CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 09/03/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Furia de Titanes, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, Yahoo! Deportes]
1) Akuma & Espanto Jr. b Sagrado & Universo 2000 Jr. 
Akuma & Espanto Jr. took 2/3.
2) Blue Panther Jr., Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Enfermero Jr., Felino Jr., Pólvora 
Blue Panther Jr. replaced Stuka (moved up) on Friday. Tecnicos took 2/3
3) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Stuka Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Hijo del Villano III, Negro Casas
Tecnicos took 2/3. Stuka Jr. replaced Titan on Friday.
4) Volador Jr. b Místico, Valiente, Star Jr., El Audaz, Guerrero Maya Jr., Último Guerrero, Mephisto, Hechicero, Dragón Rojo Jr., Cancerbero, Gemelo Diablo I [Copa Independencia, semifinal]
Order of elimination: Valiente (by Mephisto), Cancerbero (Hechicero), Audaz (Dragon Rojo), Mephisto (Ultimo Guerrero; Mephisto needed medical help after taking the Guerrero Special), Star Jr. (Gemelo Diablo I), Guerrero Maya Jr. (Volador Jr.), Gemelo Diablo I (Mistico), Mistico (Ultimo Guerrero foul), Hechicero (Ultimo Guerrero finish though Volador covered), and Ultimo Guerrero (Volador). Volador appeared with four mystery people that CMLL called attention towards. Mephisto replaced Templario on Thursday.
Volador appeared with four unidentified masked men on Friday. They looked like the Jabbawockeez, they were not the Jabbawockeez. It originally seemed like just a special entrance until they also joined Volador in his backstage promo and reappeared on Sunday.
CMLL tecnicos, for a decade-plus, have pitched ideas for a tecnico faction in media interviews. Those ideas never go anywhere; the most the tecnico side gets is a reoccurring trio. Volador’s pitch for the idea was a Depredadores Team, and maybe he’s actually getting it. Volador is known to be training guys like Diamond, Magia Blanca, Black Warrior Jr., and Rugido, so they could be those under the masks. It’s also at least possible this is a setup for a rudo turn; CMLL needs a NGD replacement, Volador could use the change and it’d be a return to the old Mistico feud. CMLL didn’t hint at any specific idea, just teased more to happen.
Ultimo Guerrero beating Mistico on Friday via cheating appeared at the time to be the first time Mistico lost since retaking the gimmick. That turns out to be incorrect: Ultimo Guerrero actually pinned Mistico last Monday in Arena Puebla via mask pull. Mistico got over originally for many reasons, including that he almost always won. Current CMLL doesn’t have the patience and will to do the same in 2021 for anyone, Mistico included. It’s no surprise that it was Ultimo Guerrero who got to be the person to beat Mistico; I’d guess the justification is that Ultimo Guerrero is so important that it doesn’t hurt Mistico. The flipside is that if Ultimo Guerrero was so important, maybe these shows would be drawing better. There are signs of CMLL trying to take make small changes, but the big issues remain.
CMLL (SUN) 09/05/2021 Arena México [CMLL, R de Rudo]
1) Mercurio & Pierrothito b Acero & Aéreo
Rudos took 1/3. Acero suffered an injury in the first fall and could not continue the match.
2) Disturbio & Nitro b Retro & Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 2/3.
3) Eléctrico © b Inquisidor [MEX LIGHT]
7th defense, first since December 2019.
4) Felino Jr., Luciferno, Raziel b Blue Panther Jr., Kráneo, Volcano
Tecnicos took 2/3. Felino Jr. replaced Virus (moved up)
5) Stuka Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. b Cavernario, Euforia, Virus
Tecnicos took 2/3. Valiente and Virus replaced Titan and Templario on Friday. Volador was accompanied by the four other mystery people again.
Electrico’s next defense would be in June 2023 at the current pace.
Templario hasn’t wrestled in CMLL since August 9th. No one’s said what’s going on and he’s continued to update his social media as if nothing is happening. I do not believe this is Templario leaving the promotion; I think it’s more likely in 2021 and the obvious thing has happened, but no one wants to say it. Beyond CMLL being quiet for quiet sake, CMLL’s selling Arena Mexico as a safe, healthy place to come visit, so the last thing they’d want to publically admit is a luchador being found not actually to be healthy after the fact. Templario (and Titan, similarly missing) getting listed for this card is probably a good sign – he may be close to returning, they just couldn’t get him cleared for Sunday, but he’s close.
Close is important. The top four finishers in the middleweight tournament are scheduled to have an elimination match, where two will lose and two will move onto the 09/24 national middleweight decider match. Templario, Enfermero Jr., Dragon Rojo Jr. and El Coyote are the top four. Templario has to wrestle Friday or he’s out (and maybe fifth-place finisher Angel de Oro is in.) Templario is the most interesting luchador of the four included and also the most likely winner; that match is much less attractive if Templario can not wrestle. My guess is CMLL won’t say anything about this until Informa on Wednesday, but that’s likely a situation being watched closely inside of CMLL.
CMLL’s made a lot more mid-week changes to cards lately and has announced those lineups increasingly later. The only substation that’s been explained was when Stephanie Vaquer missed the Universal tournament with an injury. The Aniversario shows are different because most of the matches – all on the 09/24 show itself – will be announced ahead of time and it’s harder to quietly change the lineups. That meant a lot of public announcements of medical issues last year.
CMLL (TUE) 09/07/2021 Arena México
1) Kaligua & Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
2) Eléctrico & Robin vs Hijo del Signo & Inquisidor
3) Cachorro, Pegasso, Stigma vs Akuma, Espanto Jr., Felino Jr.
4) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Stuka Jr. vs Hechicero, Luciferno, Mephisto
5) Star Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II
Nothing particularly going on here.
CMLL (TUE) 09/07/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Bello Antuan, Capitán Cobra, Micro vs Jabalí, Relámpago Azul, Rumbero
2) Adrenalina & Estrella Oriental vs Ángel Rebelde & Optimus
3) Furia Roja & Guerrero Del Muerte vs Bestia Negra & Difunto
4) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black vs Halcón Negro Jr., Principe Daniel, Trono
5) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs Gallo & Joker
No one but the Queretaro guys for the city versus city program. The quantity of bookings appears to be an issue for CMLL CDMX wrestlers so that few of them are working in Guadalajara is probably a paint point.
CMLL did not air either part of the Universal de Amazones tournament on TV. They also skipped around a trios title match. My guess is CMLL is not airing the Aniversario shows on TV or YouTube, and they’re holding back matches like the women’s tournament to air in its place. I don’t know this for sure, CMLL hasn’t made this clear, but I wouldn’t take it for granted they’ll turn up for free in the near future.
CMLL posted a video from Okada congratulating CMLL on their Aniversario and saying he’d see them soon. He probably won’t actually be seeing them soon but the thought is nice.
Arena Coliseo Guadalajara wrestlers helped out a children’s vaccination drive.
AAA
AAA’s TV continues to be largely irrelevant, though those involved in the ring seem to be working harder on the set of tapings which started this past week. The actual news from this past week’s TV was the announcement of a couple of matches for the 10/09 Heroes Inmortales show. AAA hasn’t typically been building matches up for their big shows this year, so that was a nice change. The matches announced
- Laredo Kid & Hijo del Vikingo versus Fenix & Pentagon Jr. for the AAA Tag Team Championships
- Psycho Circus vs La Empresa in a cage match
On the AAA show from Aguascalientes on Friday night, NGD said they’d also be fighting Poder del Norte on Heroes Inmoratles. I’m not sure if Deonna Purrazzo will be back in for that show, but those otherwise seem like the most important matches. This show hasn’t officially been announced as airing live on Space but that is what everyone is expecting to happen.
The Vikingo situation is just weird. He’s booked like a promising up-and-comer on TV, but also the guy put in the big matches because they have no problem beating him. Vikingo got beat at TripleMania when Cage (who won’t be back for a while), Laredo and Taurus were other options. Vikingo got beat on TV this week when Pagano, who has no match for Heroes Inmortales at this point, was teaming with him. We know there was another match taped with NGD versus Vikingo, Psycho, and Laredo and I’ve got one guess who’s taking the pinfall in that one too. I’d like to see Vikingo win everything, but I can sort of understand it – Vikingo’s going to make the finishes look good, his time will come later, blah blah blah. Except, they’ve got Kenny Omega doing promos talking about how Vikingo is actually one of the five most amazing wrestlers he’s ever seen and how he wants to face him for the Mega championship. And, crucially, whoever’s facing Omega stands a really good chance of becoming champion since we already know AAA has the go ahead for Omega to take a loss. If you follow AAA via social media posts, Vikingo is the guy and you’re excited to see him face and maybe beat Kenny Omega. If you follow AAA on TV, then Vikingo is definitely the best of the young crop but he’s nowhere near the Omega level and it’s going to be very strange to see him in a title match. I worry a bit about the internet fans being completely excited for that Omega/Vikingo match while the TV audience is baffled, and how they react to Vikingo after. Maybe it’ll be so good that none of this matters, or maybe AAA’s decided that match isn’t happening and is just letting Omega do the promos to keep him happy.
It is possible AAA’s planning to start building Vikingo to that Mega title match by having him win the tag titles. I do wonder a bit if that’s now possible, at least in a straight 2v2 match, after the Lucha Brothers won the AEW Tag Team championships this past weekend. (That was an outstanding match with the Young Bucks, you should go out of your way to see if you like the Lucha Brothers.)
Komander told Mas Lucha he’ll be out five months after injuring his ankle. He looked so good on AAA TV this week. He’ll be on TV a while longer since AAA just completed a month of taping before he got hurt.
That AAA Aguascalientes show aired live on Mas Lucha, but now the show is Mexico-only. I think there’s a clip or two that slipped through on their channel. Even as it was airing, people were asking me “why is that AAA allowed to air worldwide and not other AAA?” and I tried to rationalize it as technically being a local promoter show. In reality, it seems like even people as plugged in as Mas Lucha don’t understand the very confusing AAA/FMV situation.
IWRG
IWRG (SUN) 09/05/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Luch, R de Rudo, Zona Ruda]
1) Rey Halcón Jr. b Noicy Boy
2) Ra-Zhata & Shil-Kha b Aster Boy & Tortuga Leo
Leo betrayed his partners and decided to be an evil Ninja Turtle.
3) Diosa Atenea, Lolita, Satania b Baronessa, Bengalee, Diosa Quetzal
Atenea & Quetzal are still feuding; Atenea was eliminated but interfered to cause Quetzal to lose.
4) As Charro NG, Fuerza Guerrera NG, Súper Nova b Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli
5) Fly Warrior, Medico Brujo, Sick Boy DQ Big Boy, Big Chicoche, Big Mike
6) Toxin © b Jessy Ventura [IWRG MEXICO]
Fifth defense.
7) Gianni Valletta b Hijo del Espectro, Diva Salvaje, Karaoui, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Galeno del Mal, Estrella Divina, Veneno, Mafioso, Villano V Jr., Black Taurus (Indie) [IWRG IC HEAVY, battle royal]
vacant title (Fresero Jr. quit). Veneno was knocked out during the match. Worked as an elimination until the final four (Valletta, Espectro, Taurus and Divina) when it became a ladder match
Veneno needed serious medical attention after being knocked out during the match. He thanked Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Villano V Jr., and the IWRG doctor for their help without giving details. Mas Lucha was streaming the show as a subscriber-only show, and later put up the clip of the injury. Veneno was doing a top rope senton bomb when his head connected with Valletta’s knees. Valletta put up his knees to counter the move, but Veneno didn’t seem like he was expecting that and ending up going headfirst into the knee.
It appeared like a freak thing, not that either man did anything obviously wrong. He was knocked out cold. It took a few seconds for everyone to realize it wasn’t just selling, with Wagner & Villano being alert. Veneno received CPR from the doctor and came back to consciousness, with the entire episode lasting around two minutes. He was taken away on a stretcher but good enough the next morning to post on Facebook. IWRG having a medical person who knew CPR may have saved Veneno’s life.
Other News
The Friday deadline for a list of participants in the Mexican National Heavyweight tournament came and went with no news from the Mexico City commission. Meanwhile, Cibernetico joked about creating a “national independent heavyweight championship”. Mexico probably doesn’t need another belt that no one but the champion will take seriously.
NOAH & DDT’s WrestleUniverse video service announced a new show called “NOAH the Universal”, a show debuting today which appears to be airing matches from Japan and Mexico. The Mexico matches appear to be from Mas Lucha’s free YouTube channel:
- Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal vs DMT Azul & Puma King (a July match from Monterrey)
- Dick Angelo 3G, Fulgor I, Toxin vs Aster Boy, Freelance and Puma de Oro (a March match from IWRG)
These are just the Mas Lucha matches; they’re using the same commentary. I’m sure it’s good for Japanese fans, who probably aren’t going to find these easily on Mas Lucha’s channel. (It’s tough to find anything on Mas Lucha’s channel that’s more than two days old.) If you’re a lucha libre fan, you don’t really need to subscribe to anyone to see these matches.
Hijo del Dr. Wagner has been in NOAH before so it makes sense he’d be featured. The IWRG match is more of a random pick. Note that even though Hijo del Alebrije and Hijo del Espectro were announced as going to NOAH, neither of them are being highlighted or shown. The latest version of that story is they’re going over in January, which remains highly dubious.
On August 18th, Lucha Time posted a message with KAOZ Lucha Libre announced they were both pausing all wrestling shows on the recommendation of the Monterrey secretary of health due to COVID cases flaring up. On September 4th, Lucha Time ran their next show. They held out about two and half weeks. I know lucha libre can be last minute but they had to be actually planning the September 4th show when they announced they were not running shows; they surely knew Valletta was coming in.
Bryan Danielson debuted for AEW this Friday. Danielson’s fascination with lucha libre is well documented, to the point of becoming a meme. One of the reoccurring plot points is Bryan Danielson’s desire to wrestle Blue Panther in Arena Mexico. That remains tricky – it’s unclear if CMLL would use Bryan Danielson because of AAA & AEW’s relationship – but Danielson did say he’s not actively pursuing the idea this year because he’s concerned about the amount of COVID in Mexico.
In non-AEW matches I saw this past weekend
- Arez versus Laredo Kid at AAW was the best of the lucha libre matches I saw on these indies. Arez did less of the mat work he’s done elsewhere but what he did came off pretty well. Laredo Kid’s steady schedule in AAW and strong matches seems to have gotten him over. AAW has a tournament coming up in October and I wonder if he’s going to have a run there.
- Laredo Kid versus Lee Moriarty in Black Label Pro was pretty good, though more of the exhibition feel from a busy indie weekend. It felt more professional the some of the matches around it.
- Drago also had a match on the Black Label Pro show that I forgot happened. It was a weird fourway where anyone else could’ve been in his spot.
- The four-way on GCW was good, though there were moments where it felt apart. Not sure what happened with Juventud Guerrera’s dive – he seemed to check out of the weekend as soon as he wasn’t caught. Super Crazy was also strangely missing. Not sure why.
- The GALLI show didn’t end up streaming but definitely happened.
Laredo Kid’s latest trip to Impact starts airing this Thursday, facing John Skyler on the Behind the Impact show. Impact is no longer airing on Twitch – there’s a paid but inexpensive YouTube live stream – but the Behind the Impact show does appear to go up on Impact’s website for free.
MLW’s “Fusion Alpha” starts airing on YouTube on Wednesday, September 22nd. They’re airing at 6 pm CT, the hour before Dynamite on Wednesday. It’ll also air on beINSports later in the week. I presume this is where the Arez/Aramis match is airing, but it’s hard to tell what’s really going on with MLW. This show isn’t airing on Vice, though MLW promises more news on that at some undefined point in the future. MLW teasing “big news soon” that’s never soon and often not big is the defining feature of the promotion.
Mucha Lucha Supremo tournament, officially now on 10/07 from Arena Naucalpan
- Laredo Kid
- Jessy Ventura
- Bandido
- five more to be announced.
That’s on the premium channel for $8/month. Putting Laredo Kid & Bandido makes it an easy buy for me. Like with the Lucha Brothers, I’m not sure if Bandido can actually lose while being ROH champ, so viewers are either getting three Bandido matches or one really screwy finish.
Mas Lucha has a new episode of their podcast.
Latin Lover announced this past weekend that he tested positive for COVID-19. He says he and his family are doing well.
Oaxaca’s El Monarca (Enrique Díaz Moreno, 79) passed away on Friday. He’s not the Monarca who was active in EMLL in the 80s. This one started wrestling in the 1960s and says he won the 1970 Mr. Mexico bodybuilding contest.
Volador & Daffney are on the cover of this week’s Box y Lucha.