CMLL (TUE) 06/08/2021 Arena México [Box y Lucha, CMLL, De Lucha TV, Kasier Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
Attendance: 500
1) Cholo & Inquisidor b Bengala & Leono 
2) Último Dragóncito b Mercurio [lightning]
Dragoncito won in 9:36
3) Amapola & Lluvia b Reyna Isis & Skadi [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Magia Blanca & Robin b Akuma & Espanto Jr.
5) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Hechicero b Guerrero Maya Jr., Star Jr., Stuka Jr.
Stuka left the match in the third fall temporarily with a leg injury. Hechicero unmasked Stuka after the match
6) Felino, Titán, Valiente DQ Ángel de Oro, Cavernario, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]
Tecnicos took 2/3. Cavernario fouled Felino, then demanded to know when their hair match was happening.
The answer to Cavernario’s question is either September 17th or September 24th if COVID continues to lift.
This show did not stream, though Mas Lucha is posting clips. Matches will likely air on TV, though we’re still probably a couple of weeks away from getting the hang of that.
I believe they sold this show out the day of the show, which is the closest they’ve had to not selling out since the return of fans. They’ll be under capacity on a Tuesday eventually. CMLL shows seemed to have 1,500 fans at best before the pandemic when tourists were present and everyone felt safe going out. It’s tough to draw on a weekday night with a cold promotion and few out-of-towners. (Similarly, I don’t expect many more Tuesdays with five different media outlets reporting on Tuesday shows.)
The only non-tournament luchador mentioned for CMLL Informa today is Fugaz. Perhaps he’ll be in a yet-to-be announced undercard match, or maybe he’s in next week’s block tournament block. That block should be announced today.
Friday’s CMLL show has already sold out. CMLL will stream it via Ticketmaster Live. The price has been slashed to 99 pesos ($5 USD), less than half it was of last week’s nothing show even after fees. CMLL didn’t mention the price at all last week and is repeatedly mentioning it’s only 99 pesos this week. You don’t have to be Colombo (or even Franco Colombo) to realize this mean last Friday’s attempt at PPV bombed. $10 or $12 would be way too much for a tournament. I’m not sure even it’s a good use of $5 when CMLL tournament block shows are frequently bad and CMLL just ran a bad tournament. They’ll probably get a few more buys this time around just because “some” is more than “none” but this is still a hard sell.
I expect CMLL’s will be back up to $12 USD range for the tournament final on June 25th, which means it’ll likely cost $22 to watch this entire tournament. This entire tournament will also likely air on Televisa on – an eight-day delay, but for free. It’s unclear why CMLL is not trying the event group packages they rolled out last year; maybe they were as unsuccessful as last week.
($5 USD is not going to break me – it’s more an ethical bit of wanting not to support something like this.)
If you don’t want to pay for CMLL and just want to see a live show on YouTube for free, you will get that soon. CMLL announced they’ll running special shows on Father’s Day weekend. Friday is the normal streaming show, Sunday is not streaming, but CMLL is also running a special show on Saturday that’ll air on YouTube for all at 6 pm.
That Saturday is an Arena Mexico show; Saturday shows were Arena Coliseo prior to the pandemic. There’s no sign of Arena Coliseo (or Arena Puebla) reopening yet.
This Sunday’s lineup, not streaming:
CMLL (SUN) 06/13/2021 Arena México
1) Sonic vs Yago
2) Eléctrico & Sangre Imperial vs El Coyote & Nitro
3) La Jarochita & Marcela vs Dalys & La Infernal
4) Guerrero Maya Jr. & Magia Blanca vs Pólvora & Vangellys
5) Atlantis, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Hechicero, Negro Casas
6) Carístico, Euforia, Titán vs Dark Panther, Gran Guerrero, Templario [Relevos Increíbles]
Dark Panther appears to be the latest name for Cachorro/The Panther/Black Panther. Good to see him getting a chance in the main event, though this means little if he’s back in his old spot in a few weeks. On the other hand, these cards seem so thin that they can’t really put the Panthers back in the early matches, not when Magia Blanca is making a tercera.
Guadalajara notes
CMLL (TUE) 06/08/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring]
2) Javier Cruz Jr., Joker, Vaquero Jr. b Leo, Omar Brunetti, Príncipe
Cruz/Brunetti continue to feud.
3) Flash, Gallo, Star Black b Bobby Black, Carlo Roggi, Mr. Apolo
4) Principe Daniel b Difunto [lightning]
Said to be 13 minutes (so not actually a 10 minute lightning match?) Daniel restated his challenge for the OCCIDENTE MIDDLE match, which was canceled off the April 13th show due to Difunto injury.
5) El Gallito, Guapito, Microman b Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zakarías
6) Atlantis Jr., Cachorro, Fantástico DQ Espíritu Negro, Hijo del Villano III, Rey Cometa
Villano unmasked Atlantis
There was also a press conference for the Arena Coliseo Guadalajara Anniversary show on June 22nd:
CMLL (TUE) 06/22/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
Arena Coliseo Guadalajara Anniversary show
1) Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental, Minotauro vs Destello, Destructor, Thunder Boy
2) El Divino, Mr. Samuray, Reycko vs Bestia Negra, Demonio Maya, Zandokan Jr.
3) Stephanie Vaquer vs Mystique, Sexy Sol, Náutica, Silueta, Soberbia, Valkiria, La Magnifica [OCCIDENTE WOMEN]
vacant title (last held by Lola Gonzalez)
4) Flash, Gallo, Vaquero Jr. vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
5) Crixus, Fantástico, Star Black vs Difunto, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa
6) Atlantis Jr. & Carístico vs Joker & Mephisto
Joker is not Averno, though they transitioned directly from announcing that match to a strong “we will have surprises on the show, please keep following us on social media for more information” statement. Guadalajara seems to have more autonomy post-pandemic than they did during it; they at least seem to have the ability to bring in some of the same people for multiple weeks. Maybe there’s some tug of war on if they’re allowed to use Avenro.
The story on the women’s title is Lola Gonzalez won in 1979, it was declared vacant after she won the UWA title in 1981 and it has been vacant for forty years. This has probably been the end goal of all the women feuding for a while.
CMLL Guadalajara wrestlers, and some of the CMLL DF guys from this show, were helping with vaccination efforts Wednesday at Auditorio Benito Juarez.
While going through Guadalajara info, I stumbled upon a post in a Facebook group of 1977-1979 Jalisco lucha libre license applications. Less formally, it’s a rare collection of bio data and (unmasked) photos of various luchadors from that time.
Other Notes
Federacion Wrestling revealed a few new details for their show
- ROH’s Briscoe Brothers are in the main event, teaming with PJ Black and Matt Taven
- The women’s match is now Ayako Hamada, Tay Conti & Therius vs Miranda Alize, Reina Dorada, and Zeuxis; Red Velvet is no longer appearing
- Heddi Karaoui in the Copa Federacion; he’s the ninth name announced as far as I can tell
There was no promo or announcement about the Briscoes appearing, they were just suddenly on the poster after the Hijo del Octagon announcement. Same with the women’s match change. Federacion Wrestling also posted a promo with Penta, who talked about appearing on this show while not saying a word about Fenix (or his opponents.)
Thursday’s IWRG show:
IWRG (THU) 06/10/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Kenji vs Güero Tijuana
2) Águila Oriental & Noicy Boy vs Black Shadow II & El Bendito
3) Diosa Quetzal & Miss Delicious vs Lilith Dark & Satania
4) Mini Rey Misterio & Relampagouito vs Blackgoncito & Chico Malo
5) Black Terry, Dr. Cerebro, Karaoui, Veneno vs Aster Boy, Caballero de Plata, Gravity, Tonalli and Black Dragón, Dick Angelo 3G, Legendario, Puma de Oro and Alan Extreme, Dinamic Black, Freelance, Relámpago [Zona de Ejecuccion]
Zona de Ejeccuion rules are one wrestler for each team starts in the ring, and the next person on their team replaces them when they get eliminated. Dinamic Black (remember when he was a thing, remember like 2010?) hasn’t been here or anywhere since late 2019.
The lineup for KAOZ’s 3rd Anniversary show at Monterrey’s baseball stadium:
AAA , KAOZ (SUN) 06/20/2021 Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon
1) Charro Negro © vs Komander, Villano III Jr., Toxin, Dinámico (Indie) [KAOZ JC]
2) Black Widow & Sexy Star vs Lady Flammer & Reina Dorada [KAOZ WOMEN TAG]
3) Cíclope & Miedo Extremo vs Kaientai & Lord Byron and Galactar & Rico Rodríguez
4) Faby Apache, Larry Miranda, Toscano vs Dulce Kanela, Lady Shani, Mr. Iguana
5) El Dragón, Emperador Azteca, Hijo Del Impostor vs Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr.
6) Fresero Jr. vs Konnan Big, Rey Escorpión, Demonio Infernal (IWRG), DMT Azul [KAOZ HEAVY]
they worked through the an unappealing lucha libre card checklist for this one
- no rivalries
- multiple multiman matches
- meaningless title matches (bonus points if they’re also multiperson matches with no setup)
- matches more about squeezing people onto the card than creating matches people want to see.
If they were forced at gunpoint to book thirty-four people in six matches then it’s fine, but it’s also why no one should book that many people into those few matches unless they’re threatened with death. There’s a lot of talented luchadors who are hopefully going to be paid well to have fine (but not great) matches in front of a crowd who’s not into any of it. Why are partners Fresero & Demonio Infernal fighting each for a heavyweight title? Why are people who’ve never teamed fighting for tag team titles? This
Maybe it’ll still draw well, but that’ll be more to people in Monterrey dying to go outside and do something safe, not because KAOZ has put together an interesting set of lucha libre matches. KAOZ is really focused on the business side of lucha libre – setting up their own training center/venue, signing people to “contracts” – but seem completely lost on the lucha libre side of lucha libre if this is their idea of a useful card for a baseball stadium. They’re spending a lot on something they don’t seem to understand much.
Lucha Azteca’s report on Verano de Escandalo (July 3rd date, Shani/Purrazzo) says they believe the show may be in Morelia and Ciudad Madero. Ciudad de Madero and AAA big shows have a history but the actual location seems kind of irrelevant as long as they’re no fan shows. I’m certain AAA could run with fans at this point, but they may be committed to this tourist stop tour for the immediate future. Japan’s having its own issues, so AAA may not be the last major promotion to run a show without fans, though it’s certainly turning out much different than I had expected. When this all started, my guess was AAA would be the group to bend the rules as much as possible to try get those ticket sales, and they’ve instead gone a much safer route.
Alberto’s teased “Nacion Lucha Libre” looks official for 07/31 in Hidalgo, Texas. It’s actually a Robles Promotion show; Robles has been a local McAllen area promotion for years, but seems to have decided to aim for more since returning post-Pandemic. They’re listed as promoter for a show in Chiapas on June 19th, and the 20th, then one in Guatemala on the 27th. Much of the same crew working the Hidalgo show are working a Robles show the next day in Monterrey. They’re also behind some recent Hijo del Santo appearances, including the one where Santo brought out Alberto put him over. I haven’t seen an explanation for what prompted them to make this strategy change.
Today’s dumbest controversy is because Robles Promotions is calling that 07/31 show Takeover and borrowed the design of a past SummerSlam poster. SuperLuchas pointed out Cinta de Oro vague complaining about WWE “boycotting” them (which is possibly a cease and desist because I’m not sure what a boycott would mean) and will be on Lucha Libre Online tonight to talk about it.
Kriminal Lucha Libre announced they’re going to run a women’s version of their Prohibido tournament. It’s will be sixteen women with judges deciding who moves on. They’ll be banned from headscissors, knee strikes, Alas del Infierno and dropkicks in the corner. No date has been announced.
WrestlingInc. retracted their story about Andrade getting creative control in AEW. They do still say Andrade asked for it, but did not receive it in his deal – no wrestler in AEW has creative control, president Tony Khan still has finals say.x
Former Arcano and maybe AAA Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush has said he’s retiring. This is his second retirement in the last couple of years and he’s still got some NJPW dates he’s got to work before he’ll retire. Rush suffered a shoulder injury in his AEW appearance which led to this decision; as with everything else, it might change once he’s not in pain. Hope it works out for him either way.
Jack Evans, in a passionate thread explaining why wrestling now is safer than in Lance Storm’s day, explained “hits” (purposefully hurting someone in a ring to send a message) were things done by Storm’s generation and not by anyone anymore “except in Mexico.”