CMLL (FRI) 10/23/2020 Arena México [CMLL, Mas Lucha , Ovaciones, PubliMetro, thecubsfan]
1) Espanto Jr. b Oro Jr. 
10:16. Espanto took 1/3.
2) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa b Ephesto & Okumura
16:02. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Princesa Sugehit b Marcela © [CMLL WOMEN]
21:14. Sugehit takes 1/3 to win the championship, becoming the 20th Champion. Marcela falls on her 7th defense.
4) Euforia & Terrible b Stuka Jr., Atlantis Jr., Rey Bucanero, Valiente, Soberano Jr., Templario, Diamante Azul, Mephisto [Rey del Inframundo, semifinal]
Battle royal (2:54) set sides as Rey Bucanero, Soberano Jr., Diamante Azul, Euforia, Mephisto vs Valiente, Stuka Jr., Atlantis Jr., Templario, Terrible. Eliminations: Atlantis Jr. (via Mephisto, 9:09), Rey Bucanero (Valiente, 10:31), Mephisto (Templario, 14:20), Stuka (Diamante Azul, 15:45), Valiente (16:42, Euforia), Soberano (17:35, Templario), Diamante Azul (18:39, Terrible), Templario (19:39, Euforia), leaving Terrible and Euforia as the final two.
5) Carístico & Místico © b Titán & Volador Jr. [CMLL TAG]
28:35. 3rd defense. Champions took 2/3. The last was stopped for about a minute when Volador suffered a nose injury after colliding into the middle rope on a top rope headscissors. Misticos won immediately after the restart. Mistico & Caristico offered Volador another shot after he recovers.
The main event was maybe slightly behind last week’s title match, but the Misticos using double La Mistica spot to win the second fall helpfully created more suspense in the third fall*. They seemed to be going a bit longer until the injury, which came off like a free thing, and those last few minutes had been the strongest of the match. CMLL handled the situation ideally from a medical situation – they stopped the match, they had the doctor check on Volador, the doctor gave the OK for them to go on, and they immediately went to the finish – but it of course meant the match was flat from an aesthetic standpoint. Mistico & Caristico generally were less patterned than last week, but Caristico didn’t want anything to do with the double dive spots. He twice pulled up from a dive, took a few steps, and then did again long after Mistico had already landed his. It was off-putting. Monthly Caristico & Mistico tag team title defenses are logically sound business ideas – pandemic or no pandemic – but they haven’t hit on a great match together yet.
(* – The Mistico’s psychology – which is the same for most CMLL acts – is they’re absolutely going to do try their finish once. There’s no chance an opponent can win until we see a La Mistica attempted, so using it to win the second fall opens up a lot more possibilities. It is also a specific advantage of the two-of-three falls system.)
The cibernetico was messy a lot, especially early on. It cleaned up as the match went on, but normally sound guys like Templario & Euforia were having off moments. Euforia & Terrible as a fine caught people off guard; it’s not really a match that would naturally excite people into checking out next week’s show. My best guess is this is a process of building Euforia up for Ultimo Guerrero by having him defeat another heavyweight first.
Marcela has a distinguished CMLL career; she’s possibly the most successful woman in promotional history. She is four and zero in apuesta matches in Arena Mexico and she’s had five world title reigns. This one which just ended should be her last. Marcela’s still better than most in CMLL, but only because the bar keeps sliding. Sugehit & Marcela had a technically sound match that was slow-paced and in the shadow of previous Marcela performances. This was Marcela’s best performance since the restart, but it still looked like time had passed her by. This would’ve been an ideal time to pass the torch to a young star ready for a big win. CMLL does not have any luchadoras ready for that spot. The win was instead used as a lifetime achievement award for Princesa Sugehit, which is certainly deserving of that recognition but is also not a long term solution. This is CMLL, where title wins seem to be used to keep wrestlers happy rather than more direct business reasons, so it’s likely this title will end up with the even older Dalys or back to Marcela in 2021. Still, the impression I was left by this title change was Marcela’s time is clearly done but it won’t be because CMLL has no alternatives.
The clock struck midnight on Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro and they’re back to pumpkins. They didn’t have a lot great to work with, but Espiritu Negro struggled. Oro Jr. and Espanto Jr. could’ve been worse but is nothing to think about. The tag title match is an easy Good, and it’d be generous to rate anything else that high
CMLL billed this as week one of a two week Dia de Muertos show. That was an overstatement at best, an outright lie at worst. The demon Amotlamini appeared to preside over the Rey del Inframundo cibernetico, but there was no set dressing nor any other sign of it being a Dia de Muertos show.
I’m going to have to write this in every update for a week because I keep forgetting: Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday morning in Mexico. It ends a week later in the US. This matters a lot less than usual with a lot less streams going on, but either you’re moving your clock tomorrow or everything is an hour later. CMLL’s Dia de Muertos show will start at 9:30 pm CT.
AAA told the media they’ll have information on TripleMania XXVII Monday. I read that as a press conference, but it could just as easily be a press release. Early on during the pandemic, I and others had a thought that maybe AAA wouldn’t be able to run Arena Ciudad de Mexico but could convert the December TripleMania Regia into TripleMania XXVII. It’d be an outdoor show, and it’d hopefully be a lot better in December. It’s only October, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be a lot better in December: cases are on the way up in Mexico, including in Monterrey. I suggest being prepared for anything on Monday. AAA could cross their fingers and try to run a reduced attendance show anyway, or the announcement could be “TripleMania XXVII is now taking place in 2020.” It’s going to be a big risk to run a TripleMania. We’ll find out Monday if the economic need to do so outweighs that risk.
NJPW will announce their Best of Super Juniors field during their 11/02. That’s early Monday; I’d guess around 4:30 CST in the US. The tournament doesn’t start until 11/15 but all the foreign wrestlers would have to be in the two-week quarantine already by that point. I do not know if this year’s field will include Mexican wrestlers (beyond DOUKI.) Bandido, Dragon Lee and Titan would be the three names to watch under normal circumstances. If we are to believe CMLL, Bandido can be ruled out – facing Volador on the first Friday of November would make it impossible for him to get into Japan in time. Titan would be great but Titan being in this tournament feels more like wishing than reality. Dragon Lee would absolutely be wrestling in BOSJ normally, but his social media has read like someone hoping to get back to wrestle and not someone who knows he has matches coming up soon. Be prepared for no one to get their name called.
One thing I didn’t consider previously: if Dragon Lee does end up in NJPW’s BOSJ, his Ring of Honor contract (said to expire in early December) will likely end before he’s able to work another taping as TV champion.
Chinamapaluchas shows will now have fans in attendance – on boats. They’ll be on traditional Mexican boats (trajineras) around the island with the ring. They ran a demonstration show on Friday with Fantasma in attendance to get his approval. They’ll run shows on 10/30, 10/31, and 11/01 with four matches each. The tickets will take cost 200 pesos. This seems like a weird enough idea that it might work in normal times too.
LA Park & Rush are cutting promos on each other for the fourth time in the pandemic. It’s good fun and would be meaningful in a time where wrestler promotions could run shows with full buildings. It’s just keeping their names out there for two guys who haven’t wrestled in months. I would suggest drawing no connection between this and the TripleMania news; the mask/hair match is not happening this year. Those two have a lot of input on what they do, but AAA’s going to want to do the breakup on screen, not just on social media before they even have a match.
This weekend’s show
- Arena Neza has a Principe Aereo tribute show. This was originally six matches, it’s now eight matches, but there are far more people listed and there were people advertised who aren’t listed. Also, I understand everyone wanting to add their grain of sand, but I’m not sure wrestling for two minutes in a ten-man tag is doing much for Principe Aereo’s memory. This appears to be a Whatsapp payment/Facebook Private Group PPV. It’ll likely also show up on video sites later who will be keeping that ad revenue for themselves.
- Lucha Libre Vanguardia has a Sunday afternoon (2 pm local, remember DST) outdoor picnic show. This is a Whatsapp payment/Facebook Private Group PPV
- IWRG has Demonio Infernal versus Dragon Bane in a title match.
Segunda Caida goes on a lucha libre YouTube deep dive.
Lineups
Lucha Memes , 1200 (SUN) 11/01/2020 Coliseo Coacalco, Coacalco, Estado de México
1) Blaze vs Coco Rojo II
2) Samuray Jr. vs Perro de Guerra
3) Látigo vs Garrobo
4) Iron Kid vs Freelance
5) Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako vs Oficial 911 & Oficial AK47
6) Aeroboy vs Avisman
7) Aramis vs Calibus, Toxin
8) Arez vs Black Terry
Lucha Memes , 1515 (SUN) 11/01/2020 Coliseo Coacalco, Coacalco, Estado de México
1) Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako vs Látigo & Tromba
2) Belial & Impulso vs Astrolux & Black Metal
3) Toxin vs Joe Lider
4) Alas de Acero, Aramis, Iron Kid vs Canival, Mike, Teelo
5) Arez vs Aeroboy
6) Súper Mega vs Ricky Marvin
7) Perro De Guerra Jr. vs King Gato
This is the Super Fifi Indy show, spread out over two shows. The idea is each show will get done in 2h30m, with a 45-minute break in between. The bigger idea is that reduced capacity means fewer ticket sales, so they’re making up for it with two shows a day instead of one. The reality seems like a lot of people sitting near each other for five hours and that seems less than ideal. Cutting two or three matches on each of these shows might have been a better idea.
There is some good stuff just lost in all the stuff. Avisman usually is good on these shows and Aeroboy is an interesting opponent. Canival, Mike and Teelo are really good against the young MexaBoys and will face a bit more experienced flying trio. It’s overall just a lot of people facing a lot of other people, in slightly different combinations than the less show. It must be tough to get any narrative going in the odd structure of pandemic shows, but there’s no stimulating factor to LuchaMemes matches beyond “maybe someday Arez will beat Ricky Marvin.” It’s the CMLL vibe, which isn’t working well for CMLL right now.