Los Soberanos win Copa Dinasita, Magia Blanca new champion, AAA in Madero

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 06/24/2022 Arena México [AS, CMLL, Cronista del Ring, ESTO, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (Video), thecubsfan]
1) Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black 
12:08. Fuerza Puebla defeating One Atos Team.
2) Magia Blanca b Diamond, Inquisidor, Rey Cometa, Ángel Rebelde, Suicida, Astral, Rey Samuray, Principe Daniel, El Perverso [MEX WELTER, cibernetico]     
Title vacated by Soberano when challenging from the CMLL WELTER. Order of elimination: Perverso (by Principe Daniel, 9:20), Rey Samuray (Inquisidor, 9:37), Angel Rebelde (Suicida, 11:54), Principe Daniel (Magia Balnca, 14:46), Inquisidor (Rey Cometa, 16:16), Diamond (Astral, 17:20), Astral (Rey Cometa, 20:40), Suicida (Magia Blanca, 21:15), Rey Cometa (Magia Blanca, 28:33), leaving Magia Blanca as the winner. Crowd booed Blanca winning. Los Depredadores celebrated with Magia Blanca, then Volador led them into attacking Cometa (to play into those boos)
3) Stuka Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. DQ Atlantis Jr., Cavernario, Templario     
14:37. Tecnicos took 2/3, the last when Atlantis Jr. unmasked Stuka. Atlantis Jr. agreed to a mask match at Aniversario. Stuka wanted it in writing, but Atlantis just unmasked him again.
4) Euforia & Soberano Jr. b Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero [Copa Dinastia, final]    
10:23. Los Soberanos won cleanly.

CMLL still hasn’t put together a top to bottom strong show for these monthly end of tournament specials. This one had most of the matches being just slightly worse than they looked on paper.

The main event was going through the normal Ultimo Guerrero checklist of finishing moves when suddenly Euforia hit a superbomb on Ultimo Guerrero to eliminate him. That’s not a move Euforia typically uses to win matches. Soberano landed his moonsault moments later and that was all. It felt almost like they got a time cue to go home immediately, except this was the shortest Friday night show since they’ve lifted the two hour COVID curfew. I don’t believe they were cut off, but that’s just how abrupt the ending felt. I was totally wrong about the outcome and I think that affected how I watched the match – if you’re watching a match thinking nothing matters until Ultimo Guerrero goes for the Guerrero Special and then he never goes for that move, it’s a going to take you out of it – but I don’t know that the match is better even going in knowing the actual result. Whatever real issues these families do or do not have is not translating to strong matches and I hope they’re moving in other directions after this. (It is another Ultimo Guerrero breakup where the matches with his former tag partner did not particularly click.)

Stuka Jr. & Atlantis Jr. very definitely agreed to their mask for the Aniversario, just like Isis & Jarochita did the week prior. Nothing is signed and it’s not official in CMLL until they sign the paper. I keep thinking there’s another shoe to drop, they’re going to do something beyond two 1v1 mask matches and there’s a gimmick will be involved. I guess we see if Fuerza Guerrera & Atlantis Sr. make the same challenges next week.

The cibernetico was up and down. Angel Rebelde looked the best of the outsiders, though that might have been helped by working with his likely trainer Rey Cometa. Long time Puebla fans will be thrilled to find out that Rey Samuray went for his ramp running springboard 450 splash and it failed yet again. The four outsiders were noticeably the first four pinned. Magia Blanca dealt with shoulder and arm injuries coming into the match and dealt with the crowd hating him near the end of it. It was fairly obvious that Rey Cometa was the best wrestler in the match, the most crowd supported wrestler in the match and the guy who was definitely losing to Magia Blanca, and the crowd turned on Magia Blanca down the stretch and after his victory. It appeared Volador leading the Depreadores in attacking Cometa after the match was unplanned, simply Volador reading the crowd and going with the rudo reaction. Magia Balnca was so surprised he didn’t actually take part. Dark Silueta sagely got out of the ring as soon as it happened; I can only imagine the heat a CMLL woman would get from their office if she started attacking a man without approval.

Fugaz had a rough night in the opener and that match didn’t go particularly well.

CMLL (SAT) 06/25/2022 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Mercurio & Minos b Acero & Aéreo 
2) Grako, Inquisidor, Okumura b Oro Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr., Sangre Imperial 
Okumura replaced Cholo (injury) on Thursday
3) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Skadi b Amapola, Hera, La Seductora 
tecnicas took 2/3.
4) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Magnus b Flyer, Hombre Bala Jr., Robin 
Magnus replaced Rey Bucanero on Thursday. Rudos took 2/3. (No title challenge.)
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible b Fugaz, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. 
Fugaz replaced Star Jr. on Thursday (?). Rudos took 1/3.

Hombre Bala & Robin did interviews before and after the show taking about being the idols of Arena Coliseo and lost unremarkably in between. Panterita Jr. had a bad moment near the end of his match (visible in the clip) and is apparently human.

This article hyping the CMLL Pequeno Estrellas anniversary starts off with the idea that no one between 1.1 and 1.5 meters tall was able to wrestle until CMLL created the division in July 1992. This is, of course, false CMLL mythmaking. There was a minis division in the 80s (and others who fit in that height range earlier.) The “July 1992” date exists to wipe Antonio Pena and the wrestlers who worked with them out of existence; that’s when CMLL switched their terminology from Mini to Pequeno. It does at least establish that 1.1 meters is the (worked) height cut off between the Micros and the Pequeno Estrellas.

AAA

AAA TV (FRI) 06/24/2022 Domo Madero, Tampico, Tamaulipas [Lucha Libre TM]
1) Draztick Boy, Dulce Kanela, Mamba b Aramis, Drago Kid, Komander
Draztick Boy & Dulce Kanela replaced Jessy & Diva. Mamba fracture his left ankle during this match.
2) Willie Mack b Flamita, Dinámico, Emperador Azteca
originally a Flamita/Willie Mack singles match
3) Flammer, La Hiedra, Maravilla b Lady Shani, Sexy Star, Sussy Love
4) Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa b Carta Brava & Parka Negra
Originally Iguana & Hamburguesa vs La Rebelion
5) Charly Manson, Heavy Metal, Zorro b Abismo Negro Jr., Cibernético, Látigo
Zorro was a surprise wrestler and got a good reaction. Somewhere in here, the Vipers challenged for the trios titles and Pagano challenged Ciber to a hair match.
6) Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid b Antifaz del Norte & Taurus
Antifaz del Norte replaced Villano III
7) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Pagano, Pentagón Jr., Psycho Clown
Ciber fouled Pagano and Los Vipers came out to brawl with NGD.

Four of the seven matches. It appears Las Shotas skipped the AAA TV taping to win the Cholo de Tijuana trios belts in Arena San Juan. I’m not sure if that decision is more embarrassing for AAA or for Las Shotas. Mamba says he suffered a dislocated ankle (video included), then told Mas Lucha he expected to be out a month.  That’d be a quick return on that sort of injury. Villano III Jr. posted that he was coming to this taping and then later posted photos of him wrestling in El Paso that day instead, so I’m not sure what happened there. Bestia 666 implied he and Mecha Wolf had flight cancelations.

Konnan previously mentioned a NGD three way trios match was being pushed for Verano de Escandalo. If TV is setting up matches that’ll happen on future shows – something that hasn’t happened often this year – that looks now to be NGD vs Los Vipers vs La Empresa for the trios titles. Not sure who are the faces in that one. We may be a week or so from getting a lineup for that show.

Zorro returned in his original Zorro look and seemed happy to be back. Like the others on his team, he appears to be back just to add color to their 30th Anniversary and probably isn’t destined for a major role.

The local promoter said they had sold about the same amount of tickets as the previous taping in March going into the last day. AAA posted the usual building photo, carefully cropping it to cut out the less occupied upper levels of the building.

AAA’s back taping today in the Showcenter. They’re back to advertising the original lineup, which includes Poder del Norte despite Santana & Cota clearly having finished up here.

Other News

Laguna luchador Tackle (Fernando Flores Rodriguez) passed away Friday. I can’t find an age, but he’s mentioned as wrestling for 27 years. He was a local fixture who wrestlers with and against all the guys who came out of that region to go onto national stars. The CMLL Laguna wrestler typically return to that area during the Christmas holidays and work on the local shows, sometimes in big ciberneticos. In a 2007 one, with Ultimo Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Hooligan (Lucifierno) and the future Euforia among those participants, Tackle got the big win. LA Park also wrestled Tackle early in his career and was depressed at the news of his passing.

Hijo del Espectro Jr. held a press conference to talk about changing his name to Rey Espectro.

The main event of that marathon Cholo de Tijuana show in Arena San Juan was a ten man cage match, where Chucho el Roto took Espantapajaros’ mask. He gave his name as Joel Rodirguez, as he also did when he lost the same mask in 2009 to Super Raton in Arena Lopez Mateos. He’s not used that mask much lately. None of the names in the cage match were announced ahead of time, so it was clear the promotion was up to something.

Blue Demon Jr. opened his new store on Friday. Among those in attendance was El Hijo del Santo’s least favorite nephew Axxel, which might add to the recent Santo/Demon distance.

Both AAA and CMLL posted supportive messages for Pride Month on Saturday, including CMLL acknowledging the outfits Lluvia, Jarochita and Isis had been wearing for a while. It’s good they’re being supportive, it actually cooler when the women were doing it as a subversive thing; you knew they were doing it because they believed it, not just because it’s the month on the calender when that’s the cause everyone’s expected to show some token support towards. AAA at least used their post to focus on LBGT+ wrestlers on their roster. There are LBGT+ wrestlers on the CMLL roster and some are public about it on social media, but CMLL doesn’t mention or support them in that way and they don’t appear either allowed or comfortable in making that part of their on-screen character. (Dulce Gardenia is a straight man, as he’s acknowledged many times.)

A profile of Ruby Gardenia for Pride Month. And one of Jessy Ventura. And Diva Salvaje. And Bugambilia, who mentions here that he wrestlers under Super Brazo Jr. prior. Ventura says he was chosen for the AAA La Llave de la Gloria tournament final in 2017, the one famous for bringing Hijo del Vikingo into AAA. Ventura didn’t finish because he broke a leg. Most of the people in the final group got to stick around for AAA that year and many are still there, so Ventura’s career probably would’ve gone into another direction had that changed.

Septimo Dragon mentions it’s CIMA who booked him for GLEAT; CIMA had previously told him he was going to bring in him a while ago and now it finally worked out. He also mentions his family was told he was probably going to die following his motorcycle accident 18 months ago and, even after surviving, it wasn’t clear he’d be able to return to wrestling.

Masked Republic announced they’re now booking out Arkangel Divino & Ultimo Maldito in the US starting on July 30th. Those two have one great match they can do, which will help them do very well the first time in places, and it’s a shame they’ve never grown to add on to that.

Former Mexico city arena luchadora Candy White is now a singer. She worked mostly low level shows.

I didn’t realize there was a (boxing, MMA and) lucha libre commission in Guatemala; or at least there is one where it comes to deciding titles should be vacated if they haven’t been defended in six months.