CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 03/25/2022 Arena México [AS, CMLL, Cronistas del Ring, Mas Lucha, R de Rudo, Record, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Angelito & Shockercito DQ Mercurio & Pierrothito 
13:02. Pierrothito unmasked Angelito
2) Magnus, Pólvora, Sangre Imperial b Nitro, Okumura, Panterita del Ring Jr. [Relevos Increíbles] 
15:51. Magnus replaced Felino Jr.
3) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Skadi b Dalys, La Metálica, Reyna Isis 
11:24.
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
16:14. Terrible pinned Euforia and challenged him to a MEX HEAVY match (which will happen) and then a 2v3 apuesta match (which will not)
5) Místico, Negro Casas, Titán b Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Templario
18:33. Casas’ return to the tecnico side.
None of the matches on this show were especially good, but they were generally professional and worked hard. The women’s match was the weakest one; Vaquerita just struggled as a protogantst. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja were getting more female cheers than they had in a while. Their team worked as tecnicos. Mistico was very popular in the main event.
This Friday night show drew surprisingly well. I’m bad at guessing, but maybe 7,500? There’s been a few CMLL shows that have drawn well lately; CMLL’s Saturday Arena Coliseo also did well. I’m not sure how much credit I’d give to the current product. Homenaje a Dos Leyendas last week didn’t seem to do anything special. Mexico giving the green light to resume activities probably has encouraged people to go out more in general and that’s surely played a role.
CMLL (SAT) 03/26/2022 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, Mas Lucha]
1) Fantasy & Pequeño Magía b Minos & Pequeño Polvora
tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Volcano DQ Kráneo
Kraneo fouled Volcano
3) Diamond, Espíritu Negro, Magia Blanca, Rey Cometa b Akuma, Cachorro, Dark Panther, Esfinge, Espanto Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr., Magnus, Pegasso, Robin, Rugido, Stigma [Arena Coliseo TAG, battle royal]
4) Pegasso & Stigma b Magnus & Rugido [Arena Coliseo TAG, quarterfinal]
5) Hombre Bala Jr. & Robin b Cachorro & Dark Panther [Arena Coliseo TAG, quarterfinal]
6) Esfinge & Guerrero Maya Jr. b Akuma & Espanto Jr. [Arena Coliseo TAG, quarterfinal]
7) Diamond & Magia Blanca b Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa [Arena Coliseo TAG, quarterfinal]
8) Hombre Bala Jr. & Robin b Pegasso & Stigma [Arena Coliseo TAG, semifinal]
9) Akuma & Espanto Jr. b Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa [Arena Coliseo TAG, semifinal]
10) Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., El Coyote b Fugaz, Soberano Jr., Star Jr. 
Rudos took 1/3. Dragon Rojo beat Soberano to set up a CMLL MIDDLE match next week
Akuma & Espanto Jr. were one of the favorites for the final, but Hombre Bala & Robin are a surprising pick over either of Los Depredadores. Volcano/Kraneo seems to go on to a separate match.
CMLL (SUN) 03/27/2022 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Full Metal & Pierrothito b Acero & Aéreo
2) Cholo, Grako, Inquisidor b El Valiente Jr., Eléctrico, Leono
Rudos took 1/3
3) La Guerrera, La Magnifica, Princesa Sugehit b Amapola, La Seductora, Tiffany
tecnicos took 1/3
4) Dulce Gardenia, El Audaz, Flyer DQ Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
Tecnicos took 1/3. Cancerbero unmasked Flyer’s for the DQ.
5) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado b Blue Panther, Panterita del Ring, Volador Jr.
Malditos took 2/3
Nothing much here.
Puebla today has Los Depreadores vs Soberano, Esfinge and Fugaz.
CMLL (TUE) 03/29/2022 Arena México
1) Micro Ángel, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Chamuel, Mije, Perico Zakarías
2) Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
3) La Jarochita & Lluvia © vs Dalys & Dark Silueta [MEX WOMEN TAG]
7th defense (5th in CMLL)
4) Stuka Jr. vs Gran Guerrero
5) Hechicero, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Fugaz, Niebla Roja [Relevos Increíbles]
Just a random use of Hechicero but it could be a good match. Stuka/Gran Guerrero might give us some info on Atlantis Jr, perhaps more in the post-match promos than the match. A title change in the women’s match would be a surprise but CMLL’s shown a willingness to do surprise title changes lately. The second match is a rematch, and there’s a lot happening here for a Tuesday show.
CMLL (TUE) 03/29/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella de Jalisco I, Estrella de Jalisco II, Obelisk vs Persa, Raven, Temerario
2) Sexy Sol vs Valkiria [lightning]
3) Crixus, Estrella Oriental, Explosivo vs Bestia Negra, Difunto, Javier Cruz Jr.
4) Adrenalina, Fantástico, Star Black vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
5) Flash & Gallo vs Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno
6) Atlantis, Negro Casas, Titán vs Averno, Maléfico, Satánico
Semimain resumes the tag feud derailed by Flash’s injury.
AAA
AAA TV (SAT) 03/26/2022 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California [TJ Sports, Zona Ruda]
1) Venenoide b Araña Voladora
Terror Purpura helped Venonide, El Furioso helped Voladora
2) Kamikaze, Ryan Kidd, Skalibur b Arkángel Divino, Rayo Star, Último Maldito
Rayo Star replaced Destiny (sticking with The Crash?) Genio del Aire & Dinamico helped Kamikaze and Skalibur attack the TJ crew after the match, with Fantastik making the save. Ryan Kidd got left behind and beat up by the TJ guys.
3) Flammer, La Hiedra, Maravilla b Faby Apache, Lady Lee, Lady Shani
4) Sammy Guevara & Tay Conti b Dinámico & Sexy Star and Black Danger & Viva Van
5) El Dragón (Chihuahua), Jack Cartwheel, Pagano b Bestia 666, Genio del Aire, Mecha Wolf
Vikingo appeared but did not wrestle due to injury. Dragon replaced him.
6) Danny Rivera, Flip Gordon, Willie Mack b Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Villano III Jr.
Danny Rivera (Limelight) replaced Rich Swann.
7) DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis b Laredo Kid, Psycho Clown, Rey Xolo
Microman and Estrellita were with La Empresa, with Microman not happy about it. Adonis beat Psycho Clown with a Tirantes fast count involved. Best guess at Rey Xolo is Extreme Tiger based on the photos, but not confirmed.
This taping in Tijuana appeared to be a sell out. All the outsider acts defeated the AAA teams, which is to be expected. Not much in the way of storylines, which was the expectation with this guest heavy roster. The fourth match was said to be the best.
Vikingo wrestled last weekend in Saltillo. He’s listed on shows Monday in Leon, then headlining Saturday and Sunday in Jalisco and in Mexico State the weekend after. He’d miss all of those if he’s resting for three weeks. The irony of wondering if Vikingo would/could wrestle on AAA’s show WrestleCon weekend is it may have not have been a good idea for health reasons. A very similar thing happened with AAA’s show in New York three years ago, where Vikingo didn’t receive a visa but was out injured around the same time anyway.
AAA’s show on Space on Saturday was a repeat. It seemed like an oversight that AAA never promoted which matches were airing, but instead it was AAA trying to keep it quiet they weren’t airing a new episode. No reason was given. Content didn’t seem like an issue – they’ve got both the Merida show and the Showcenter event taped to air. The episode was literally the same episode that aired two weeks ago, not something repackaged, so maybe there was some production issue.
AAA’s next taping is Thursday in Dallas as part of WrestleCon weekend.
The first Showcenter event will go up on YouTube Friday night. This is a good example of AAA being in a bubble from the rest of the world, seemingly unaware of about a half dozen other shows streaming live that night, including a show headlined by Psycho Clown himself. any Mexican fans won’t care – maybe they’ll even just flip over from Space’s YouTube airing of Rampage to AAA if they start close enough together – but it seems like a better thing to air Wednesday when you’re trying to hardsell people on buying the Thursday PPV. Edit: The date of the Showcenter upload has been changed to Wednesday. Oh well. That makes more sense. Flamita/Vikingo was Excellent, and there’s good stuff to be found on the rest of the show. It’s three weeks old, you don’t have to watch it right away.
IWRG
IWRG (SAT) 03/26/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Rosel & X-Boy b Milagro & Rey Del Fuego
2) Águila Oriental, Perseo, Rey Minos b Carnicero, Súper Boy, Último Caballero
Caballero left injured
3) Ajolotl, Mini Vikingo, Steve Manson b Jhon Tito, Rey Astaroth, Súper Cometa
4) Fly Warrior & Fulgor b Noisy Boy & Spider Fly
Mike invited Fly Warrior & Fulgor to join the Old School faction he’s creating for guys of their generation
5) Gravedad Cero, Güero De Tijuana, Keiser Drago, Marduk, Omega Jr., Rey Gato, Taurino, Ultra Mega Jr. b Estrella de Oro, Heredero Maya, Nativo, Prince Turbo, Príncipe Bengala, Rey Eclipse, Vudu Max, Yorvak [Copa Higher Power] 
Tryout (Black Terry) vs Gym Zeus (Oficial 911.) Yorvack pinned Güero de Tijuana to win. 911 interfered a lot and Terry challenged him to a match with both schools.
IWRG streams every one of their shows live as a matter of habit – they’re the only promotion in Mexico of any size to be doing so – but this one didn’t stream live and may not have been recorded. IWRG announced the Saturday show just a couple of days ahead of time, and IWRG doesn’t run many Saturdays, so people who might have covered this show had seemingly chosen over options. Mas Lucha, who handles IWRG’s normal streaming, was at the Mole comic convention, Big Lucha, Will Wrestling in Texas, and probably the Cholo de Tijuana show in Arena San Juan. AYM/InterneTV doesn’t usually cover shows on unusually and didn’t send a crew. Most of the fan cams seem to have gone to Robles or Cholo, so all that exists of this one for the moment is a few clips IWRG posted themselves. It may have been years since the last time an IWRG show didn’t turn up in full.
IWRG still ran their show like normal, setting up a match in the main event and a new group in the semi-main. It’s nice a good sign for one’s mental health when a bunch of wrestlers you remember as rookies are now getting together under an “Old School” name.
IWRG (SUN) 03/27/2022 Arena Naucalpan [Cronista del Ring, IWRG, Mas Lucha, Mas Lucha]
1) Leyenda Negra & Spider Fly b Águila Oriental & X-Devil
Leyenda Negra replaced Pantera I Jr.
2) Puma de Oro & Tonalli DQ Caballero de Plata & Hell Boy
Puma de Oro faked a foul from Hell Boy, setting up a super libre rematch
3) Yorvak b Asterboy
Yorvack won cleanly, wants an IWRG LIGHT title match with Asterboy
4) Hijo del Pantera & Internacional Pantera DQ Bobby Lee Jr. & Príncipe Arkano
Arkano (or maybe it’s Arcano?) fouled Hijo del Pantera in the father/son tag match
5) Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro, Hijo del Pirata Morgan b Accion Jackson, Brad Alexis, Travis Banks
Dr. Cerebro challenged Travis Banks to a IWRG IC MIDDLE title match
6) Dick Angelo 3G b Hijo del Alebrije © [IWRG JUNIOR]
Alebrije falls on his fourth defense
IWRG going strong with Dick Angelo is surprising for a guy who seemed stuck in the middle of the card (with Puma de Oro & Tonalli) just a few months ago.
RIOT
Riot’s two-night La Riña tournament ended with Blake Christian defeating Aramis on the Saturday final. Christian was said to get really big reactions during the tournament. Both the final and the title match – Arez retaining over Promoteo – were said to be great, as was the trios match to end the Friday show. Arez confronted Christian at the end of the show, to presumably set up a title match on the next show.
It’s RIOT though, and they’re living out their PWG emulation to the fullest. They can have really great matches but it’s the one off comedy spot that’ll go viral and shape people’s perception of the entire promotion. The La Riña tournament includes a royal rumble of those eliminated on the first day of the tournament along with other extra wrestlers, akin to the traditional 5v5 tag on the last night of PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles. That PWG match usually has a decent amount of comedy, as does the RIOT match, to break up all the seriousness of the rest of the show. The goofiness in this year’s match included Mr. Iguana’s stuffed mascot Yeksa being an official participant, fighting with Latigo on a balcony, and being knocked off in a stage dive that everyone on the ground sells. It’s already become one of those things passed around because some people think it’s amusing and other people (LA Park included) believe it’s the end of lucha libre. And then in two days people generally forget it until the next time they want to complain about the promotion or people involved. Maybe quicker if the Chris Rock/Will Smith has shifted everyone’s attention to something gelse.
No word as to when these shows will be available on video. It took two months for the last show so check back in late May.
KAOZ in Chaos
Monterrey’s KAOZ is a really good gossip group but also a time sink.
KAOZ promotion hyped a show for Sunday for months, then announced it was postponed on Saturday for “reasons not the fault of the promotion”, with a new day of May 8th. They were not offering refunds at first, saying they shouldn’t have to since they’re moving it and not canceling it. (A newspaper report This did not go over well, to say the least. The May 8th date is simply the next show date they were going to announce at the end of Sunday’s show. The last third of a KAOZ press conference about the situation was dedicated to building up matches for that show as a replacement for whatever angles they were going to run Sunday night.
Only AAA has been able to run a wrestling show in the city of Monterrey in months due to some unexplained issues with the commission. Some, like Robles & RIOT, have moved their shows to the outside of the city and outside of the commission’s power. Lucha Libre Femenil just hasn’t run at all since their show got shut down by the commission for violating the commission’s health policy, which seemed to be the start of the current run of issues. KAOZ promoter Alonso Botello suggested it was commission problems that tripped them up too, though he wasn’t specific about the issues and it’s strange they weren’t prepared given the known issues. KAOZ implied the 05/08 show would be back in Arena Coliseo Monterrey but that didn’t seem locked in.
The big uproar came Saturday when the cancelation was announced. Social media users pointed out Alberto el Patron was also booked on a DPW event in Laredo, Texas announced in the last few days, believing it to mean Alberto had taken “dollars over pesos”, and the KAOZ show had to be canceled as a result. Alberto, on Twitter, claimed he was always planing to work both shows, everyone was aware of it, and the cancellation was due to the KAOZ promotor and no fault of his own. Laredo and Monterrey are about 2.5 hours apart by car, the start times were four hours apart (longer than listed due to DST); it’s possible if very improbable. My suspicion is those people had the cause and effect swapped: Alberto may have known KAOZ wasn’t likely to happen for a while and got himself a back up booking to make sure he still got paid by someone on Sunday. Alberto (w/Carlito) did come to Monterrey to sign autographs, though earlier in the day than the KAOZ show would’ve taken place.
Alberto didn’t stick around for that KAOZ press conference, held in the same Arena Coliseo Monterrey where the show would’ve taken place. Alonso Botello, in that press conference, mentioned he had booked Alberto for two dates but not was unsure if Alberto would be working the second one. He also announced a bunch of new names and teased new matches, while also insisting the May card would be the same as the March one. (They even put out a poster which just the date change, which isn’t going to be the card that happens.) A separate video segment with Rey Escorpion and Konnan Big pitched the May main event as Escorpion, Konnan Big, Heavy Metal, and Cibernetico with no mention of Alberto, so it seemed like they’re counting him out. I suspect there’s some disagreement about how much Alberto should get paid for the show that didn’t happen.
Botello also announced Travis Banks for the May show. Banks is also booked for a Will Wrestling lucha libre show in Texas in May. Roberto Figueroa is involved in both that show and Konnan, so that’s probably the connection. Banks appear to be wrestling more in the Monterrey area coming up.
Botello also was asked about the status of Arena Coliseo Monterrey, since this was billed as the final show ever. He claimed the building might be torn down “in a day, or two, or maybe a year or two.” He insists the building is in debt and is unlikely to get out of it so it’s possible they may face consequences at any time, but it doesn’t seem they’ve been given a specific date. Arena Coliseo Monterrey is close enough to downtown that I believe someone will one day buy the property, assume the debts, and demolish Arena Coliseo Monterrey to redevelop the property unless there’s a remarkable change in business, but that doesn’t appear to have happened yet.
Other notes
The Robles show on Friday in Arena Lopez Mateos drew shockingly bad. The attendance for those shows has rarely been great but this one looked closer to what the trainee shows in that building draw. X-LAW drew slightly better but still not great in that arena last weekend, so it’s possible it’s something with the location; we’ll need more info on shows. La Mascara, who seemed to be in charge of the wrestling end here, was replaced in his match by Puma King. Pimpinela Escarlata announced he was out of AAA on the show; I think this means he’s out of contract but still working dates, as Escarlata is still listed on upcoming shows. Robles ran in Juarez on Sunday. Their next Mexico City area show is April 29th at Juan de La Barrera.
The Cholo de Tijuana show in Arena San Juan drew well. Blue Demon Jr., Elegido and Tinieblas Jr. beat Solitario, Pirata Morgan, and Elegido in the main event, where they built towards a Tinieblas/Solitario match. Those Cholo shows aren’t building to big matches but they usually did well with the names they use.
I haven’t seen results from Big Lucha on Saturday but they seem to have drawn well too. They continue to put more thought into their stories than other indie promotions. Last show had an extraneous seeming bit where Demonic Flamita’s Black Generation group laid out the Vipers. It seemed like it was just setting up a match down the road. It actually set up Vipers’ leader Cibernetico showing up as a big surprise to help Bandido’s team against Black Generation in the main event. Fans didn’t expect Cibernetico at all and he got a huge reaction.
Texano Jr. & Super Nova won the NWA (Mexico) Tag Team championships in a four fall final over Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr on Saturday in Arena Neza. Not coincidentally, those were the two teams introduced when this tournament was announced, though there were actually other teams who got eliminated to lead to this final.
Arena Queretaro put out a request on Facebook for a private security firm. That’s probably the new local requirement following the violence at the Queretaro/Atlas LigaMX game and the reason multiple shows in the venue have been canceled.
Saltillo luchador Sarapeno I (Federico Lara Hernande, 72 or 73) passed away Sunday. He started wrestling in 1970 as Plebello. I’ve got a few mentions of him in the lineups as late as 1993.
Segunda Caida reviews Mascarita Sagrada vs Jerrito Estrada.
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