CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 12/16/2022 Arena México [CMLL, ContraReplica, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan]
1) Hombre Bala Jr. b Disturbio [lightning] 
2) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Magnus, Okumura, Rugido 
3) Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Templario b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Yota
Hijo del Villano III Jr. replaced Niebla Roja (knee injury?)
4) Raider & Valiente Jr. b Arkalis, Cachorro, El Suicida, Halcón Suriano Jr., Neón, Panterita del Ring Jr. [Gran Alternativa, battle royal]
5) El Suicida & Titán b Blue Panther & Cachorro [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
6) Panterita del Ring Jr. & Volador Jr. b Arkalis & Atlantis [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
7) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Soberano Jr. b Neón & Stuka Jr. [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
8) Valiente & Valiente Jr. b Gran Guerrero & Raider [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
9) Panterita del Ring Jr. & Volador Jr. b El Suicida & Titán [Gran Alternativa, semifinal]
10) Gran Guerrero & Raider b Halcón Suriano Jr. & Soberano Jr. [Gran Alternativa, semifinal]
Panterita is not going to Saltillo after all; he and Raider will have their big match next week instead. Both have to be hoping for a better day next week. Panterita nearly suffered a severe knee injury on a springboard dive, and Raider seemed off on various moves. They’ve been great against each other in trios matches this year and a great final will wipe out the memory of the underwhelming lead up. They’re still capable of pulling it off.
Templario still had a shoulder taped, though he seemed otherwise fine. Cavernario seemed to be carrying a little less weight than we last saw him. Both they and the announcers played the idea of the teaming, but that seemed like just making up an idea for the day rather than a plan.
CMLL (SAT) 12/17/2022 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha]
1) Pequeño Magía, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito b Mercurio, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia 
Tecnicos took 2/3
2) Halcón Suriano Jr., Oro Jr., Retro DQ Apocalipsis, Nitro, Zandokan Jr.
Straight falls. Oro & Retro unmasked Nitro & Zandokan for the DQ.
3) Panterita del Ring Jr. © b Inquisidor [MEX LIGHT]
2nd defense, rematch from July. Panterita won with a standing shooting star press (after slipping going for a rope walking one)
4) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado b Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma
Malditos took 1/3
5) Negro Casas, Titán, Volador Jr. b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
Both Euforia (ankle?) and Negro Casas left the match with injuries.
Euforia walked off with help from medics. No idea on Negro Casas.
Panterita’s not great weekend continued here. He went for a walking the ropes shooting star press for the finish, and he slipped on the walking the ropes part. (Better than slipping on the shooting star press part.) I’ve been arguing here that Panterita is every bit as good as Komander but just not seen as much because spots from GCW shows go viral and spots from CMLL rarely do. The underlining reasons why Panterita might be better than Komander still exist, but it sure is a lot harder to prove it after this weekend.
CMLL (SUN) 12/18/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo]
1) Acero & Aéreo b Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) Cholo, Halcón Suriano Jr., Leono b Inquisidor, Robin, Sangre Imperial [Relevos Increíbles]
Team Suriano took 1/3
3) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit b Amapola, La Seductora, Reyna Isis
Tecnicas took 1/3
4) Blue Panther, Dark Panther, Volcano b Felino, Felino Jr., Kráneo
Tecnicos took 1/3.
5) Atlantis, Soberano Jr., Titán b Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Mephisto
Tecnicos took 2/3.
Nothing too notable here. Same with the Sunday Arena Coliseo Guadalajara show, a free show for police and their families. They’ve used Satanico and other bigger names on these types of shows this year, but it was just midcarders and trainees who don’t make the Tuesday shows.
Today’s Puebla show is the first at the 8 pm start time. Princesa Sugehit defends the CMLL Women’s Championship against Stephanie Vaquer in the one notable match. Vaquer is great but a title change would be a shock. Mistico & Ultimo Guerrero face Voaldor & Averno in the maine vent.
CMLL (TUE) 12/20/2022 Arena México
1) Acero, Aéreo, Kaligua vs Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia
2) Astral, El Suicida, Eléctrico vs Disturbio, Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Halcón Suriano Jr., Hombre Bala Jr. vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Esfinge & Fugaz © vs Cancerbero & Virus [MEX TAG]
4th defense
5) Místico, Negro Casas, Titán vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
This is the first free streaming show on Tuesday. Everyone figures to be very excited until they realize they’re watching the Dr. Karontes. Main event could be fun though. It’s actually really smart to put Titan on the first free worldwide streaming show after his NJPW appearance, though I’d be stunned if CMLL did that on purpose.
CMLL (FRI) 12/23/2022 Arena México
1) Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal [lightning]
2) Oro Jr. vs Neón, Bengala, Retro, Valiente Jr., Milenium (Puebla), Zandokan Jr., Apocalipsis, Difunto, Nitro, Inquisidor, Príncipe Odín Jr. [cibernetico]
3) Dalys, Faby, Princesa Sugehit vs Marcela, Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Místico, Soberano Jr., Titán vs Averno, Templario, Yota
5) Panterita del Ring Jr. & Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero & Raider [Gran Alternativa, final]
This is a strong Friday show. The main event has a very high ceiling. Semimain look good and I’m not sure why I’m listing Templario as a tecnico. Faby returns in the tercera, which appears to be a setup to the teased singles match with Marcela. Second match is all the people in the cage match. Opener is a couple of young guys getting a shot. This looks good.
AAA
AAA TV (SAT) 12/17/2022 Domo Madero, Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas [@TampicososTV, BWT Banana, Lucha Libre Ciudad Victoria, Lucha Libre TM]
1) Dark Spíritu, Hijo del Picudo, Nygma b Disturbio, Gallo Dorado, Mafioso
Dark match
2) Demus, La Hiedra, Maravilla b Loco Castillo, Pekador, Reina Dorada
3) SB KENTo & Takuma b Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa
Crazy Boy got involved
4) Arez & Myzteziz Jr. b Argenis & Parka Negra
Argenis & Myzteziz feuded as always.
5) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © b Aramis, Octagón Jr., Willie Mack [AAA TRIOS]
2nd defense. Villano III attacked Octagon Jr. as always.
6) Aerostar & Sexy Star b Abismo Negro Jr. & Flammer [AAA MIXED TAG, #1 Contenders]
Aerostar & Sexy Star were moved up to replace Sammy & Tay (visa issues). Listed as both for the titles and not for the titles originally, ended up a #1 contender match. Flammer now #1 contender for two different titles without any indication those matches are happening any time soon. Parka Negra attacked Aerostar as always.
7) Gringo Loco & Villano III Jr. b Dave The Clown & Murder Clown
8) Komander, Pagano, Taurus b Cibernético, Dralistico, Rush
Originally Fenix vs Komander vs Taurus for the Latin American championship. Fenix announced (locally) as being off the show late on 12/14, with the new trios main event in it’s place. First Rush match in AAA since the onset of the pandemic. Rush announced Dralistico was part of LFI earlier in the show. Both teams fell apart and Komander won somehow.
It’s AAA taping that’s not a big show, so nothing on the show that happens matters and I might as well start with the stuff that wasn’t on the show. AAA TV ran the same Sammy and Tay skit taped at AEW for the last three weeks. Sammy complains about people on the internet complaining about them not defending the mixed tag titles. The couple starts to suggest various dates they could come to AAA, only to ‘remember’ they have celebrity commitments for those days instead. We’re not supposed to believe their excuses and they’re intended to come across as vain and annoying, but there’s also no date or match promoted. The bit ends with them deciding that maybe they can come on December 17th, then declaring maybe they won’t. It turns out they were correct to be uncertain. Tay Melo took to Twitter to announce she and Sammy wouldn’t be in Ciudad Madero due to a visa issue. She wrote she believed everything would be fine for the 12/28 show. The tweet came off as if AAA had asked her to make a statement before the show started, not that something both sides had just found out, but I dunno.
At least Tay gave a reason for her and Sammy not showing up. AAA never gave a reason for Fenix not being there. Vampiro was also advertised and didn’t show up in photos. I think he was in Guadalajara based on Facebook status but I’m not 100 clear.
There are not a lot of notes about the quality of the matches; the Dragon Gate/Iguana/Hamburguesa was said to be good. Everyone was confused by the main event. Lady Flammer being #1 contender for two different titles with no apparent plans to do actually run those matches is delightful AAA madness.
The turnout for this show looked terrible. I saw one estimate of 50%, but it looked less than that in (early) photos. This is the third time AAA’s run this venue this year, which is unusual for AAA and didn’t seem to work out. The elevation of the multiple TripleManias does make everything else feel diminished, especially when the promotion is not hot. AAA has a lot of great wrestlers but doesn’t feel hot. LFI also doesn’t seem particularly hot; Rush coming back after two years didn’t move a lot of tickets.
AAA’s next taping is 12/28 in Acapulco, which airs live on FITE in both English and Spanish.
On this week’s AAA on Space TV, Arez, Bandido, Octagon Jr. versus Gringo Loco, Rey Horus, and Villano III Jr. was fun. Live reports had it as the best match on the taping and it came through that way on TV as well. Las Toxicas was the same match they’ve had all year. AAA aired Toxin vs Drago Kid from Zapopan rather than the local match; it was a bit long to make up the time. AAA aired a bits to build up Bandido/Vikingo and the three way for the Blue Demon match (even showing they had the built already.) It wasn’t anything special but it was doing what the normal things and even that shouldn’t be taken for granted with AAA.
Still waiting to find out if there’s a new episode next week.
Hijo del Vikingo debuted in GCW on Friday night against Blake Christian. It could’ve gone better. It was a short match, sandwiched on one side by a show going long and on the other side by one of the participants needing to be on a late night flight to make their next show. It was without a bottom rope due to it breaking earlier. It was the last match on the show after the fans had seen a lot, and had seen what was their real main event. (People left before the Vikingo match.) The match would’ve been earlier, and possibly better, if not for AAA’s prohibition from streaming the match. It’s even easier to see the match than if it had been on a stream – it’s just up for free on YouTube. It was also not both guy’s best performances, even beyond the circumstances they were in,
The Komander, ASF, Arez vs Gringo Loco, Toxin, Latigo match from Saturday’s GCW show is worth tracking down. Everyone looked great and Komander looked like the best flyer in the world. GCW announced Hijo del Vikingo versus Gringo Loco, so they’ll get to doing the singles match quicker than AAA. While I’m on GCW stuff, Los Macizos successfully defended the GCW Tag Team Championship against Joe Lider & Damian 666 and Lunatik Fly & Masada in Arena Lopez Mateos on Saturday.
Hijo del Vikingo’s match with Nick Wayne in DEFY on Saturday was said to have gone much better, with a long standing ovation after the match. Blake Christian wrestles in GCW a lot, but Nick Wayne is one of DEFY’s core guys, and I’m sure that helped the crowd feel like the match was more a part of the show. There are clips here and here. I haven’t seen the full match, though it looks like Defy was filming it. I was a little bit skeptical about Vikingo/Wayne going in and it looks like I was wrong to feel that way.
Denise Salcedo has an interview with Hijo del Vikingo (with English subtitles.) The #8 in PWI thing comes up again, and Vikingo says that Laredo Kid told him that now that he’s in the US, he can go for #1. Vikingo, when asked about Omega, said that if Omega doesn’t come to AAA for him, maybe he’ll go to Omega’s house to face him there. That’s the right thing to say to tease the match without promising anything. He also teases a hair/hair match with Gringo Loco, which is probably intended to happen in AAA at some point in 2023.
Night 1 of the AAA no-streaming Vikingo rule was a failure. People saw the match anyway and the rules forced AAA to put Vikingo in a harder position to succeed. Komander figuratively (and possibly literally) reaching new heights on the same show in large part because his match was streamed was the perfect example of why AAA’s Vikingo policy is so misguided. The start of the plan has been a success only if AAA’s goal was to make Komander a bigger star than Vikingo in the US. AAA would immediately drop their streaming policy for the next Vikingo appearance in the US if they took an honest look at the results of their decisions, and I’m left wondering what else is going in their heads if they don’t see the same things.
IWRG
IWRG (FRI) 12/16/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha, thecubsfan]
***60th Anniversary show***
1) Hijo del Alebrije b Legendario, Rey Halcón Jr., Oficial AK47, Bestia Rubia, Bombero Infernal, Súper Yens, Cerebro Negro Jr., Jhon Tito, Avisman, Relámpago, Mega [Copa IWRG] 
All surprise names. Announced as a 10 person match. Results says 13 people participated but I can only spot 12 people. Hijo del Alebrije defeated Cerebro Negro Jr. for the win.
2) Diosa Quetzal b Keyra [IWRG IC WOMEN, final]
Quetzal is the 3rd champion (and first since 2007)
3) Aramis, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly ?? Abismo Negro Jr., Baby Xtreme, Hell Boy
Stream died during the match, came back after both teams were celebrating.
4) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. © b Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Paymon [EdM Trios]
La Pandemia fall on their 8th defense
5) Hijo De Canis Lupus & Rey León © b Galeno del Mal & Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. [IWRG IC TAG]
first defense
6) Blue Demon Jr., Heavy Metal, Tinieblas Jr. DQ Dr. Wagner Jr., Fuerza Guerrera, Pirata Morgan
Dr. Wagner fouled both Blue Demon and the referee.
7) Puma de Oro L Tonalli, Aster Boy [mask]
Tonalli beat Puma de Oro for his mask. Puma de Oro is Sergio David Hernandez Lopez, 20 years of wrestling, 15 years in Arena Naucalpan, 10 years a wrestler.
The main event was the best possible match given the people involved. There were the usual IWRG tropes and a bit of overindulgence, but they made a lot of stuff count near the end of the match, and had a lot of emotion in the final few minutes. I thought Caballero del Plata/Hell Boy was going to be the IWRG viral match of the year, and I think this three way match would be it instead if it wasn’t behind the paywall. It’s worth your $8 to check it out.
They really did announce Puma de Oro as a 20-year-old who had been wrestling for 15 years. Jose Manuel Guillen further explained it on commentary: Puma de Oro started training (or more likely tumbling) at 5, and started actually wrestling at 10.
Keeping in the theme of the match (all young wrestlers who’d come up through schools recently), Ultimo Guerrero was there to second Tonalli. Guerrero has not previously appeared on other IWRG shows with his trainees, and this (quietly) meant AAA and CMLL wrestlers were on the same show. The on-screen story about this match being Tonalli’s final one before going to CMLL was said to be true backstage. It’s strange that the mask win went to someone who wasn’t sticking around, but that fits with IWRG trying to sell itself as a great place to get started in wrestling.
A strap on Diosa Quetzal’s top broke just moments into the match, which led to about two minutes of her trying to keep herself covered while also a wrestling match was going on. She eventually did a plancha to the floor, and someone very usefully handed her an IWRG jersey to put on.
This show was scheduled to start before CMLL’s show and actually ended nearly three hours after the CMLL one. The subscriber file is over 6 hours long, and that’s even with the stream going down during the Aramis trios match (and unknown minutes of that match missing.) It’s a testament to both the fans and the wrestlers that they were still very much into the mask match because it was an insanely long time to be sitting there. The show was listed as a 7:45 pm start and started closer to 8:20, and even then it started with a musical tribute followed by an overall long battle royal. I haven’t gone back to watch because it’s just too daunting. Even the announcers were complaining about the pace.
I don’t know who won the Aramis trios match. The stream came died in (presumably) the later stages of the match, and didn’t return until both teams were shaking hands and collecting money, then it died again for a bit. Mas Lucha said it was a power issue and that they would put up the match later in full. It still wasn’t up as of Monday afternoon. Both Mas Lucha and IWRG were inconsistent about posting results from the show – maybe that also was a power issue? – so the outcome remains a mystery. Or a mystery that I could solve by scouring Facebook and Instagram for more highlights but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere. Having to look through a royal rumble match multiple times just to figure out who was actually into it is insane as it is.
There may be some of you who follow Japanese wrestling, where promotions generally put up a quick “this guy beat this guy” website post for every show they run, something that could be looked at instantly. Never take that for granted.
IWRG (SUN) 12/18/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Carnicero, Osogbo, Skanda b Cosmic, Güero Tijuana, Último Caballero
2) Legado, Rey Minos, Rosel b Milagro, Rey Eclipse, Taurino
3) Súper Cometa, Villarreal, Yetti b Águila Oriental, Balak, Nubilius
4) Hell Boy, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Kenji, Rey Halcón, Vaquero Fantasma
Hell Boy replaced Relampago
5) Charly Madrid, Furia Roja, Lasser Jr., Luzbel Jr., Troyano vs Águila Roja, Ajolot, John Tito, Rey Aztaroth, Súper Boy and Cometa Boy, Lince Xtreme, Makro, Pequeño Joker, Tiger Fly and Bizhota, Futuro, Karma II, Skayler, Visionario
Jhon Tito (FILL) fouled Pequeno Joker (Puebla) to help Troyano (UG) win in a match also including Mi Sagrada Lucha Libre (Futuro)
IWRG announced this trainee show on Saturday and it didn’t stream. These have turned up on a delay of late, so maybe it’ll be the same.
IWRG posted a half hour special on the history of the promotion that I probably should watch at some point, it looks good.
Other Notes
Nacion Lucha Libre aired a repeat Saturday night. (It also again started 10 minutes early.) There’s no next show announced, and their social media has stopped updating. Maybe they find some more unaired matches and send a new tape in next week, but it sure looks like they’re done again.
Mascara Dorada popped up on AEW’s Dark tapings this weekend. He continues to get work there, though I still think it’s something being done through NJPW and not a separate deal.
The current Camuflaje is leaving both DTU and that gimmick behind. DTU thanked him for his effort and talked about all the great people he got to wrestle. It reads like this current Camuflaje was training DTU’s students and someone else will be taking over both that and the gimmick, while he’ll keep wrestling under a new identity. Blaze also quietly left the promotion in the last couple of months. All people exiting DTU seem to end up in Lucha Libre Vanguardia eventually.
El Sol de Hidalgo has an interview with Super Crazy Jr., Super Crazy’s 14 year old daughter Ashley. She’s obviously young but I didn’t realize that young.