner, so that removal initially looked like CMLL enforcing their rule against their wrestlers appearing in matches with AAA wrestlers. (Dr. Wagner thought he same, and uploaded a video promo insisting he was an independent and no longer an AAA wrestler.) Ultimo Guerrero also had been advertised for an autograph signing on 09/12, though normally a luchador would change the autograph signing date and keep the wrestling booking. The Chinampaluchas & DTU changes soon followed. There are no AAA luchadors on those shows, so we’re left with CMLL pulling Guerrero from every booking for other reasons.

RobViper threw out the best guess I’ve heard on this: maybe CMLL doesn’t want their luchadors on shows without COVID-19 testing now that they’re going to be running again and are seemingly doing their own testing. Lucha libre shows aren’t the only place one can get coronavirus, but it does remove one vector. The issue here is CMLL isn’t running a full schedule, likely will not be running one for some time, and is believed to not be paying the wrestlers when there are no shows. (Luchadors have talked about CMLL advancing their Christmas bonus early in the pandemic, but we haven’t heard about much more.) It’s possible that key top guys like Ultimo Guerrero are still getting something, it’s less likely someone Audaz is being helped out.

CMLL has a video from Miki Motoi explaining how to purchase the show for Japanese fans.

The Mas Luchas subscribe via their own website option for 99 pesos option appears to be back, so I really have no idea why it wasn’t working before. You can also still pay 50 pesos more to subscribe directly via YouTube.

This year’s TripleMania was scheduled for this past Saturday. AAA has not said when TripleMania will not take place. It no longer feels a certainty TripleMania will happen. Chessman versus Pagano in a hair match was one of those announced matches. Chessman did an interview over the weekend still building it up and threatening to retire Pagano immediately. Like CMLL, AAA is going to have trouble affording apuesta matches if they can’t put people in the building.

I didn’t pick up on this before, but the 08/29 AULL Arena Lopez Mateos show is an iPPV. It’ll be 45 pesos before the show, 65 pesos on the day of the show, order through Whatsapp.

Mas Lucha has Miguel Reducindo’s remembrance of Mucha Crema. As always, he has details you don’t get anywhere else. He talks about Crema leaving CMLL in 2006 perhaps being because his asking price went up after appearing on a MTV award show and over some unhappiness about his son Mario Gaytan not being given chances to announce.

Rayo de Jalisco says he was lazy…when the quarantine started, because he figured they’d just be out a month. He got to work in the gym when it became a lot longer. He told this to ESTO in promotion of the 09/06 iPPV match with Canek.

Diario de Queretaro has a bio of long time local team Dragones de Oriente. They reached 35 years in wrestling year and admit they were planning on retiring in 2020. They were hoping to do it with a final big show and suggest they’re more likely to just hang up quietly rather than wait for big shows to be possible again. These two are among those who trained Rey Cometa and it turns out Dragon de Oriente I previously wrestled as Rey Cometo.

Pachuca passed rules for a city-specific lucha libre commission on Friday. This had been in the works since November 2018. The lucha libre community want to represented specifically by a commission focusing on their issues. A five-person board still needs to elected, with the luchadors themselves voting in the election.

Tijuana officials held a meeting on formally splitting lucha libre into its own commission. Boxing, lucha libre, and MMA are currently all under the same management. Like Pachuca, the idea here is luchadors would be better served by having lucha libre people in control. I wonder if this was sparked by the recent commissioner who attempted to ban extreme and intergender wrestling (and shortly after was no longer a commissioner.) This is just at the start of process. Damian 666 and (Super) Rhyno appeared at the meeting.

Dr. Wagner Jr. opened a wrestling school in Torreon with the help of the Coahuila Sports Institute (a state governmental group.) Classes are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights at Arena Campeones.

MicromanFever translates a Munoz video talking about accidents they’ve had.