CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 08/12/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Cronista del Ring, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Átomo & Chamuel 
9:24. Gemelos worked as rudos for the first time.
2) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. 
19:02.
3) Blue Panther, Negro Casas, Soberano Jr. b Atlantis Jr., Cavernario, El Hijo del Villano III
16:06. Atlantis and Soberano fought a lot.
4) Euforia, Hechicero, Templario b Atlantis, Titán, Volador Jr.
15:06. No Hechicero/Euforia tension before their title match.
5) Dragón Rojo Jr. © b Robbie Eagles [CMLL MIDDLE]
17:37. first defense for Dragon Rojo. Eagles worked rudo after being a tecnico last week. Eagles went for the Ron Miller special, Dragon kicked him off into the referee Edgar, Eagles pulled Rojo’s mask and cradled him, but Dragon Rojo’s second (Dark Magic) pulled out the refere at 2. Eagles argued with Dark Magic and turned into an Rojo cradle for 3.
I don’t know why it’s Dragon Rojo Jr. who gets the big singles wins over the foreigners, yet it’s clearly a thing. The best theory I heard is this was supposed to be Mistico/Eagles until Mistico got hurt and CMLL just kept it in the same weight division (Mistico’s the NWA Middleweight champion), but that’s also kind of insane. This is no slight to Dragon Rojo, who understood what he was been given and gave as much as Dragon Rojo can in 2022. It’s just not at the level of so many other people in this promotion. The match was good but nothing you have to go out of your way to see.
The big news turned out not to be the outcome. CMLL announced Robbie Eagles had tested positive for COVID Sunday afternoon. Tests for wrestlers on Friday shows have been done on Thursdays in the past, but CMLL’s press release says this was a test done on Saturday. CMLL originally left Dragon Rojo still on the lineup for Saturday but he didn’t end up appearing. Eagles’ status for the Gran Prix is doubtful but not out; if he’s not having symptoms and he tests negative repeatedly, he’ll probably be allowed to wrestle.
There’s not much notable else from this show. They did have Soberano and Atlantis fight in their match but it wasn’t a big deal. They did nothing to heat up Hechicero/Euforia. The great attendance was the other talking point. The Gran Prix is expected to do well – it’s just a question of if it’ll surpass Homenaje a Dos Leyendas – but just the build up title match featuring a guy one week into the country and another guy who isn’t pushed consistently drew a surprisingly big crowd by 2022 standards. The tourists are back but they’ve been coming back for months. CMLL’s more overall in a stretch of good Friday night shows and fans will still come out if they’re getting good shows. (That also may be why they’re not coming out the same way on Tuesday and Fridays.)
CMLL (SAT) 08/13/2022 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha, CMLL, Cronista del Ring]
1) Fantasy, Pequeño Magía, Último Dragóncito b Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora 
2) Halcón Suriano Jr., Oro Jr., Valiente Jr. b Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr.
Halcon Suriano Jr.’s first match in CMLL in a couple of months
3) La Guerrera, La Magnifica, Skadi DQ Hera, La Seductora, Tiffany
excessive violence DQ (after Skadi was hurt in the first fall)
4) El Audaz, Panterita del Ring, Star Jr. b El Coyote, Felino, Rey Bucanero
5) Negro Casas, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr. b Atlantis Jr., Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr.
Volador Jr. replaced Robbie Eagles (COVID), Atlantis Jr. replaced Dragon Rojo (unexplained). Tecnicos took 2/3.
In a backstage interview, La Magnifica mentioned her father Gran Cochisse was in delicate health. She declined to talk about the exact situation. Fuego en el Ring’s Ana Gutierrez mentioned Cochisse was going to need an operation and was looking for blood donors in the Guadalajara area.
CMLL (SUN) 08/14/2022 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito b Acero, Aéreo, Shockercito
2) Grako, Inquisidor, Nitro b Halcón Suriano Jr., Robin, Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 1/3
3) Kráneo, Magnus, Okumura b Dark Panther, Flyer, Hombre Bala Jr.
rudos took 1/3
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Cancerbero, Luciferno, Pólvora
Tecnicos took 2/3
5) Euforia, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Titán, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
Volador Jr. replaced Robbie Eagles (COVID), his team took 2/3
Euforia ended up with a bloody back after his match. Euforia gave Stuka a monkey flip off the ramp, landing on the edge of the ramp with his own back and cutting it up pretty decently. I suppose he’ll wrestle Friday because it’s a title match but it’s a situation worth keeping in mind.
With Robbie Eagles out, CMLL is running Templario vs Soberano Jr. as the main event in Arena Puebla tonight. No sub has been announced for Guadalajara as of yet.
CMLL (TUE) 08/16/2022 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico
2) Cachorro, Halcón Suriano Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Grako, Inquisidor, Raider
3) La Guerrera, La Magnifica, Skadi vs Amapola, Olympia, Tiffany
4) Hombre Bala Jr., Panterita del Ring, Volcano vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Rey Bucanero
5) Bárbaro Cavernario, Gran Guerrero, Templario vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
Nothing much going on.
Reyna Isis explained her strange comment that “the world is going to find out which one of us looks the better after our mask match” by further explaining La Jarochita is actually very ugly and everyone’s going to find out when Isis unmasks her. We will have no choice but understand Isis must be prettier. Isis says she’s not herself calling Jarochita ugly, that’s simply the conclusion everyone will come to after Jarochita is unmasked.
Mesias, in doing Gran Prix press, mentioned that Vampiro invited him to come to Mexico for 3 months and then it turned into 17 years. Mesias repeated that he won the rights to that name last year.
AAA
AAA aired the two unaired main roster matches from Guerra de Titantes, as well as the locals trios match. I haven’t watched the show yet; it sounded like the trios title match was good and the locals match was very much not. They also aired an angle to build up the Pagano trios match that aired last week; that’s not the first time they’ve aired things out of order this year. The show is up on my Twitch channel and Google Drive. Verano de Escandalo part 1 is up on AAA’s YouTube and Facebook as they promised and I’d guess that’ll be the same for this show on Sunday.
The thing I’m going to be too obsessed with this week is “what exactly is airing on AAA TV this week?” I’m not sure this is important to AAA. Verano de Escandalo is their most recent taping and they’ve aired everything from that that will air. AAA is taping in Saltillo on Saturday night, but it’d be unusual for a non-named taping to go air live in 2022. Weirder still is AAA on Space is currently listed as a 5:09 CT start this week, and the AAA TV taping starts later. Maybe it’ll be the Puebla episode that only went up on YouTube, maybe they taped more Showcenter matches and we’ll see those, though most likely it’ll just be random repeats.
Konnan talked with Hugo Savinovich this past Friday on Lucha Libre Online’s YouTube. As always, the news that comes out of these conversations is Konnan teasing even more people coming into AAA. He said he was talking to a US tag team that has never worked in AAA, a ex-WWE women’s wrestler who has never worked in Mexico and a star from AEW no one would expect. He didn’t give names. It was implied these were TripleMania announcements but that also didn’t seem definite. He was definite that fans should not expect a Chris Jericho or a CM Punk level guy, going in depth about how those guys make millions of dollars in AEW and it’s out to AAA’s price range. Konnan was asked by a fan if AAA would return to Acapulco soon, and said they’d be back for a big show near the end of the year. He also suggested the Argenis/Myzteziz feud would resolve this year.
Psycho Clown and Lady Maravilla were in Orizaba to do promotional work for an AAA staffed show there on 08/27, and mostly to reassure fans that this show would go be better than the show that fell apart there last month.
On XPW’s show Saturday night, Juventud Guerrera cut a promo again looking to be Hijo del Vikingo’s opponent at TripleMania. It’s not going to happen; in that Konnan interview, he framed it as choice between Fenix & Kenny Omega (not saying other people would be exclude, but that there’s no sense to choose anyone else when those two are options) but Guerrera is the self-promoter seizing on the idea AAA threw out last week. He may work his way into getting on the TripleMania card or AAA in general, when he previously seemed excluded from the 30th Anniversary celebration for various past infractions. (They’ve really had enough of that guy if he doesn’t show up in Copa TripleMania or something.) Still, if AAA checked social media in the fashion they said they would at the press conference, Guerrera would have the most votes because he’s literally the only person campaigning.
No one’s yet reported Kenny Omega will be back in AEW on Wednesday. It’s just that lots of signs point that way and AEW likes to do returns in this fashion. Perhaps AAA will give more structure to the “Fenix or Omega or whomever?” concept once Omega is around to participate.
IWRG
IWRG (SUN) 08/14/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Sol & Spider Fly b Rey Aztaroth & Vértigo
2) Diosa Quetzal & Sagitarius b Casandra & Satania
3) Puma de Oro & Yorvak b Noisy Boy & Spider Fly
Spider Fly replaced Aster Boy (injury)
4) Big Boy, Big Chicoche, Big Tackle b Alan Extreme, Fulgor, Hell Boy
5) Gran Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr., Paymon b Caballero de Plata, Relámpago, Zumbi
Hellboy cost Caballero de Plata the match
6) Galeno del Mal & Oficial AK47 b Hijo de Pandemónium, Simon Blanco, Drako, Karaoui, Maniacop 360, Tony Trivado, Dr. Wagner Jr., Fly Warrior [IWRG IC HEAVY, semifinal]
match came down to Capo Mayor, Dr. Wagner Jr., Galeno del Mal and Oficial AK 47. Capo got pinned, but distracted old rival Wagner Jr. into getting pinned by AK 47. Galeno and AK 47 meet for the title next week.
A big week for Galeno del Mal singles matches coming up. He’s got this one on 08/21 and a few days before…
Big Lucha
Big Lucha World (WED) 08/17/2022 Bandidos Gym, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Mr. Win vs Sparta
2) Emperador Azteca & Yutani vs Gravity & Komander
3) Forneo vs Radioactivo [BL CHAMP, Block B Qualifying, final]
4) Galeno del Mal vs DMT Azul [BL CHAMP, Block B, quarterfinal]
They’re getting these lineups ready quick. Galeno del Mal and DMT Azul will be much different than Arez/Komander
I didn’t realize this until it was explained to me, but the Block B graphic is actually meant to show the first round matchups. That means the final two qualifiers on the 08/24 show will be Gravity vs Bandido and Ricky Marvin vs the winner of Forneo & Radioactivo.
Other News
70s/80s EMLL luchador Kalimaco passed away on Sunday. SuperLuchas has an obit, mentioning Kalimaco had lost a leg in a battle with diabetes and decided to end his own life. He was a lightweight wrestler in a promotion that didn’t do a lot with lightweights at that time, so many of his bigger victories came in the smaller Mexico City area arenas.
All shows in Ciudad Juarez were canceled by the local commission due to cartel-related violence. Tijuana and other border towns also suffered great amounts of violence this past weekend.
I didn’t watch AAA this weekend because I went to the Impact TV taping on Saturday. Impact’s not a promotion I pay much attention to beyond when Mexican wrestlers are involved, but I found the taping easily worth the $25 ticket. Speedball/Bay (this coming Thursday) and Horus/Taurus/Laredo/Miguel and VBD/Time Machine (next Thursday) were the best matches. The six-way #1 contenders match (including Bandido) this Thursday was also good, though that one had to be more in service of storylines while the others were less encumbered. The Chicago lucha libre fans showed up with their drum and Bandido came off as the biggest star in his match as a result; I’m interested in how that plays on TV. Horus/Bandido on Friday’s PPV was also great, around the level of their ROH work. I think they did good enough to get brought back, but I haven’t heard any indication of more appearances. There was nothing in front of the fans that brought them into storylines past these two shows.
Los Macizos as GCW Tag Team champions was short-lived. They lost the titles to The Briscoes on Saturday.
A show promoted by “Union Universal de Lucha Libre” on Saturday in Cuernavaca was canceled after two matches; the promoter didn’t have enough money to pay the wrestlers. The main event was scheduled as Texano Jr. vs Super Fly vs Rey Espectro. I think Emperador Azteca was meant to be in Rey Espectro’s spot, not that it really matters now.
MLW announced their 08/27 show in El Paso is now a house show and wrestlers some wrestlers originally scheduled for that show will now be booked elsewhere. The stated reason is the host promotion, 915-656, was not paying for as many MLW wrestlers as MLW originally thought. It’s apparent MLW was expecting to have a new TV deal by that taping and it still is done, or they’d be making greater efforts to tape a show with the people they needed. The next MLW scheduled taping is 09/18 in Atlanta.
Arez, Prometo, Kaientai, Epydemius, Century Jr., King Rex, Super Fly and Kratoz are appearing at the Vive Latino Zaragoza (Spain) festival on September 2 & 3. That’s like half the Mexico RIOT roster, they could invade the Spain RIOT if not for geography.