AAA (spot) show with fans today
There’s an AAA show with fans today. Psycho Clown & Octagon Jr. face Texano Jr. & Chessman in San Luis Potosi. It’s a local promoter show using AAA talent, not being put on by AAA themselves, but I believe it’s the first all AAA staffed show with fans since start of the pandemic. (There are been shows with AAA main events in recent weeks and this isn’t a show AAA is promoting themselves, so a little splitting here.) Yesterday’s press conference to talk about the show seems like it was more about safety procedures. They’re running the 11,000 seat indoor building at 30% capacity among other measures.
AAA will return to Toluca on July 2nd (Friday) at 9 pm. DigitalMex quotes Dorian Roldan repeatedly about the show; it reads like it’s a TV taping but those words are not specifically stated. They’re running the (outdoor) bullring at 35% capacity.
Andrade versus Santo (sorta)
The Saturday June 12 “Andrade versus Santo” match in Anaheim turns out to be Hijo del Santo, California’s Misterioso and Rey Leon versus Andrade, California’s Piloto Suicida, and (apparently everywhere’s) Samuray VIP. That match is cut down to 2v2 for a Sunday show in Los Angeles. (Mas Lucha seems to think the first show has moved to the second date, but they’re being promoted as two listed as shows at the moment as far as I can tell.)
Tickets are $65 up to $120 for ringside for the Anaheim show. Even at those prices, it’s hard to see how the promotion will make money bringing those guys into a small building. Santo’s expensive, Andrade is super expensive. The (unlisted) promotion is also may be in a small bit of trouble once someone notices that picture of Andrade with the NXT match.
Mucha Lucha Atlanta has also announced Andrade versus Caristico on 07/11, via Andrade’s Twitter.
Andrade’s post-WWE decisions have been underwhelming outside of the Omega match. Andrade versus Santo would be an intriguing match in the right situation; a trios and tag match is just a cash-in. Mucha Lucha Atlanta puts on successful shows so it’s hard to argue with Caristico, though that’s another old friend from CMLL being helped out. The Alberto del Rio match and the Federacion stuff are working shows that should be beneath him also to help out friends, not stuff that’s going to help his value. Andrade’s said to have no 90 day compete and that appears to be true – the Santo matches are before the 90 days would be up – but he really hasn’t used it outside of sitting in a chair and talking. The matches he’s taking aren’t really challenging himself either. The Omega match (if people can see it easily) will reset his value to some extent but he hasn’t taken advantage of the buzz of his departure in any significant way, or faced people outside of the sphere he could’ve faced before WWE.
Einar el Vikingo
The publicity of Einar el Vikingo throwing a small boy to the ground rose to the point the Attorney General of Mexico City addressed it at a regular press conference. Einar is not currently being held since the boy’s injuries were found to be minor (“will heal in two weeks or less”), though the office continues to investigate for charges.
The Mexico City lucha libre commission held a press conference Wednesday to talk about the Einar situation. They said the promoter of the show where the incident took place didn’t have a license to promote and Einar didn’t have a Mexico City license to wrestle. A Mexico State commission also appeared to say Einar wasn’t licensed there. They warned wrestlers and promoters to stop running unlicensed shows and threatened punishment for people who work on them. Einar or people have claimed the young boy’s mother said she forgave him; she appeared to say that definitely wasn’t the case. A big thrust of the press conference was revealing that the boy’s was related to (60s) luchador Raffles; I’m not sure how that made things better, but everyone seemed convinced it did. The family said they’d take him to a lucha libre show again and everyone put as best a face as they could on the decision.
It was a lot of empty talk. The commission held a similar press conference last month about the Coliseo Morelos shows, which got them to stop for about a week before resuming and no one was punished. The commissions saying Einar doesn’t have a license meant their previous statement that they were suspended Einar’s license makes no sense: how could you suspend someone who doesn’t have a license? (I’d guess the Mexico City commission’s primary way of knowing who has a license is a paper list in the office somewhere, no one has immediate access to it, so they just said he was suspended without checking to cover their bases.) The press conference did imply Einar has a license from some state or city but did not say which one. It’s possible he went somewhere else to acquire/purchase a license, but it seems more likely he never had one. It would look bad for the commission if Einar was unlicensed since Einar has definitely worked some shows where a commission should’ve been present and checking to see if wrestler’s are actually licensed.
Unless Einar is charged with a crime, this is probably the end of it for a while. Einar will disappear for a while – maybe months, likely weeks – and resurface on the same small shows he was working before this all happened. People might notice the first time but not much after that.
CMLL Title Defense in Cuernavaca
Ultimo Guerrero successfully defended the CMLL Heavyweight Championship against local wrestler Corcel Maldito in Cuernavaca on Sunday. La Jarochita & Lluvia also defended the Mexican National Women’s Championship against Lady Egipcia and Valkiria (who I believe was a local wrestler and not the person with the same name who’s appeared on CMLL Guadalajara shows.) It came up with Diamante Azul that CMLL generally holds onto their title belts to make sure wrestlers don’t leave the promotion with them. That obviously isn’t the case always if these title defenses can be made. Azul’s Mexican National Heavyweight championship hasn’t appeared since he left CMLL.
CMLL Informa will have Altantis & Atlantis Jr., Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro to preview the Copa Dinastia, plus Euforia & Dragon Rojo Junior. I like Atrapasuenos but there’s a good chance they’re on Informa talking about this tournament longer than the last in the tournament.
The TuriLuchas bus seems to be back running this Friday. The Arena Mexico restaurant surely is going to be among the last things to come back.
Other Notes
IWRG Thursday has Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. versus DMT Azul & Puma King in a super libre match as the main event. Hijo del Espectro defends the IWRG Juniors championship for the first time against Hijo del Fishman. Minis make a rare appearance in IWRG. The Mexico State trios tournament, which has turned up occasionally since April, wraps up the quarterfinals with Bello Ciao mystery masked trio of Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Sinaloa facing a TBA team.
IWRG announced they gave food to the wrestlers on their roster through a program with the Naucalpan government for the third month in a row. I’m not sure if it totally counts as altruism if you post it on Facebook and then include “#altrusim” as a hashtag but the food is nice. Marcos Moreno also traveled with Dragon Bane & Hijo de Canis Lupus to the GALLI & IWRG shows this past weekend and said they’d be working on more interchange of talent in September.
I noted it was surprising to see DMT Azul listed in Copa Federacion; he seemed like he would’ve been in the main event of the promotion’s first show based on the initial teases. Perhaps he thought it was surprising too. For whatever reason, DMT Azul is now off the June 19th show according to the promotion. They say they’ll announce someone of equal value later on in a boilerplate fashion. The idea of picking up work in Federacion Wrestling was one of the reasons DMT Azul was said to leave CMLL in the first place, and there were rumors of him talking with others to come with him. I’d say this raises a red flag on Federacion Wrestling but it’s Federacion Wrestling, they might as well use a red flag as a logo.
Federacion Wrestling also announced that they’ll announce where they’re running, the cost of the tickets, and how to buy those tickets at some indeterminate point in the future. Allowing Rush to announce they’d be selling tickets without having that prepared is another one of those not ready to go moments.
Ring of Honor announced the return of the Survival of the Fittest tournament after a couple of years off. It’s six singles matches where the winners all meet in an elimination match for a world title shot. That typically happens all in one night; this year it will apparently air over weeks of TV shows. Qualifying matches include Flamita versus Rey Horus and Bandido versus Bateman. The matches will start in two weeks, no info yet on when those specific matches will air. I suspect Flamita & Bandido are wrestling on the upcoming July 11th Best in the World show, either as part of the final of Survival of the Fittest or in a stand-alone singles match.
Pagano and the Morena party candidate for Ciudad Juarez president (mayor) announced an alliance. It’s always a bit weird: Pagano in AAA who occasionally makes poor life choices and portrays an unsavory character but, back home in Ciudad Juarez, he’s considered a successful international sportsman and an important person representing the community.
Arena Neza has Dragon Lee versus Bandido vs Emperador Azteca on June 5th.
Bandido’s Gym hosts the owner teaming with Pentagon against Super Nova & Texano Jr. on June 12th. Komander showing up in the undercard suggest he’ll be back around Mexico City that weekend.
Angel o Demonio is now on a ventilator, according to a Facebook post by his family.
DTU announced Crazy Boy’s condition has improved; “he was discharged by his doctor” sounds like he was hospitalized. Their 05/28 show will stream live on Facebook. Crazy Boy was scheduled to headline it, then announced as being replaced though no replacement ever been announced. I wouldn’t put it past him appearing but it would be a poor idea for him to wrestle.
Mas Lucha points out IWRG’s Blue Monster Jr. is now wrestling as El Bendito.
Pagano is supporting the Morena party candidate for president of Ciudad Juarez.
Monclova’s Arena Tigre Padilla was approved to reopen for 250 people, of a 900 capacity.