Month: August 2021

Shifting AAA Mega Championship Plans

The Wrestling Observer reported the AAA Mega Championship almost changed hands last Saturday after all. To recap the story so far: Andrade was initially going to win when this match was announced in May, then AEW asked to hold off the title change sometime later and AAA agreed, After WWE released Ric Flair and he decided to appear at TripleMania, Kenny Omega believed it would be a great story for Andrade to win the belt with Flair in his corner and suggested doing the title change. AEW’s Tony Khan agreed and signed off on it but Dorian Roldan decided to stick with the plan of Omega retaining.

There’s another way to boil this down

• in May, AAA wanted Andrade to be champion going into their next big show
• by August, AAA was no longer interested in Andrade being champion on their next big show

It may not solely be an Andrade story – maybe Roldan came around to the idea that it was better for an AAA guy to be the one to dethrone Omega, maybe Roldan already changed plans once and didn’t want to do it again on short notice – but it does feel like it says a lot about his last few months. This was a decision made before the match, so whatever you think of how that went, it was what’s happened or hasn’t happened over the last few months that factored into that decision.

DMT Azul still wants to be a National Heavyweight Championship

Against all odds, we are still talking about the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship. Two overarching points:

• CMLL (Fantasma) stripping DMT Azul of the championship is more attention for the title than it has had at any time in its most recent CMLL run
• Media in Mexico is exclusively focusing on this heavyweight title situation and not at all talking about the AAA story because media in Mexico can’t talk about matches being predetermined. (The only thing being talked about less in Mexico is me streaming TripleMania.)

DMT Azul and his lawyer held a press conference on Monday to refute the points Fantasma made in stripping him of the title. They’re largely the same points I made here previously. There are plenty of people who haven’t defended a title in 90 days (Azul pointing out every champion should’ve been stripped during the pandemic and that pandemic is still going) and he’s still Diamante Azul on his license son changing his name thing doesn’t make sense. One difference is Diamante Azul says he did not defend his heavyweight title in Oaxaca – they used a local title instead. Cibernetico, Mr. Electro. and LA Park all zoomed into the press conference to complain about not being included in the tournament for the vacant heavyweight title, complaining that the commission made it CMLL-only. LA Park also later joked he was there to get a good gossip. This was followed by Mas+Lucha’s usual Monday video show, where they tore apart Fantasma and the lucha libre’s commission for about fifty minutes.

Fuerza Guerrera, Dos Caras, and Canek have all filmed supportive statements for Fantasma’s decision to strip the championship, prompted by the commission. In usual Old Man Luchador form, they really have no idea about the actual issues and end up talking much more about what a big deal it was when they won a national title. Dos Caras talks about winning the National Light Heavyweight title from Dr. Wagner. Dos does not mention he was able to win the title because Wagner quit EMLL while still the champion, came over to Mora/UWA. and defended it there and the commission approving of that essentially codified the system we have today.

The end of this is probably still CMLL keeping the national heavyweight title and Diamante Azul defending another belt. It does seem like Fantasma is concerned about the negative reaction; the commission wouldn’t be nudging his friends to speak out on his behalf if they weren’t worried about something.

CMLL Results/Lineups

CMLL (MON) 08/16/2021 Arena Puebla [El Sol de Puebla]
1) El Malayo & Siky Ozama b Asturiano & King Jaguar
Asturiano replaced King Jaguar.
2) Akuma & Espanto Jr. b Arkalis & Pegasso
3) Reyna Isis & Stephanie Vaquer b La Jarochita & Princesa Sugehit
Vaquer beat Sugehit (replacing Lluvia) setting up a title match for next week, but Vaquer was subsquently reported injured.
4) Stigma, Titán, Valiente b Felino, Hechicero, Perverso
Perverso replaced Felino Jr.
5) Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas DQ Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr.
Gran Guerrero tossed his mask to Volador for the DQ. Euforia & Negro Casas replaced Templario & Ultimo Guerrero

So many subs. Only one of the advertised matches happened as scheduled, which may have changed the plans in both the women’s match and the main event. It didn’t seem like they were headed to Gran Guerrero/Volador last week.

El Sol de Puebla covered the show. CMLL did not. Not sure if it’ll make the newspaper every week but I’ll try to mention when it does. No mention of Stephanie Vaquer’s injury here; they did challenges post-match like normal so it may have not been immediately obvious she was going to miss time.

CMLL (TUE) 08/17/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo]
1) Apocalipsis & Cholo b Leono & Retro 
2) Disturbio, Hijo del Signo, Magnus b Diamond, Oro Jr., Robin 
Rudos took 1/3. Hijo del Signo replaced Nitro.
3) El Audaz, Pegasso, Stigma b Dark Magic, Okumura, Vangellys 
Vangellys suffered a leg injury in the first fall, tecnicos took 2/3.
4) Blue Panther Jr., Cachorro Lagunero, Luciferno b Kráneo, Pólvora, Stuka Jr. [Relevos Increíbles] 
Team Panther took 2/3. Cachorro replaced Dark Panther (moved up) and surprised Stuka with a roll up when he was arguing with Olimpico. Stuka wanted a rematch.
5) Carístico, Dark Panther, Místico b Ángel de Oro, Euforia, Terrible 
Tecnicos took 2/3. Dark Panther replaced Titan.

That’s two shows in a row where CMLL could not deliver the main event they advertised. This one seems to be known in advance. Titan filling in on Friday probably meant he was supposed to be off this show, only CMLL didn’t advertise the change. Likewise, Nitro was advertised for the (canceled) Arena Queretaro show, so he probably wasn’t ever going to work here.

CMLL hasn’t advertised it yet, but they’re back on TicketMaster Live this week. It’s the 100 pesos/$5 USD price point. This will probably not be the most talked-about show on Friday.

CMLL Informa will have Euforia, Audaz, Los Gemelos Diablos, Dark Panther, Dark Silueta and Reina Isis today. They’re each there to talk about a different match for the Aniversario show, which will probably be the pattern for the next few weeks.

CMLL (TUE) 08/17/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring]
1) Cosmo, Raven, Último Ángel b Conde, Destello, Destructor
2) Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno b Avispón Negro Jr., Capitán Cobra, Cuca
Avispon Negro Jr. & Cuca replaced Divina & Magico
3) Joker, Omega, Vaquero b Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental, Minotauro
4) Flash & Gallo b Corsario De Fuego & Guerrero De La Muetre
Fuego en el Ring said the debuting Corsario de Fuego looked bad.
5) Atlantis Jr. & Crixus b Hijo del Villano III & Zandokan Jr.
6) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black © DQ Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel [OCCIDENTE TRIOS]
first defense. Team Cavernario unmasked the tecnicos for the DQ

A DQ in a main event title match is not great. Guadalajara actually streamed this show live (in one two parts.) It’s a little rougher than their normal airings but it’s free lucha libre.

Other Notes

IWRG (THU) 08/19/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Limbo vs Fussion
2) Caballero de Plata, Hellboy, Lunatik Fly vs Hijo De Payaso Purasanta, Manchas, Payaso Purasanta Jr.
3) Black Dragón & Death Metal vs Mafioso & Medico Brujo
4) Aster Boy, Legendario, Toxin vs Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli [super libre]
5) Abismo Negro Jr. vs Hijo del Alebrije [IWRG JUNIORS]

Abismo and Alebrije have been feuding since Alebrije returned from COVID. That feud seemed to be based on Eterno being mean to Alebrije (and everyone) during the IWRG Tryout series, but Eterno is not a Junior, so we’re supposed to know and not know he’s Abismo Negro Jr. at the same time. Don’t overthink it, it’s IWRG.

Big Lucha (SAT) 08/28/2021 Bandido Gym, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Taro & Usumaki vs Destello & Limbo
2) Tirano vs Foreno, Éxtasis
3) Cometa Maya vs El Bendito
4) Flamita vs Gravity
5) Ciclón Ramírez Jr. vs Elemental
6) Skayde vs Mil Almas [bull terrier]
7) Komander vs Emperador Azteca

The second show for the promotion is a bit more scaled-down than the first. These matches seem a bit strange: there was a video of a “random” draw to set it up. Bandido was given an American flag at the end of the video as a teaser for a future show. He appears to be not wrestling in Mexico for the moment to heal but is still fully expected to wrestle this weekend for ROH TripleMania.

There was a strange moment on the TripleMania broadcast after Copa TripleMania, when NGD and Poder del Norte were in a skirmish on the stage after the angle had seemingly ended. AAA cut to it briefly before going on. A fan posted a YouTube posted a clip of them, seemingly before it made it back on screen, where it looks like Cuatrero and Mocho Cota Jr. are fighting for real. I lean towards it being one or both guys trying to keep up appearances as they went backstage and it getting out of control rather than any real issues. It has gotten some attention; a MedioTiempo article wonders if they’ll be punished, and that seems unlikely. They’ll probably be facing off soon:

AAA (FRI) 09/03/2021 Palenque de la Feria, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
1) Aramis & Mr. Iguana vs Dave The Clown & Parka Negra
2) Faby Apache & Lady Maravilla vs Big Mami & Keyra and La Hiedra & Lady Shani
3) Dark Finder & Discovery © vs Gallo Boy Z & Trihan [AAA AGS TAG]
4) Hijo Del Vikingo & Myzteziz vs Puma King & Taurus and Argenis & Látigo
5) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
6) Psycho Clown vs Rey Escorpión

First NGD appearance on a spot show, right to the Poder del Norte matches. That should play out like the OGT/Poder del Norte feud. Note Keyra is back in the segunda, so pencil her in for returning to AAA TV soon.

Laredo Kid & Black Taurus appeared at the Impact tapings from Sunday to Tuesday, which should start airing this week. ImpactAsylum has the full results, which appears to cover about a month of TV and two Impact+ specials. Laredo Kid wrestles three times, first on the pre-Impact “Before the Impact” show (maybe next week.) Taurus appears to wrestle five times, including on this weekend’s “Emergence” Impact+ show. Impact’s next set of tapings is September 17-19th, and the booking suggests Laredo & Taurus will be back around for that one. There’s a chance Laredo’s facing Josh Alexander on the following October 23rd PPV but that’s not at all locked in; it could happen sooner.

SuperLuchas writes about the new book “Amazonas del Cuadrilátero”, with stories of Mexican women’s wrestling. It doesn’t appear like it’ll immediately be available internationally.

Lucha Libre FMV filed a status update on their court case a week ago. Nothing really important to report; they may have sent the suit to Mexico by now.

El Rey has remerged as a subchannel of the The Roku Channel. Deadline has the quotes, you can watch it right here. El Rey is owned in part by the same money people who own Lucha Underground, so it sticks out that Lucha Underground isn’t mentioned among the shows airing in the new format. I can’t find a program guide to be sure it’s not squirreled away at 3 AM or something.

Also, I got this wrong last week: NGD do own their own names. They filed in 2017, just about the time they started winning titles in Mexico City. Those guys are smart or had some smart people advising them. CMLL also filed trademark claims but those have not been approved.

Alberto el Patron explained to Milenio that he and Fernando Robles had a humble plan of just running a one-off show but the demand for it was just so overwhelming that they decided to start a promotion. They had announced a run of shows before that first show was even close to happening, it’s an obvious lie that Milenio is not interested in investigating.

Arez returns to GCW for their 09/17 show in Los Angeles.

Mr. Iguana got interviewed by hometown media Debate.com.mx about his TripleMania victory. His winning strategy was to let everyone fight with their rivals and feed off the fans.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report and this week’s Poster-Mania.

A visit to Mexico City’s Depreador’s food stand.

TripleMania

AAA TV (SAT) 08/14/2021 Arena Ciudad de México, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal [AAA, ESTO, Lucha Central, Mas Lucha, R de Rudo, Voices of Wrestling]
TripleMania XXIX
1) Aracno, Estrella Cosmica, Leyenda Americana b Picadura Letal, Terror Purpura, Venonoide 
12:42. A Marvel Lucha Libre match. El Furioso (Hulk, Murder Clown) made the save. El Engañoso (Loki) taunted the heroes from the video screen.
2) Mr. Iguana b Myzteziz Jr., Carta Brava, Aramis, Tito Santana, Niño Hamburguesa, Drago, Pimpinela Escarlata, Argenis, Mamba, Mocho Cota Jr., Villano III Jr. [Copa Bardahl] 
18:26. Parka Negra, Super Fly, Octagon Jr. all got involved. Mr. Iguana won the Copa. NGD appeared after, attacking Mr. Iguana and then taking out Aramis & Octagon Jr. as they tried to make the save. Poder del Norte faced off with NGD until they were attacked by La Empresa, who gave NGD t-shirts to join their group.
3) Deonna Purrazzo © b Faby Apache © [AAA REINAS, IMPACT KNOCKOUT] 
9:46. Maravilla and Tirantes helped Purrazzo beat Faby with an armbar. Purrazzo is a doubel champion.
4) Fénix & Pentagón Jr. b Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid and Brian Cage & Taurus [AAA TAG] 
14:28. Fenix & Penta beat Vikingo with a two man Fear Factor on Vikingo. Mystery person was Cage.
5) DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis b Chessman, Murder Clown, Pagano 
8:43. Chessman and Pagano fought, costing their team the match.
6) Kenny Omega © b Andrade [AAA HEAVY] 
24:41. Konnan accompanied Omega, Ric Flair appeared with Andrade and helped Andrade during the match. Omega still won using the belt.
7) Psycho Clown b Rey Escorpión [mask, hair] 
23:53. Goya Kong turned on Psycho Clown for no reason (except AAA always does that) but Psycho won seconds later with a tapatia. Escorpion got his hair cut in the ring and both expressed respect for each other.

I survived Saturday. So did AAA. The stream was a complete success though I’m not sure everything else was. I believe there were probably around 5,000 people in the building, but I don’t believe they were able to sell 5,000 tickets. The ticket window claimed a sell out on the day of the show, but there had been plenty still available the night prior and I heard a couple of stories about free tickets being distributed. I’m not sure how much to chalk that up to people not being interested in this card and how much to justifiable fear about going out to wrestling shows during a rising pandemic.

I had Psycho Clown/Rey Escorpion, the tag title match, and Omega/Andrade as the best three matches but they were close enough that I wouldn’t argue with them. Psycho/Escorpion had the most intensity and crowd energy, though it also had the nonsensical Goya Kong turn and a finish that also made the entire build based on one sport irrelevant. (AAA did drop that reverse superplex move on the last TV taping, so maybe it was something they had in mind already.) AAA had probably been setting up the Goya turn from the moment she started appearing on TV, but there’s nowhere interesting to go and it meant no more as a near fall than anything else in that spot. AAA’ philosophy, especially on these big shows, is they need a lot of twists and heel bits to keep fans interested. I’m not sure I believe they’re right, and I know it’s a huge turnoff to the international crowd. Every casual enjoys TripleMania for what it’s for, but I don’t think I had anyone new ask me how they can start watching AAA going forward based off this.

The takes on the Omega/Andrade seem to vary based on expectations. If you saw his previous post-WWE work and were discouraged enough to be concerned Andrade might be a lemon then Andrade having a very good match is a hopeful sign. If you listened to his belief that he could be the best wrestler in the world and saw a bit of that in him before he went to WWE, then having just a very good match with Omega isn’t impressive. It’s a very weird situation for Andrade: everyone going into WWE is likely told the way they’ve done things are wrong, but no one more so than a guy who’s been wrestling CMLL style for all his life. He’s now left WWE and has others trying to tell him the WWE style doesn’t work outside of WWE, and that sort of reprogramming for a second time mas be very tough to wrap your mind around.

The bigger story coming out of it this might be the reversal with the Mega title, as mentioned on the podcast Saturday night. Andrade was scheduled to the AAA title win, AEW asked AAA to hold off on Omega losing, and AAA agreed to the change. That’s not great for AAA’s plans, but AAA plans don’t always appear to be real things. It’s also part of the bargain with putting your belt on someone who might soon be a champion elsewhere. As a fan, I’d rather see Omega as champion than Andrade and I didn’t expect to see either of these guys in AAA for months, so it’s no big deal.

There’s not a whole lot to say about the rest of the card. It was a show with a lot of good to great matches, but nothing came together for an all-timer in the way that they have in years past. The AAA/Empresa match was lighter on weaponry than you’d expect for a TirpleMania Pagano match. The women’s match was a disappointment, a situation where AAA didn’t believe the women could handle getting over themselves and overloaded it with heel spots to cover it up. It’s unclear why they booked a match for a big show they didn’t believe in and it doesn’t give me much faith in how Purrazzo’s reign is going to go forward. The tag team match was great, though most handicapped by AAA’s frantic camera switching. Surprise person Brian Cage doesn’t match the description at all, making me wonder if AAA decided just to bring back Cage to play Terror Purpura after Texano quit and thought it was better to get two bookings out of him rather than another set of plane flights for whoever was originally planned. Copa TripleManias means nothing going forward – I couldn’t remember who won the past ones without looking them up – but it was a nice acknowledgment for what Mr. Iguana has done to this point. The guy came from an outpost of Mexico with no logical path to the major leagues or even indie stardom, worked his way there, and got himself over enough where everyone was pretty happy with that feud. The Marvel Lucha Libre bit had Arcano doing a crazy entrance and worked well enough. It was also the only merchandise AAA brought to the show.

Ric Flair was among the big winners of the night. Photos circulated of Flair backstage before the show even started, but I think most people were still very surprised to see him and the Mexican crowd treated him like a big deal. The Flair chop bit with Andrade & Omega is probably the most viewed moment of the night. NGD’s debut came off as a really big deal, they immediately sold everyone on the Poder del Norte faction, and it greatly improves the La Empresa faction. (Those Empresa guys are also probably fortunate they made their move before the NGD became available.) The Marvel Lucha Libre stuff seems different and weird enough to get over – or at least the international streaming crowd really loved it. There’s a lot of stuff AAA’s doing in 2021 that I think would appeal to a US audience if they could easily see it, but that’s not one I would’ve guessed.

AAA is now booking towards a December show, believed to be TripleMania Regia. I write believed because AAA didn’t even hint that show was coming, much less announce a date in front of their largest audience of the year. There was also no date for next year’s TripleMania XXX.

Psycho Clown did post-show interviews saying he wants to challenge Kenny Omega for the Megachampionship. That’s going to be the situation to watch. Psycho Clown getting the title shot was the plan with Andrade was going to be champion and AAA probably still wants to get to that destination. Omega would prefer to face Vikingo. It’d be cool if they just did both but AAA’s probably only bringing back Omega for TripleMania named shows, so the scheduled title change would have to wait at least a year (assuming nothing else strange happens.) It’s probably a choice between Vikingo or Psycho at TripleMania Regia, and AEW seems to win the arguments. Psycho Clown and Hijo del Vikingo should probably also just have a match, that seems fun. I’m not sure where this leaves Andrade either, who was clearly supposed to work the TripleMania Regio show – maybe he won’t be used at all?

The Crash announced NGD for the 09/11 show that’s hyped as an Azteca Underground taping. I expect they’re part of the project and that project may have played a role in getting them to leave CMLL.

Andrade’s bride-to-be, WWE’s Charlotte, was backstage at TripleMania. Konnan confirmed this in a photo where he amusingly tagged some fake accounts by mistake. Or maybe it was a plan that’ll play out in the weeks and months to come, gotta give it time. Charlotte being in Mexico City meant Charlotte was not in Charlotte, North Carolina, where WWE had a house show the same night. The Wrestling Observer reported she had asked for the time off in advance and WWE just decided to keep promoting her.

I reached over 18K unique viewers at the peak of my stream, and I know there were others restreaming who got over 4K. AAA’s Facebook seemed to go over 42K during points of the show. Didn’t get a TikTok report. Did see the Omega/Andrade match posted on YouTube with a 250K views already. The numbers on Space and AAA should exceed that but we may not ever see those.

I’m thinking of doing a “how I did it” article on this if I can get myself to write it and if I’m sure I won’t cause any more problems doing so. It wasn’t that hard on the day because of work I did prior to it and because AAA’s own Facebook feed worked flawlessly. If I disappear from this earth and AAA has the same situation in December, I have no doubt someone else will be able to do what I did. No one from AAA has reached out to me about streaming the show; I’m not sure if it would be a legally sound thing to do and I hold nothing against about not saying thanks. The stream really wasn’t for AAA anyway, it was for the people who wanted to watch TripleMania, and those people have been very kind with their thanks.

DMT Azul and the National Heavyweight Championship

The Mexico City Lucha Libre commission held another of one of their increasingly common press conferences to explain a thing. This week’s thing was their decision to strip DMT Azul of the National Heavyweight championship. The commission retains control of the national titles (though not the CMLL/NWA/AAA named belts) and so they have to power to vacate the titles. Their reasons:

• DMT Azul had not defended the title in 90 days
• DMT Azul had made an unauthorized title defense previously
• DMT Azul had changed his name from Diamante Azul and so no longer could be champion

Therefore the commission to the belt away from DMT Azul and gave it to CMLL to hold a tournament.

Giving it to CMLL is where this all falls apart because it’s CMLL who is ultimately responsible for all three rule violations. CMLL is the one scheduling title defenses, not DMT Azul. CMLL likely scheduled the unauthorized defense in San Luis Potosi, since his opponent was Ultimo Guerrero. And it’s CMLL who is preventing Diamante Azul from using that name. CMLL’s punishment for those rule violations is to get the thing they wanted, the title for yet another tournament. That’s even putting aside that there are current CMLL national champions who had or currently are breaking one of those three rules and there’s been no action taken on them.

The third rule, the idea that wrestlers can’t remain champion after if they’ve changed names, likely gives CMLL possession of all the national titles going forward. CMLL increasingly owns the names of their top wrestlers, those who leave will likely need to make a name change, and CMLL will be able to present the same argument to vacant the belt.  It’s Mexican wrestling, so it’s always possible that rule changes or gets forgotten and the name change won’t happen to everyone (see NGD). Still, the commission trying to declare it’s power over the belts, gave all the power to CMLL. I don’t know that they realize it.

As I noted when DMT Azul left CMLL and this title first became in doubt, an indie promoter is eventually going to give Azul their belt and he’ll go one with it fine. He may be happier because an indie promotion might schedule more title defenses than CMLL does. The only real item of interest is why the commission took action here to help CMLL and we don’t know the answer to that.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 08/13/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Diario Basta, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
1) Disturbio & Magnus b Eléctrico & Sangre Imperial  
2) El Audaz, Hombre Bala Jr., Magia Blanca b Dark Magic, Okumura, Vangellys  
Tecnicos took 1/3
3) Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas, Terrible b Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther  
Terrible replaced Templario on Tuesday. Rudos took 1/3. Blue Panther did a stage dive.
4) La Jarochita, La Magnifica, La Vaquerita b Amapola, La Seductora, Metálica  
Tecnicas took 2/3
5) Fugaz, Titán, Volador Jr. b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Hechicero  
Announced as NGD, who were replaced by Titan, Volador and Templario after leaving the promotion on Tuesday. Fugaz replaced Templario

Hechicero/Volador is a singles match that hasn’t been done in a real way – they met once in a quick tournament match. They have different philosophies on matches and might bring out something interesting in each other.

It is impressive that Blue Panther did a dive off the stage, also kind of reveals it’s not as dangerous as it might look and it probably needs to be other people getting those moments. It may not really matter at this point.

CMLL (SUN) 08/15/2021 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Último Dragóncito b Pierrothito
2) Arkalis & Retro b Apocalipsis & Inquisidor
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Cachorro, Pegasso, Stigma DQ Akuma, Enfermero Jr., Espanto Jr.
tecnicos took 2/3, the last when Enfermero refused to release his hold on Cachorro
4) Esfinge, Rey Bucanero, Valiente b Luciferno, Panterita del Ring, Panterita del Ring Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Team Valiente took 2/3, the last when Luciferno and the Panteritas had issues.
5) Atlantis, Felino, Místico b Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]

I keep thinking the feud they’re setting up is Mephsito versus Panterita Sr., but Mephisto & Luciferno versus both Panteritas seems like the better idea. Former Ultimo Guerrero tag partner Luciferno getting a payoff would fit with the overarching CMLL story. I just don’t know when they can do it.

Puebla has Caristico, Mistico and Volador Jr. versus Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero and Templario tonight. There was a lot of media attention on the first show back and I haven’t seen much of any for show two.

CMLL Tuesday’s card is more of the same

CMLL (TUE) 08/17/2021 Arena México
1) Leono & Retro vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Diamond, Oro Jr., Robin vs Disturbio, Magnus, Nitro
3) El Audaz, Pegasso, Stigma vs Dark Magic, Okumura, Vangellys
4) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Luciferno vs Kráneo, Pólvora, Stuka Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Carístico, Místico, Titán vs Ángel de Oro, Euforia, Terrible

That’s a show short on rudos.

Tickets are on sale for the 09/17 CMLL show. It’s billed as the Aniversario show, though it’s actually the Felino/Cavernario hair match show. The title match show is 09/24. The prices are in line with Homenaje a Dos Leyendas of years past, a little cheaper though that may be in part because of changes in Ticketmaster fees. They expect people to pay the same prices they would’ve if Felino/Cavernario happened in March 2020. There is no ticket map, which is a little interesting. It’s hard to make an argument of limiting CMLL to 1,500 fans when 25% capacity is closer to 4,000 and TripleMania was allowed 25% capacity. I don’t think it would make a difference for most shows, but even a cold CMLL should be able to sell more than 1,500 for Felino/Cavernario and for the 09/24 Aniversario.

CMLL hasn’t mentioned any streaming plans. We probably won’t know for sure what they’re doing until September, but even the big end of August show isn’t on PPV this month. Doesn’t seem like a good sign.

CMLL (FRI) 08/13/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara]
1) Estrella De Jalisco I & Estrella De Jalisco II b Conde & Persa
2) Explosivo & Fantástico b Adrenalina & Estrella Oriental
money thrown in
3) Dark Silueta & Stephanie Vaquer b Náutica & Princesa Sugehit
4) Gallo & Ráfaga b Flash & Zandokan Jr.
5) Atlantis Jr. & Hijo del Villano III b Crixus & Zandokan Jr.
Both teams had problems and Villano III used the ropes to win. Zandokan Jr. replaced Black Warrior Jr.
6) Carístico & Místico b Bárbaro Cavernario & Mephisto

I was figuring we’d never see these matches, but Guadalajara put up the video like normal. Guadalajara put up two complete shows to Mexico City’s one this week. I wouldn’t have had results without the video.

La Magnifica missed the tercera. Magnifica is booked a lot in matches she doesn’t appear, which may be the reason why her career hasn’t matched her abilities. Warrior Jr. seems dropped from the young guy’s feud for Zandokan going forward.

CMLL (TUE) 08/17/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Cosmo, Raven, Último Ángel vs Conde, Destello, Destructor
2) Capitán Cobra, El Divino, Mágico vs Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
3) Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental, Minotauro vs Joker, Omega, Vaquero
4) Flash & Gallo vs Corsario De Fuego & Guerrero De La Muetre
5) Atlantis Jr. & Crixus vs Hijo del Villano III & Zandokan Jr.
6) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black © vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel [OCCIDENTE TRIOS]
first defense

The Cavernarios brothers teaming up for a title show is a good story, though it’s also a little bit of the nepotism that runs through CMLL. At least this instance is something that might sell some tickets.

Tomorrow’s CMLL-heavy Arena Queretaro show is canceled, due to health restrictions reducing the tickets sold.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 08/15/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
Guerra del Golfo, 2021
1) Amazonika & Legendario b Halcón Mágico & Lady Lee
2) Hijo De Pandemónium & Pandemónium Jr. b Apolo Estrada & Chris Stone Jr.
Pandemoniums made a switch to win
3) Bengalee, Hijo De Dos Caras, Hijo De Picudo, Hijo del Alebrije, Puma de Oro, Tonalli, Toxin, Veneno b Diosa Quetzal, Hijo del Fishman, Jessy Ventura [cage, semifinal]
new rules are wrestlers have to escape in a five minute window or they all advance to the final. Diosa Quetzal, Hijo de Fishman, Jessy Ventura (added to the match) lost.
4) Abismo Negro Jr., Big Chico Che, Canek Jr., Diva Salvaje, Hijo del Espectro, Kariel, Satania b Alex Black, Aster Boy, Diosa Atenea [cage, semifinal]
Alex Black, Aster Boy, and Diosa Atenea all advanced to the next cage match. Diva Salvaje was added to the match.
5) Alex Black L Jessy Ventura, Hijo del Fishman, Diosa Quetzal, Aster Boy, Diosa Atenea [mask, hair]
Jessy Ventura beat Alex Black, who hadn’t wrestled here in 10 months. Black got his head shaved.

Most lucha libre cage matches include someone going to the top of the cage and doing a plancaha into the ring on everyone. This IWRG cage match had Aster Boy do the plancha to the floor.

Las Shotas got added to the show after a pre-show attack by Fishman, so the cage match was decided by someone who wasn’t announced in the match and someone who no one knew who they were when they were announced. It now seems obvious IWRG changed the rules of these cage matches to prevent the crowd from turning on the match. The old rules would’ve meant the final would’ve been only Jessy Ventura versus Alex Black and everyone would’ve immediately known the guy who is never in IWRG was going to lose. This format at least teased something else could happen, though I’m guessing most people figured it out. I just feel dumb for not seeing that from the start. At least I don’t feel dumb for paying for this. I don’t expect to be a big uproar about such a cheap finish to a cage match because no one really expects better from IWRG.

Other News

An amusing story meaning nothing: an Uber driver was taking a passenger into the pedestrian bridge that crosses over from Laredo, USA to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The passenger was having a conversation about lucha libre on his phone, and the driver had a “pleasant chat” with the passenger after he hung up. They got to the bridge and the driver asked the passenger what his name was. It was Alberto del Rio. Alberto then asked the driver if he could loan him the dollar bill he needed for the bridge toll; he only had cards on him and people were waiting on the other side to take him to Mexico City. The driver gave him the bill and got a selfie with Alberto. As a person who hasn’t gone to an ATM since the start of the pandemic and has only had a crinkled five-dollar bill in my wallet for the last month, I think I can actually relate to Alberto here.

Maximo teased he and other members of Robles Patron Promociones were showing up at TripleMania. Since there had been other reports of this happening, it seemed like something that was actually happening and not a comedy bit, and I’m glad for everyone that it didn’t happen.

Ring of Honor’s TV episode with Bandido & Dragon Lee in a ten man main event is now up. Ring of Honor’s podcast has Rey Horus as a guest this week.

Black Label Pro announced Lee Moriarty versus Laredo Kid for their 09/04 (All Out weekend) show in Hoffman Estates.

lucha libre-related matches announced for PWG’s Threemendous VI show on September 26

• Bandido (c) vs Davey Richard for the PWG World Title
• Malakai Black & Brody King vs Demonic Flamita & Black Taurus
• Aramis & Rey Horus vs Dragon Lee & Laredo Kid

Box y Lucha 3485’s top story is the biggest match of the week: Volador Jr. vs Hechicero. NGD jumping is right below, but it does flag up they don’t really cover AAA that much.

Leon based luchador Ultratumba Jr. passed away on Friday, according to his brother Cadaver de Ultratumba.

Segunda Caida watches some Virus.

NGD

NGD posted a message on Sanson’s YouTube channel Wednesday night. It was all positive, thanking CMLL for the support and saying they’re looking forward to new challenges. There was no hint of them going to AAA, no suggestion they might change names. The Lutteroth and Alonso families were thanked by names, the programming, and media departments in general. No specific luchadors were named.

The reality of the situation appears that NGD was leaving CMLL on their own, CMLL discovered it, and CMLL decided to beat them to the punch by announcing they had mutually agreed to part ways. I guess that’s technically true. I am not sure if NGD’s plan originally had them working Arena Mexico on Friday and then showing up on TripleMania on Saturday, but cutting them lose made sure the second half will happen. Battle Campal, which seems to work with the LEGEND group and usually is plugged in on Hidalgo news, was the first to report NGD signed with AAA and will appear on TripleMania. The WON implies the same about them on TripleMania and I’ve been separately told to expect to see them on Saturday. Signing is another matter: AAA limits where people can work in a less restrictive but similar fashion. There’s no sense in signing a contract with AAA if you just leave another company for more freedom. Konnan isn’t directly asked about NGD appearing on his podcast but does say he’d be very interested in working with NGD and Soberano Jr.

The issue is money, as always, and more specifically the money for outside bookings. As reported in the WON, NGD wanted to take bookings on indie shows where AAA talent was also booked, CMLL told them no like they tell everyone else no and NGD eventually decided they’d be better of on their own. CMLL’s policy of restricting where talent could work was viable when CMLL stars were making good money on CMLL’s own shows and there was enough outside booking interest for CMLL only shows to supplement those. CMLL’s own shows aren’t doing well, there’s less CMLL-only booking interest as a result, and those bookings seem to be going a few powerful people.

Outside bookings (not CMLL arenas) for selected wrestlers in 2021

26 Ultimo Guerrero
14 Lluvia
14 Nitro

3 Sanson
1 Cuatrero
1 Forastero

Maybe Ultimo Guerrero and Lluvia simply work harder for bookings than anyone else, though it’s hard to imagine Nitro is included on these shows for any reason beyond his union leadership role. If NGD isn’t making money working CMLL shows, and isn’t getting a lot work outside of them, what’s the reason to stay? The allure of wrestling in Arena Mexico is and has been a big draw to aspiring wrestlers for generations, but not when it’s barely full, the atmosphere is bad and the wrestlers themselves are bored working the shows.

This talent drain is going to continue until CMLL can improve their business. Many CMLL defenders rightfully point out the company has had other low moments in their 88 year history and recovered to great success. That is inarguable, but the missing piece is that improvement happened for a reason, they made changes in hopes of improving, and eventually one of them worked out. It doesn’t feel like CMLL’s accepted they need to make those changes. It’s just going to get worse until they try something.

The next situation to watch is the NJPW deal. September has been the month in years past where NJPW officials come to Mexico City to decide who’ll go to FantasticaMania the following January. There was no FantasticaMania this year and traveling to Japan for foreigners is very difficult. Maybe it’ll get better by January, I hope it does get better, but it’s impossible to tell now and that makes planning these things just as impossible. Those NJPW bookings are big money for many top CMLL wrestlers and losing them for a second straight year may lead to more names checking out. I think we’ll be talking about whatever NGD does on Saturday; the bigger issue is CMLL’s ship is already taking on water and there’s an iceberg in their path.

TripleMania

It’s Saturday! My long VOW preview is up now. The good stuff should be really good.

I’m not going to write all the things I’ve written like eight times about where you can see this again. You should know by now if you read this blog. Just join me on Twitch if you don’t know better by now, or look at AAA’s schedule if you’re in Mexico. Maybe if you’re a weirdo, try watching the last two matches on AAA’s TikTok. Maybe if you’re in southern Texas, you might be able to get on Azteca7 starting around 11, but it’ll probably be on a delay

The show is scheduled to start at 8 pm CT. AAA is not great at schedules! Space says they’ll air their usual documentary preview starting at 7:30 pm, and I’ll have the stream going by then. The idea is to stick with Facebook for the main show so we don’t lose anything to a commercial break, but I’ve had to plan a few different back up plans.

Rob and I may do a post-game Como Estaz on the show after, not guaranteed yet. We’ll see if either of us are in one piece after TripleMania.

I do plan on sticking TripleMania on YouTube later, but it’ll probably be many hours later – it’s going to be a huge file – and I’m sure you’ll be able to find other people who’ll have it up much quicker.

AAA typically has both a pilgrimage/march to a pre-show mass and a press conference on Thursday or Friday to get attention. It’s not a normal year so I didn’t expect a march. That press conference is happening today, though it seems to just the Marvel lucha libre faces and a view at the set-up for Arena Ciudad de Mexico so far. Arcano seemed to be Vikingo. Most of the in-arena footage is of the set, though it looks like part of the idea is to show taped-off seats and other COVID protections; it’s very important for fans to believe this building is a safe place. AAA wrestlers have done a lot of press on Azteca TV networks and tickets remain available. The quotes from the wrestlers in articles the last couple of days have generally been taken from past press conferences.

Kenny Omega is wrestling tonight on AEW Dynamite. I presume he’s flying in to Mexico. AAA missed out on Jeff Jarrett one TripleMania because of plane delays; I hope Omega gets a direct route on Tony Khan’s jet.

On his podcast, Konnan said AAA’s having weekly meetings with Marvel people about Marvel Lucha Libre breaking down all the details. He believes this has helped learn a lot. I’m not sure what they could be talking about most weeks when there are no new Marvel Lucha Libre matches, but it at least means they’re still working together. Konnan also insists AAA is going to start moving on angles and “tie up a lot of loose ends that we started before.” We’re getting the Argenis/Myzteziz match at long last, I believe it. (I’m not sure I believe it.)

Chilango has a profile of Hijo del Vikingo, who was an industrial mechanical engineer student who started failing out after he started getting close to AAA through La Llave de la Gloria. Vikingo says he lost confidence after the match and didn’t believe he was going to get the winner’s contract after their TripleMania; he was the only person watching that show who believed that.

CMLL

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports there was talk “a few years back” about WWE buying CMLL. It does not appear this is an active discussion, though it’s relevant up because everyone’s fairly wondering about the future of CMLL. The WWE hold up was CMLL wanted to sell their buildings along with it, and WWE didn’t want to pay for old buildings. A few years back suggests this was likely when Paco Alonso was alive, prior to the current management. WWE’s philosophies on buying companies elsewhere seemingly has changed (and continues to change), though company officials have talked about establishing something in Mexico as recently this year. WWE buying CMLL at any point would be devastating to the Mexican wrestling scene and likely not work out well for WWE either. (Given how the CMLL lifers pushed out Sofia Alonso, a WWE suit coming would need to clean house to survive – but they’d be left with little knowledge of the market.) The report mentions WWE felt like if they owned CMLL, they had their top talent and could also easily recruit AAA’s top talent.

Not sure where to put this because it crosses multiple sections, but it’s as good here as anywhere. Miguel Reducindo has an article talking about the NGD situation among other stories. He’s critical of Soberano (not mentioned by name), Dragon Lee and Rush among others for benefiting from CMLL politics and only coming out against it when it no longer benefits them.

Miguel also mentions the possibility of Andrade being accompanied by Alberto for his match at TripleMania. I had someone ask if Alberto on this show was a possibility to me earlier this morning and I dismissed it immediately because Alberto’s not going to be worth anything to AAA. Maybe I’m a dummy and AAA booked him anyway – Alberto showing up at no cost just because he’s so desperate to get his name out there might make some ense. I wonder if the AEW people would have issues with Alberto appearing; I’m sure some AEW fans would be angry though I’m not sure if it rises to something AEW would have to address.

Nothing much to say about tonight’s CMLL show that wasn’t said already. Hechicero said this will be his first Friday main event, which seems impossible. They look to have sold more than 1,000 of the 1,500 tickets usually available. That show is going to be more memorable for those who weren’t on the show than anything CMLL seems to be doing. The show doesn’t stream and should go up on YouTube around 08/27.

The CMLL YouTube full show which should go up this week is the Templario/Titan final, except that one went up right away. Not sure if they’ll put up anything at all. Televisa should be airing last week’s show, which would mean the NGD on CMLL TV after they’ve quit. Maybe CMLL will get them to edit it out. Cuatrero & Sanson may appear on the AMX show tonight as well if no one at CMLL’s fixed it.

CMLL (SUN) 08/15/2021 Arena México
1) Último Dragóncito vs Pierrothito
2) Arkalis & Retro vs Apocalipsis & Inquisidor
3) Cachorro, Pegasso, Stigma vs Akuma, Enfermero Jr., Espanto Jr.
4) Luciferno, Panterita del Ring, Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Esfinge, Rey Bucanero, Valiente [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Atlantis, Felino, Místico vs Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]

Apocalipsis & Inqusidor are back around, with three spots opened up. Enfermero is going to get a chance just because they have to give new people chances. The main event is a relevos increibles for more Cavernario/Felino, and it’s not really one because Angel de Oro is actually a rudo and Felino is a tecnico for the moment. (The best thing about the September news is there’s an end date to that.) The semimain is a relevos increibles for no reason.

CMLL (MON) 08/16/2021 Arena Puebla
1) King Jaguar & Millenium vs El Malayo & Siky Ozama
2) Arkalis & Pegasso vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
3) La Jarochita & Lluvia vs Reyna Isis & Stephanie Vaquer
4) Stigma, Titán, Valiente vs Felino, Felino Jr., Hechicero
5) Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero

CMLL seems to be setting up a Women’s Tag Title defense here when they already have one scheduled for the Aniversario show. It’s a dumb thing they’re doing to themselves.

The locals get the opener match back to themselves. Arkalis was added to main CDMX roster, just hasn’t worked all that much, so maybe Puebla bookings will help him.

An article about Hombre Bala Jr.’s character change mentions that he’s one of only three of the “Generacion 2011” class of rookies to still be with CMLL a decade later. The article is incorrect. Signo and Magnus are around. Enrique Vera Jr. didn’t last long, Super Halcon Jr. suffered a career-ending injury, Bobby Zavala got fired, but the “Dragon Lee” in that group is the current CMLL Mistico, not the ex-CMLL Dragon Lee.

Magnus explained his rudo switch as “having nothing to lose”, which seems correct. He couldn’t have any idea how well timed the move would turn out to be, there are more empty spots.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 08/12/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Limbo, Tirano, Vudu Max b Chef Benito, Cyber, Legendario  
2) Bengalee & Lady Lee DQ Amazonika & Satania  
Bengalee was wiped out on a missed dive and the rudas got an excessive violence DQ on Lady Lee.
3) Caballero de Plata, Hellboy, Kenji, Lunatik Fly, Sol, X-Devil b Ambu, Carrillo, Hernan, Manchas, Secreto Negro, Shamu  
Tryout vs WTMB. Order of elimination: Lunatik Fly, Hernan, X-Devil, Carrillo, Ambu, Kenji, Sol, Manchas, Caballero de Plata, Secreto Negro, Shamu, leaving Hellboy as the winner.
4) Aster Boy, Legendario, Toxin b Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli  
scheduled as a five way, Legendario was added to make a trios. Brothers Legendario & Dick Angelo feuded.
5) Abismo Negro Jr., Hijo del Espectro, Hijo del Fishman b Diva Salvaje, Hijo del Alebrije, Jessy Ventura  
sets up Abismo/Alebrije for the IWRG Junior next week.

The viral moment from this show is Bengalee intentionally missing on a tope and going head first into a barricade. That’s not a spot I’d recommend but it has worked out for others. Semi-main was said to be good.

IWRG (SUN) 08/15/2021 Arena Naucalpan
Guerra del Golfo, 2021
1) Halcón Mágico & Lady Lee vs Amazonika & Legendario
2) Apolo Estrada & Chris Stone Jr. vs Hijo De Pandemónium & Pandemónium Jr.
3) Toxin vs Hijo De Dos Caras, Hijo del Fishman, Hijo del Alebrije, Diosa Quetzal, Tonalli, Bengalee, Hijo De Picudo, Puma de Oro [cage, semifinal]
4) Hijo del Espectro vs Satania, Aster Boy, Canek Jr., Diosa Atenea, Kariel, Alex Black, Abismo Negro Jr., Big Chico Che [cage, semifinal]
5) ? vs ?? [mask, hair]

The annual cage match show seems to have slightly different rules. IWRG cage matches traditionally have a rule where everyone has to stay in the cage for ten minutes before they’re allowed to escape, and then the last person left loses. The fine print this time says the first two cage matches will now end in fifteen minutes; luchadors got a five-minute window where they can escape, or they lose. Multiple people can lose from each match and advance to the final. That final cage match will just have one person who loses their mask or hair. I like the idea in theory, it keeps these matches from dragging on forever, but I wish the announcers the best of luck in trying to explain the concept. (I think I’d also tweak the times so the window was larger; like you’d have to wait only seven minutes and get seven minutes to escape.)

IWRG’s apuesta problem is they’ve trained their viewers to expect a disappointing outcome. Adding serial hair match losses Big Chico Che and Veneno, who haven’t otherwise been part of this feud, makes the make less appealing. They may not even be losing – this might be a way to get a mask off one of the women – but no one knows it and no one wants to go home (or close the window) unhappy because they paid to see a big match and ended up seeing Veneno bald once again.

This is a Mas Lucha Premium service, though Mas Lucha Premium appears to just be a $8/month IWRG Big Show service. I guess it’s worth it if you really like IWRG and have to see everything. I’d be thrilled with that over what we’re getting with CMLL and AAA rather than what I’m doing so far, it’s just positioned oddly by calling it a Mas Lucha service. The selling point of Mas Lucha is having promotions from all over the world in one place, the premium service mainly has just one promotion (and older shows from other promotions with no curation.)

Other News

I don’t think I did a great job on the Masked Republic visas story from earlier this week. Masked Republic did a lot of work to get those wrestlers in line for getting work visas. In talking with a person who has more knowledge about this process than me, the wrestlers still have to go through their part of the process, including interviews and background checks. That will take a while to schedule and get done, and they can still get denied if something comes up at this stage. Masked Republic got the wrestlers in position to have the visas, but some officials could still throw a monkey wrench in the process. I thought it was simple as signing some papers and waiting for the final paperwork to arrive and it’s a little bit longer road than that.

Konnan, also on his podcast, said he thought Lucha Underground lead writer Chris DeJoseph would likely be working with him on Aztec Underground. DeJoseph had worked with MLW years ago. He and Konnan didn’t seem to have the greatest relationship, which contributed to Konnan leaving LU, so this is not something I would’ve expected. Konnan spoke about trying to build relationships instead of blowing them up in relationship to working with The Crash again, and maybe this is a bit of the same.

This came up a while back: a press release for Mexico’s soon to arrive TNT Sports mentioned they’d have lucha libre coverage. This updated press release says it’ll be AAA content and implies it’ll be part of exclusive content. At this point, I still think it’s nothing more than some shows on Space get “TNT Sports” branding while still being on the same channel.

AAW added Arez versus Laredo Kid to their 09/02 show. If it’s like the AutoLuchas match, people are going to be blown away. Only standing room tickets are available; recent shows have already aired on FITE.TV

GCW added Juventud Guerrera versus Super Crazy to their 09/04 show. I’m much less excited for that one, though I think the GCW crowd will enjoy it no matter how it goes.

Alberto went after Rush on Twitter, starting a back and forth over a few days. Both are specifically naming the Pepsi Center, so he’ll be added to the August 26 show there. I’m a broken record: tickets aren’t selling for that show. Announcing a straight-up (no Carlito) Rush versus Alberto match might help, but a better plan might to wait to run this angle until after TripleMania. Rush messing around with Alberto means he’s less likely to be on TripleMania.

Chavo Guerrero is off Robles 09/04 show, which was announced after he started with AEW and never made sense for that reason. They’ll announce a replacement tonight and Rush might make sense there as well. Tickets still aren’t on sale for that show.

LuchaWorld has the Lucha Report.

CMLL Informa announced the five title matches that will take place on the 09/24 Aniversario show and the possible participants. I’ve listed them in the order they were announced on the Informa. The order they’ll take place will be based on the total votes. You’re allowed to go to the website one vote per day per IP address.

The titles on the line:

Mexican National Women’s Tag Team Championship, currently held by La Jarochita & Lluvia

Possible challengers:

• Dalys & Stephanie Vaquer
• Dark Silueta & Reyna Isis
• Princesa Sugehit & La Guerrera
• Marcela & Amapola

Mexican National (Men’s) Tag Team Championship, currently held by Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro

• Blue Panther Jr. & Dark Panther
• Akuma & Espanto Jr.
• Fugaz & Esfinge
• Stigma & Pegasso
• Magia Blanca & Halcon Suriano Jr.

CMLL World Tag Team Championship, held by Mistico & Caristico

• Volador Jr. & Titan
• Los Gemelo Diablos
• Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero

The final two titles are vacant titles. The top four candidates will advance to an elimination match in September and the surviving two wrestlers will compete for the title on the Anniversario show.

Mexican National Middleweight Championship, last held by Octagon in AAA. The top four finishers will wrestle on September 10th.

• Angel de Oro
• Templario
• El Audaz
• Felino Jr.
• Enfermero Jr.
• Dragon Rojo Jr.
• Star Jr.
• El Coyote
• Hombre Bala Jr.

Mexican National Heavyweight Championship, last held by Diamante Azul. The top four finishers will wrestle on September 3rd.

• Euforia
• Hechicero
• Barbaro Cavernario
• El Terrible
• Panterita del Ring
• El Valiente
• Atlantis Jr.

Last year’s show has seven title matches, and five is consistent with the cards they’ve run of late. There’s no word how long these polls will be open; it may end as quickly as the end of the month to set lineups for those September shows.

Like every other web poll, this still can be gamed if someone’s sufficiently motivated. I expect there won’t be a lot of difference between the fourth and fifth place finishers in the two vacant title polls, so that seems where someone from the outside could most easily manipulate the result. The problem is CMLL has dummy proofed it by advancing four and deciding themselves who gets in the title match. Templario & Hechicero are the run-away favorites and I think CMLL would be fine with either of those winning, so it doesn’t really matter who else is in the match with them. A dedicated person or team probably could screw with the votes enough to get a final four like Hombre Bala, Enfermero, Coyote, and Audaz where CMLL would have no idea what to do, but that’s a lot of work and I don’t think anyone cares enough.

The national titles are meant to be managed by the Mexico City lucha libre commission, not any promotion. That’s meant those championships usually go with the wrestlers when they leave promotions, the promotion can’t normally just declare them vacant and decide their own champion. It’s a reason why AAA only uses in-house titles, and it’s a big part of the reason Vangellys became a CMLL wrestler – he won/acquired the national light heavyweight championship in the indies, and CMLL brought him on board in exchange for him losing it to Mistico (Caristico.)

DMT Azul should still be the national heavyweight champion by those rules. (Octagon also should be middleweight champion, but also he hasn’t defended the title in fifteen years and it’s possible some deal was struck there.) DMT Azul issued a statement saying he believes himself to still be the champion and wants the commission to put a stop to CMLL taking the title away. CMLL, in their announcement, specifically said they had permission from the commission to declare new champions. The missing piece appears to be the Mexico City commission declaring DMT Azul made an unapproved defense of the heavyweight title, which has been grounds to strip a champion in the past. The problem with that idea is the unapproved defense was against Ultimo Guerrero in a match seemingly booked with CMLL approval months ago, and the commission is taking action on it at a time in a way that only serves to benefit CMLL. This is the commission doing CMLL’s bidding, and we can only speculate why they’d do so.

All those words and yet the most important part is CMLL has too many dumb titles and adding another title is even dumber. They have five titles that haven’t been defended in 500 days; they clearly don’t care about most of the ones they have. I’ve believed the titles are mostly to keep the wrestler happy, which may be needed more than ever with the current payouts. It’s also something that’s worked less and less, given NGD bailing after finally winning the world trios titles. I find it hard to believe CMLL thinks this is all appealing to their fans but they do live in a total different headspace than anyone else.

Each title has a significant favorite so far.

• Hechicero is far and away winning the heavyweight title. Cavernario will likely finish in the top four, and everyone else is close enough that they’ve got a chance. I suspect Sanson was intended to be in this poll; it’s gotta be two of the bigger guys and Cuatrero was a middleweight champion. Atlantis Jr. fighting for a heavyweight title is funny, something the commission would’ve stopped in the past.
• Templario is leading the middleweight title, not as much as Hechicero but enough that he’ll definitely be in. Dragon Rojo is a solid second behind him. Everyone else is close for the final two spots, and it’s telling that hard pushed acts like Angel de Oro & Felino Jr. have less fan support than opening match wrestler Coyote. This would’ve been a logical place for Soberano Jr., who may still be out with injury.
• Volador & Titan are winning the tag team title poll easily, which should be no surprise from the names included. (I presume Forastero & Cuatrero were intended to be the NGD team in this list, and they may have made it more of a race.) It’s possible someone was delusional about the fan support the Gemelos or the Guerreros were going to have. I think it’s more likely this is Guerrero and/or the programming committee taking a low-cost loss they can point to as being team players the next time they booking something favorable to the Guerreros (or the Diablos.) It’s a very US thing for wrestlers to carefully lose the battles that don’t matter – and a pandemic Aniversario show doesn’t truly matter – to build up credibility for later. Maybe it’s a Mexican wrestling thing.
• The Panthers should be the favorites for the tag team titles. They just won a Copa Dinastias (that everyone already forgot happened) and they’re the only challenging team who gets pushed. They don’t always do well in past polls and are currently in second. It’s the Akuma & Espanto Jr. team that’s leading at the moment, likely based on existing social media support for Akuma & Demus’ YouTube channel. It’s possible for other teams to catch up but Ola Negra looks like the Cometa/Espiritu prelim act rising up due to fan poll this year.
• Dalys doesn’t do well in polls but Stephanie Vaquer has a lot of fans and a Chilean wrestling community who are thrilled she’s representing them and will support her. That may be enough to get them the tag title match; it’s got them in the lead so far. Dark Silueta & Reyna Isis have their own fan support and may have the best shot at pushing them out. This is the closest race for first.

The CMLL upcoming “big match” calender

• 08/20: CMLL Universal de Amazonas qualifying cibernetico
• 08/27: CMLL Universal de Amazona final: Dalys versus 08/20 winner
• 09/03: Mexican Heavyweight Championship decider
• 09/10: Mexican Middleweight Championship decider
• 09/17: Barbaro Cavernario versus Felino, hair versus hair
• 09/24: CMLL Aniversario with five title matches

Only the 08/27 show is known to be airing live (and, as far as I’ve seen, only for people who bought it last month so far.) I presume September 17th and September 24th will air live in some way but there are no guarantees with CMLL. Except more titles.

Not a lot more about the NGD situation. Both NGD leaving and Soberano Jr.’s blaming Ultimo Guerrero blew up as news stories covered in sports sections, though without any additional details. CMLL weirdly trended in Japan overnight as people there read the story and connected it to Tsuji not coming to CMLL as signs of a promotion in a trouble. I don’t think CMLL is in any immediate danger, just continuing on a slow painful decline.

CMLL will likely move current wrestlers rather than bring someone in. Friday’s show will be Los Gemelos Diablos first Friday main event and many more to come. The Cancerberos the Ambassadors stand to move up as well. It’s possible CMLL might debut some new people to fill in spots, but it’s more likely the prelim guys you’ve forgotten about will just end up getting more work.

One correction: Forastero is still together with Ultimo Guerrero’s daughter – they’re apparently married. A post attributed to her Facebook (but which I can’t confirm) had her making a comment joking about the situation and vowing to stay on vacation.

CMLL (MON) 08/09/2021 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Diario Cambio, El Sol de Puebla]
Attendance: 672
1) Chamuel & Perico Zacarías b MicroÁtomo & Microman
2) Pegasso & Stigma b Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr.
3) Reyna Isis & Stephanie Vaquer b La Jarochita & Lluvia
4) Euforia, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II b Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Titán
5) Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr. DRAW Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas, Templario
Negro Casas replaced Ultimo Guerrero. Captains Casas & Mistico got pinned at the same time for a draw.

When I wrote these results up on Monday night, my thought was along the lines of “it’s so CMLL to end their big return show with a non-result.” Turned out they had bigger issues!

A good start in Puebla at least. The show was a sellout of available tickets. It didn’t look that way early; maybe it was a slow process to get in because the building looked nearly empty for the first match before filling up. El Sol de Puebla has a lot of photos of the show and the atmosphere outside prior. It doesn’t appear this show was recorded for TV. CMLL did cover the results on Twitter and there was a lot of local media attention surrounding the building re-opening. So much so that that I suspect the actual attendance is a little bit lower than 672 people; media counts as capacity too.

CMLL (TUE) 08/10/2021 Arena México [Box y Lucha, CMLL, De Luchas TV, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores]
1) Cholo & Príncipe Odín Jr. b Bengala & Leono
2) Eléctrico & Oro Jr. DQ Disturbio & Nitro
Tecnicos took 2/3. Diamond, Robin, and Signo were announced, then pulled from the match on Monday, with Electrico in for the tecnicos.
3) Espíritu Negro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa b Pólvora, Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr.
4) Cancerbero, Raziel, Virus © b Fugaz, Star Jr., Stuka Jr. [MEX TRIOS]
2nd defense
5) Carístico, Titán, Volador Jr. b Euforia, Felino Jr., Negro Casas

The trios title match looked like the most notable thing on this show. It turned into guys just wrestling regular matches as a story. Universo 2000 Jr. appeared as normal and doesn’t appear to be following his cousins out of the promotion. Euforia worked in the main event. Soberano’s issues and tease of leaving CMLL don’t necessarily mean his father will do the same, but Soberano’s issues may have to do with how Euforia’s been treated. I have no idea how this is going to shake out.

CMLL (TUE) 08/10/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring, Mas Lucha]
1) Estrella De Jalisco Jr. I & Estrella De Jalisco Jr. II b Ponzoña Jr. & Relámpago Azul
2) Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan, Mr. Samuray b Gran Kenut, Javier Cruz Jr., Thunder Boy
3) Crixus & Flash b Black Warrior Jr. & Zandokan
sets up Warrior versus Crixus
4) Náutica & Silueta b Sexy Sol & Valkiria [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Atlantis Jr., Gallo, Panterita del Ring Jr. b Dark Magic, Hijo del Villano III, Okumura
6) Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel b Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black
maybe sets up a trios title match (but no obvious challenge)

Cavernario and his brothers challenging for the trios titles seems like a fun idea and this building does more fun ideas, so maybe.

Friday’s lineup (take 2)

CMLL (FRI) 08/13/2021 Arena México
1) Eléctrico & Sangre Imperial vs Disturbio & Magnus
2) El Audaz, Hombre Bala Jr., Magia Blanca vs Dark Magic, Okumura, Vangellys
3) Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther vs Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas, Terrible Templario
4) La Jarochita, La Magnifica, La Vaquerita vs Amapola, La Seductora, Metálica
5) Templario, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Hechicero

This is not a streamed show but will turn up on YouTube in two weeks. There wasn’t much to it until NGD got fired; the match is probably better with them but Templario on the tecnico side indicates how last minute it was. La Vaquerita makes her first appearance in front of fans. Hechicero & Euforia have been alternating as the third wheels to the Gemelos, who are getting a rare Friday main event.

There’s also a Guadalajara show on Friday. That doesn’t appear to be a weekly thing, but CMLL got close to their pre-pandemic amount of weekend shows for one week (just missing the Arena Coliseo Saturday date.)

CMLL Informa today will have Hechicero, Raizel, Cancerbero, Metalica, Seductora and El Coyote on the show. Hechicero is there to talk about Friday’s main event, Raziel & Cancerbero are for last night’s trios match, Metalica & Seductora are likely in the CMLL Universal de Amazonas tournament, but Coyote has no hook. That may mean he’s also getting a new gimmick following the two last week. I’m sure the YouTube chat will be asking questions about NGD for the entire show, and I’m skeptical CMLL will want to address the situation. CMLL doesn’t care what their fans think, those guys stopped existing the moment they sent out that press release.

The Gladiatores posted a clip from an interview with CMLL’s new Enfermero Jr., who says he’d like work out an agreement with the northern Mexico Hijo del Enfermero and doesn’t want to see him blocked from using the name. It’s respectful of him to offer such, though it’s also probably more in the CMLL’s hands than his own.

AAA announced TripleMania is still on. The state of Mexico City and the world at the moment is such that this was a very smart announcement to make. They’re planning on running with 25% capacity, which was the stated plan back at the original TripleMania press conference. 25% of Arena Ciudad de Mexico is 5,575 people. Capacity in other locations includes wrestlers, AAA staff, building staff, and other personal, so it’s probably closer to 5,000 fans in the building. It’ll be the smallest TripleMania with fans since 2000, though also the highest attended wrestling show in Mexico City (and maybe Mexico entirely) since the start of the pandemic.

Other Notes

IWRG (THU) 08/12/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Chef Benito & Legendario vs Tirano & Vudu Max
2) Bengalee & Lady Lee vs Amazonika & Satania
3) Caballero de Plata, Harley Williams, Hellboy, Kenji, Lunatik Fly, Sol vs Ambu, Carrilo, Manchas, Pistolero, Secreto Negro, Shango
4) Toxin vs Aster Boy, Tonalli, Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro
5) Diva Salvaje, Hijo del Alebrije, Jessy Ventura vs Abismo Negro Jr., Hijo del Espectro, Hijo del Fishman

It’s Thursday so it must be time for a Naucalpan cibernetico.

Masked Republic announced in Sports Illustrated that they got 49 P3 work visas for Mexican and Japanese wrestlers. (They planned to get 50, but Brazo de Plata passed away.) The visas are primarily for the Expo Lucha, but Masked Republic can enable those wrestlers to work for other promotions. The article mentions Psycho Clown, LA Park, Psicosis, Aerostar, Super Crazy, Arez, Hijo de Octagon, Mr. Iguana, Super Astro Jr., Lady Apache, Mistico, Damian 666, Baronessa, Aeroboy, and Drago along with Japan-based wrestlers Ultimo Dragon, Great Sasuke, and Tajiri. There’s still a final bit of busywork for the visas the luchadors have to take care of themselves, but everything’s been approved.

Mistico being prevented from working in the US like his brothers Dragon Lee & Rush seemed like one of the reasons he stayed in CMLL when they left. That’s changed now. It doesn’t mean Mistico’s leaving CMLL, it just gives him an option. Other CMLL names in the group of 49 not mentioned in that article include Negro Casas, Felino, Felino Jr., Dalys, Caristico, Rey Bucanero, Titan, and Barbaro Cavernario.

Hijo del Vikingo is not on the list. I was told other people were separately working on resolving that situation for him and some others.

LuchaWorld has the latest Poster-Mania.

MLW announced they’ve signed Arez to a deal. This deal was likely done a while ago, it’s just MLW’s media strategy to have a fresh news item every day, and Tuesday happened to be Arez’s day. Feels like it’s notable Arez is getting a visa through Masked Republic and not MLW. The LA Park family is also on that Masked Republic list.

An interview with Pachuca’s Kulikitaka.