CMLL weekend results, Bandido banged up, TripleMania/COVID

COVID & TripleMania

Mexico City is back in Red health code according to their federal government and Orange health code according to the city government. Either way, the Mexico City government has stated they will not order any businesses to re-close the doors even if they do get to red. It’s presented as a need to keep the economy going again, with some medical logic behind it. COVID cases in Mexico are near the recorded highs set back in December, but the deaths are much lower (thanks to the vaccinations so far), hospitalization is slowing down and there’s disagreement about how the health color code system should way those different variables.

I’m not a doctor, knowing what Mexico City should do here is way out of my league. I have expressed opinions about what CMLL should do around their big show, but that’s when they had known infections on the roster. AAA isn’t dealing with an outbreak, so I guess they should keep going if they can keep everyone safe.

Mexico City seems OK with TripleMania (and other lucha libre shows) happening under current guidelines. The Mexico City government gave the OK to an electric industry conference this week which will have 15,000 people on hand, so they’re not going to stand in front of big gatherings as long as they respect the current health rules. It would take someone else – the local arena government, the federal government, AAA, the building management – to stop the show at this point. Those things almost never happen, we’re just in a space where things that almost never happen are happening more often. There’s no way to be completely sure TripleMania is happening until it happens but, as it stands Monday afternoon, I expect it will happen as scheduled.

SuperBoletos ticket map shows a lot of the upper-level sections still with tickets available. I haven’t gone through trying to purchase them, but those are usually among the first to fill up and a lot of the sections look almost entirely unsold. Maybe they’re not actually on sale due to capacity restrictions.

A Twitter user posted a chat with a Superboletos customer support agent via Facebook, who said TripleMania will likely be postponed. I would not take that as fact; Superboletos are going to be the last people informed if something happens and the customer service agent is likely guessing off news reports and don’t have any actual information from AAA. They’ll know like an hour after everyone else knows.

The big TripleMania news is TikTok has been added to the ways to watch TripleMania. Can you regionblock TikTok?

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 08/06/2021 Arena México [CMLL, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito b Pequeño Violencia & Pierrothito 
2) Akuma, Enfermero Jr., Espanto Jr. b Audaz, Pegasso, Stigma 
Rudos took 2/3. Debut of the newest Enfermero Jr. (ex-Yago)
3) Atlantis Jr., Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr. b Felino Jr., Pólvora, Rey Bucanero 
Tecnicos took 1/3
4) La Guerrera, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi DQ Dalys, Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer 
Skadi replaced Marcela earlier in the day, but suffered an elbow injury in the first fall. The match seems to have fallen apart at that point, with a DQ in the third fall to get out of it.
5) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero 
NGD took 1/3

The first showcase match for the CMLL women ended with a hurried DQ because of an injury. Could’ve been better. Nothing here feels worth $5 so it was probably good none of us could pay for it.

CMLL (SUN) 08/08/2021 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Angelito & Fantasy b Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico
2) Disturbio, Inquisidor, Magnus b Eléctrico, Hombre Bala Jr., Oro Jr.
rudos took 1/3
3) Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa, Vangellys b Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Luciferno [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Amapola, La Seductora, Reyna Isis b La Jarochita, La Magnifica, Princesa Sugehit
Princesa Sugehit replaced Skadi (injured on Friday). Rudas took 2/3.
5) Carístico, Panterita del Ring, Titán DQ Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Mephisto
tecnicos took 1/3, the last when Mephisto unmasked Panterita again

Just a show. CMLL’s show tonight in Arena Puebla is not much different,

CMLL (MON) 08/09/2021 Arena Puebla [Diario Cambio]
1) MicroÁtomo & Microman vs Chamuel & Perico Zacarías
2) Pegasso & Stigma vs Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr.
3) La Jarochita & Lluvia vs Reyna Isis & Stephanie Vaquer
4) Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Titán vs Euforia, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II
5) Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero

It is a bit more notable because it’s the first show there since March 2020. CMLL hasn’t announced plans to stream these shows. I’m guessing we might get results the first night with people covering the return but these might disappear into a void after that. Puebla’s never had the coverage as Guadalajara, or at least they haven’t in many years.

Tuesday’s lineup:

CMLL (TUE) 08/10/2021 Arena México
1) Bengala & Leono vs Cholo & Príncipe Odín Jr.
2) Diamond, Oro Jr., Robin vs Disturbio, Hijo del Signo, Nitro
3) Espíritu Negro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa vs Pólvora, Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr.
4) Cancerbero, Raziel, Virus © vs Fugaz, Star Jr., Stuka Jr. [MEX TRIOS]
2nd defense
5) Carístico, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Felino, Negro Casas

The Trios title match was set up last week and might be pretty good with that combination of tecnicos. (Tuesday matches still aren’t airing anywhere we have access to.)

CMLL (TUE) 08/10/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella De Jalisco Jr. I & Estrella De Jalisco Jr. II vs Ponzoña Jr. & Relámpago Azul
2) Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan, Tigre Blanco vs Gran Kenut, Javier Cruz Jr., Thunder Boy
3) Crixus & Flash vs Black Warrior Jr. & Zandokan
4) Sexy Sol & Valkiria vs Náutica & Silueta [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Atlantis Jr., Gallo, Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Dark Magic, Hijo del Villano III, Okumura
6) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel

Cavernario is back for a second week teaming up with his brothers, this time against the local trios champs. That sounds like he’ll be back for a third week.

NJPW’s Yota Tsuji will be debuting for UK’s RevPro promotion on 09/04 and will be there for the foreseeable future. Tsuji talked frequently about how he’d like to spend his excursion in Mexico. Perhaps he’ll end up there eventually – NJPW trainees frequently make multiple stops – but NJPW directing him away from CMLL to start says more about their current relationship than a press release.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 08/08/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Baby Star Jr. & Black Shadow II b Sol & Spider Fly 
2) Bengalee & Kariel b Amazonika & Satania 
3) Fulgor, Peligro, Rey Halcón b Black Shadow II, Eragón, Noicy Boy, Legendario 
Black Shadow II, working twice, replaced Dinamic Black.
4) Dick Angelo 3G, Hijo del Fishman, Hijo Del Picudo b Estrella Divina, King Charro, Mexica  
5) Tonalli b Asterboy, Puma de Oro, Arvak  
6) Hijo del Espectro & Toxin b Aramis & Myzteziz Jr.  

Not a good show. A lot of the post match interviews centered on how tough it is to perform with few fans. The lineup didn’t connect and it is a week prior to a big show might have hurt, but it also seems like the increasingly poor COVID conditions are making drawing fans to these shows harder. It’s not that people won’t go out but it’s going to take a lot to get them to go.

IWRG teased the debut of an unknown person, who turns out to be Malta’s Gianni Valletta. He wrestled for AJPW in 2019 and the reviews were unkind.

The announced Bandido/Vikingo match Friday night in Arena Neza ended up being Dave the Clown/Vikingo. Bandido appeared and explained he was banged up following his match with Taurus. He was going to get further checking done on Saturday but the preliminary indication is he just needs to rest a bit. He’s expected to be fine for the Ring of Honor shows on 08/20 and 08/21. IWRG explained this is why he ended up off their show.

Vikingo seems to be battling an ankle injury, which could also explain why he ended up not being in IWRG either. Bandido at least has a well-paying ROH job if he misses indie bookings. Vikingo has an AAA deal and Vikingo keeps working. (The Vikingo/Laredo/Psycho vs Escorpion/Taurus/Abismo match from this past week’s AAA TV is well worth watching.)

Other News

WWE released another baker’s dozen of wrestlers on Friday night, the latest in eighteen months of cuts. No Mexico-based wrestlers or lucha libre wrestlers were included. Jake Atlas, who is Mexican, is the name of the bunch that’s come up a few times in this blog. Atlas also seems like the most to get a call from Konnan about working on one of his many projects; he’d be coming to AAA for sure if conditions were normal and still might show up. There’s no reason to believe these monthly cuts will end any time soon; WWE seems to want a much-reduced head count.

These latest WWE cuts reportedly are part of a philosophical change in their NXT development center, with a refocus on younger and taller wrestlers. That does seem like something that’ll affect lucha libre going forward; it’s bad news for most Mexican wrestlers who’d like to pursue a WWE career. Luchadors on WWE’s radar prior like Dragon Bane don’t fit the height requirement. Ricky Marvin was always more likely to go as a trainer, but WWE’s new outlook may not be interested in the style he teaches. There will always be exceptions for special talent but the road to get there is much harder. And the road to get anywhere else big in the US also became difficult: if WWE is sending out a dozen wrestlers every month with some name value, it’s increasingly more difficult for a Mexican wrestler unknown outside of lucha libre circles to get a spot in non-WWE promotions as well.

Mexico animation studio Anima Estudios says they’re developing a show based on the “El Santos” comic book. No outlet or release date is mentioned. This is El Santos with an ‘s’ – the lead character is described as “a brash, uncouth, over-the-top luchador who is in love with a sex addict and fearless female luchador.” That lead character is an obvious El Santo parody and this seems like the thing Hijo del Santo likes to file lawsuits about. The studio previously produced a film version of the character in 2012 and the comic book has been around longer, which also could mean this was legally settled a while ago.

The Lucha Brothers face the Sydal Brothers tonight on AEW Elevation. ROH’s TV show with Bandido & Rey Horus vs Brody King & Chris Dickinson is up on their website now. Rey Horus versus Silas Young has been added to their 08/20 live event.

Gimnasio Benito Juarez in Cuautitlan is shut down after a July 31st Lucha Libre Boom show was held in violation of local COVID protocols. The city had banned public events on July 23rd, the show went on as scheduled with no distancing, so the building is closed by city order and the owners will be fined. The rules for these events vary greatly from city to city.

Kriminal Lucha Libre announce their 08/21 Prohibido Feminil tournament will have some adjusted rules learning from the men’s tournament earlier this year: all matches will last ten minutes, judges (not the finish) will determine who goes to the next round, and the judges will also have the option to advance both or eliminate both.

Retired luchadora Irma Aguilar announced both herself and her mother (Irma Gonzalez) were battling COVID-19. Lola Gonzalez is raising money on their behalf.

Cibernetico was critical about Jose Contreras naming himself head of the reborn national wrestler’s union; he doesn’t have an issue with the person, but the idea someone could just declare themselves leader of the luchadors without getting a vote of other luchadors.

The lucha libre commission in Tijuana has officially been split off from the boxing & MMA one.

Nacion Lucha Libre continues to promise/threaten a return soon.

Lucha Libre Vanguardia says they’re not yet running their standalone shows but will participate in the 10/03 Lucha Indy Fest show in Ecatepec.

Barbaro Cavernario & Felino are among those on the cover of Box y Lucha 3484.