FM Day 4/5, CDMX beats Comarca Lagunera, NGD/NT cage match

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 02/24/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan]
1) Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. b Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr., Valiente Jr.  
8:59.
2) Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis b La Jarochita, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit   
10:52. Zeuxis got beat in fall 3, but snuck back behind the referee’s back to hit Sugehit, giving Vaquer the win.
3) Virus b Blue Panther [Torneo de Escuelas, lightning]   
9:04
4) Futuro, Max Star, Neón, Príncipe, Tonalli, Vegas b Brillante Jr., Gran Jefe, Hijo de Stuka Jr., Misterio Blanco, Misterio Negro, Rey Insólito [Torneo de Escuelas, semifinal]   
35:28. Teams determined by Tuesday foruway match. Order of elimination: Rey Insolito (Vegas), Principe (Brillante), Gran Jefe (Tonalli), Vegas (Hijo del Stuka), Mistero Negro (Futuro), Max Star (Misterio Blanco), Hijo del Stuka (Neon), Futuro (Misterio Blanco), Misterio Blanco (Tonalli), Neon (Brillante Jr.), Brillante Jr. (Tonalli), leaving Tonalli as the sole survivor and moving team Mexico City into the finals.
5) Averno, Euforia, Mephisto b Ángel de Oro, Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja  
13:05

I presume that CMLL has the Torneo de Novatos guys working through their matches in the week leading up to it, because this was a really well-laid-out match that tried to give a moment for everyone. That meant we saw the best of everyone or the best of what they are at the stage. It wasn’t perfect (there was a couple of crash and burns on dives) but it was very exciting and a lot better than anyone could’ve reasonably hoped for. A side effect of a tourist base is having a whole bunch of new people does spectacular spots get over quickly because they’re all new people if you don’t follow lucha libre. The crowd never got into the Mexico City versus Comarca Lagunera aspect, but they did care about the last few minutes intensely. Brillante Jr. and Tonalli got a bunch of time as the final two and really shined, with guys like Vegas and the Misterio brothers doing well earlier. Brillante Jr. notably did some old (his uncle) La Sombra spots, and the announcer shouted out Manny Andrade both here and on Informa earlier in the week. This was good out of your way to see good, and it bodes well for the rest of this tournament.

It was an overall good night. The main event was better than it seemed like it was going to be, the women’s match was fun, the opener was a decent for an Ola Negra match. Virus/Blue Panther felt like the pacing was off but it was still enjoyable. Virus gets another singles match against either Satanico or Black Tiger.

CMLL (SAT) 02/25/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, El Unvierasl]
1) Full Metal & Mercurio b Acero & Aéreo  
2) La Guerrera, La Magnifica, Skadi b Hera, Metálica, Olympia  
3) Rugido b Espíritu Negro [lightning]  
8 minutes. Espiritu Negro appeared to sprain his left ankle after a late dive.
4) Arlequín, Furia Roja (Jalisco), Guerrero de la Muerte b El Audaz, Hombre Bala Jr., Robin 
Occidente Tag Team champions Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte, defeated Mexico City tag champs Robin and Hombre Bala Jr., unmasked them, and challenged them to a tag title match
5) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus b Guerrero Maya Jr., Hijo de Octagón, Panterita del Ring Jr. 
Hijo de Octagon suffered an injury early on.
6) Blue Panther, Octagón, Valiente b Ángel de Oro, Dragón Rojo Jr., Stuka Jr.  

This show got extra attention because Octagon was returning to this arena for the first time since 1992. He did the usual “Leaving [for AAA] was the worst decision of my life, this place is my home” speech to the press after the match.

Hijo de Octagon was stretchered out, and said he suffered a knee injury the next day. I’m not sure the severity. Valiente also may have been hurt; he was pulled from all lineups on Monday afternoon.

The Jalisco/Mexico City booking is logical if still a bit surprising.

CMLL (SUN) 02/26/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Violencia b Angelito & Kaligua
2) Amapola, Stephanie Vaquer, Tiffany b La Vaquerita, Marcela, Skadi
3) Arlequín (Jalisco), Furia Roja (Jalisco), Guerrero de la Muerte (Jalisco) b Astral, Oro Jr., Sangre Imperial
4) Magnus b Dark Panther [lightning]
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b Felino, Felino Jr., Misterioso Jr.
6) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Octagón b Dragón Rojo Jr., Mephisto, Stuka Jr.
Blue Panther replaced Hijo de Octagon (injured the night before)

Magnus beating Dark Panther is a bit of a surprise.

Coming up this week:

Today’s Puebla show may be building up something with Gran Guerrero and Atlantis or Sagrado and Rey Bucanero.

Tuesday’s Arena Mexico show has the Guadalajara/Puebla Torneo de Escuelas semifinal.

CMLL (TUE) 02/28/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Gran Kenut, Jabalí, Ponzoña Jr. vs Carlo Roggi, Destello, Destructor
2) Demonio Maya, Gallero, Nitro vs Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico
3) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Mercurio, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
4) Brillante Jr., Cachorro, Halcón Suriano Jr. vs Barboza, Draego, Persa
5) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado vs Leo, Omar Brunetti, Principe Daniel
6) La Jarochita & Lluvia vs Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis

That’s a non-title main event. It may not even be the main event; the similar match was listed as semi-main last week and ended up much earlier. Still, it’s CMLL trying different things during Fantastica Mania season.

And beyond. The 03/21 show here will be their Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show honoring Irma Gonzalez, and it will also include a 12 team tournament to decide Occidente women’s tag team championship. The description says it’s the road to titles, so probably not the whole tournament on that show. It’s probably the first-ever champions, but our knowledge of those Occidente championship is far from complete.

CMLL (FRI) 03/03/2023 Arena México
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Mercurio, Minos, Pierrothito
2) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit vs La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
CMLL debut of La Catalina
3) Virus vs ? [lightning]
winner of Tuesday’s match
4) Futuro, Max Star, Neón, Príncipe, Tonalli, Vegas vs T2-1, T2-2, T2-3, T2-4, T2-5, T2-6 [Torneo de Escuelas, final]
CDMX vs winner of Tuesday’s match
5) Soberano Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario [lightning]
6) Ángel de Oro, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Atlantis Jr., Oráculo, Rocky Romero [Relevos Increíbles]

Fantastica Mania ends and the big names are back to work. The four guys on Wednesday’s All Star Festival show all right at it (and that’ll be Soberano’s third singles match in five days.) Satanico previously said he’d like a singles match with Virus and he’ll probably get it.

Note that La Catalina says she will wrestle unmasked, though she’s appeared only masked so far in CMLL presss. Catalina, on Informa, mentioned she thought she was done with wrestling post-WWE and it was her father who encouraged her to keep at it, going as far as to buy her plane ticket to Mexico.

Zocalo has an interview with Zacarias. He talks about coming to Mexico City as a luchador, starting out poor, gaining a lot of fame when introduced as a character, and both the new money and the fame going to his head. He credits Mr. Niebla, who was dealing with his own alcoholism, as mentoring him to get his life under better control.

Ex-CMLL luchadora Mystique is on a list of the six Mexicans who make the most on OnlyFans. She has 6,000 subscribers to her $20/month page.

Fantastica Mania

CMLL , NJPW (SUN) 02/26/2023 Mahuhari Messe International Confernece Hall, Chiba, Japan [CMLL, NJPW]
1) Hijo del Villano III & SHO b Ryohei Oiwa & Tiger Mask
6:40. Sho hit Oiwa with a wrench to set up his finish. Villano III again went after Tiger Mask’s mask
2) Bárbaro Cavernario, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi b Master Wato, Okumura, YOH
8:09. Cavernaria on Okumura
3) Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito b Capitán Suicida & Kosei Fujita
5:55. Takahashi submitted Fujita.
4) Douki, Hechicero, Templario b El Desperado, Místico, Soberano Jr.
15:30. DOUKI beat Soberano with a Skayde Special to everyone’s shock.
5) Magia Blanca & Volador Jr. b Dulce Gardenia & Rey Cometa [3rd place]
14:23. Magia Blanca defated Rey Cometa with a Magia Driver (middle rope fireman’s carry bomb)
6) Atlantis Jr. & Último Guerrero b Bushi & Titán [final]
16:16. Atlantis Jr. pinned Bushi after a frog splash, after having trouble with an Atlantida a moment prior.

DOUKI beating Soberano Jr. was played up as a big deal. Felt like something that may come up later; maybe we’ll see it again in the BOSJ.

This was the best show of the non-Korakuen Hall portion of the tour, easily. The fourth match was Great, just everyone hitting on all cylinders. (The slightest bit of Templario/Soberano madness made me wish this tour had much more.) The two tournament matches had good effort, even if the results were slightly more shaky. Atlantis Jr. and BUSHI losing it on the Atlatnida finish cooled off the match well, though Atlantis Jr. is better than most by just doing a couple more spots for a different finish.

Roberto López Olvera and Hechicero (for the last two matches) were good. I had no problem with the Japanese commentary but this soundtrack felt more at home. They did well on Monday too.

CMLL , NJPW (MON) 02/27/2023 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan [NJPW] Attendance: 1384
1) Douki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru b Kosei Fujita & Rey Cometa
5:18. Kanemaru beat Fujita.
2) Master Wato & Tiger Mask b Gedo & Hijo del Villano III
4:32. Wato beat Gedo.
3) Último Guerrero b Capitán Suicida
10:17.
4) Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito b Bárbaro Cavernario, El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi
9:57. Naito defeated Barbaro Cavernario and stole Taguchi’s foam keyboard. Naito returned Taguchi’s mask and foam keyboard in the interview area.
5) Atlantis Jr., Hechicero, Okumura b Dulce Gardenia, Magia Blanca, Místico
13:43. Hechicero defeated Magia Blanca. Okumura attacked Dulce Gardenia post match to build up their match, and Mistico and Atlantis Jr. briefly got physical as well.
6) Volador Jr. b Templario
14:24.
7) Titán b Soberano Jr. [CMLL WELTER]
12:04. 7th defense

I had sky-high expectations for the main event so I was a little unfairly disappointed when Titan got the Mutalock (which he seems to be calling “Llave Inmortal”) for the win; it felt like they could’ve gone three or four more minutes. It was still great, and the idea was they both destroyed themselves taking big risks (including Titan missing a top rope double stomp to the floor) that they really couldn’t do more, or even stand after it was done. Volador & Templario was the big move exhibition you’re used to seeing from Volador on these shows. Capitan Suicida/Ultimo Guerrero had some good back and forth and Suicida looking spectacular before he started to fail prey to UG’s corner moves of doom. Suicida got enough that he looked like he could be someone, which was the hope. The LIJ match had a lot of comedy, the fifth match was going along very well until Magia Blanca slipped and spiraled a bit in the last 30 seconds, and the first two matches weren’t much. It’s definitely worth your time to watch this show from the third match on, and it’s still available on NJPW World for free.

Korakuen Hall seems to be seating less than it did for these tours three years ago. It looked like all the seats were occupied but also that there were fewer of them out there than 2020; the attendance total being about 200 down from similar shows on that tour makes sense. I’m not sure if that’s a permanent change or a lingering COVID restriction.

CMLL , NJPW (TUE) 02/28/2023 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1) Kosei Fujita & Magia Blanca vs Capitán Suicida & Yotu Nakashima
2) Tiger Mask vs Hijo del Villano III
3) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Rey Cometa, Ryohei Oiwa, Satoshi Kojima vs Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Titán
4) Dulce Gardenia vs Okumura
5) Soberano Jr. vs Hechicero
6) Bárbaro Cavernario, Master Wato, Último Guerrero vs El Desperado, Templario, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
7) Místico vs Atlantis Jr.

The tour closes with Tuesday morning with the biggest match of the tour. Soberano/Hechicero should be fun. The opener is interesting: someone has to get the win but it’s not at all clear who it will be.

(Remember, if you’re a NJPW World subscriber, you probably need to watch this live if you’re going to get it watched prior to the month ticking over and paying an extra month for the service.)

The 03/01 All Star Festival also announced names for it’s all junior wrestler show. This will air on NJPW World as a bonus PPV (27 USD) and does not come as part of the the monthly subscription. Three matches involve CMLL luchadors:

• Taiji Ishimori (NJPW) vs Soberano Jr (CMLL) vs Shun Skywalker (Dragon Gate) vs Ninja Mack (NOAH) vs YO-HEY (NOAH)
• Mistico (CMLL), Billy Ken Kid (Osaka Pro), Alejandro (NOAH) & Gurukun Mask (Ryukyu Dragon) vs Dragon Kid (Dragon Gate), BUSHI (NJPW), Atlantis Jr. (CMLL) & Black Mensore (AJPW)
• El Desperado (NJPW) & Volador Jr. (CMLL) vs El Lindaman (GLEAT) & Yuuki Ueno (DDT) vs Los Japones Del Mal (DOUKI (NJPW) & HANAOKA (SECRET BASE))

Card order will be determined the date of the show. The lineup is interesting enough where I’m at least considering watching it. Unlikely but better than the no chance it had before. It is surprising Titan didn’t end up on this show.

AAA

AAA aired Rey de Reyes part 1 this week. I don’t really have any intelligent thoughts on the quality of the matches; on a pain scale of 1-10, this episode was a 7 or 8 dealing with finding a working AAA stream and getting usable video to upload on the Google Drive. I did end up with the complete video of the matches and I think I’m in a better shape for next week, but it didn’t leave much time actually to pay attention to the wrestling.

The one bit of news was Puma King starting a feud with Negro Casas on commentary and then costing him his Rey de Reyes match. An earlier video established Sam Adonis & Puma King were still a team, even if we haven’t seen them as one in quite a while. It left me wondering if the Adonis/Psycho Clown feud will be Adonis/Puma vs Casas/Psycho feud and double apuesta down the road.

(It may be the plan and never end up there, because plans change a lot. Using a weapon was against the rules last taping, this taping Pagano hit Aramis in the head with the chair and the announcers didn’t even cover for it by saying it was no-DQ. Ideas come and go)

The other lesser thing is Sam Adonis mentioned he didn’t make it to Merida until partway through the first match. The opening in-ring we saw was Psycho Clown getting interrupted by Mecha Wolf, and maybe he was a fill in for Adonis. La Rebellion would’ve made sense for that segment anyway and so AAA could’ve have just picked someone who was already going to be out there, but it’s notable they trusted MechaWolf in that spot.

AAA says they have announcements about the 04/16 TripleMania Monterrey show today at 5 pm. It seems a little too soon for a full card, but maybe a match or two. AAA also may need to address how they’re handling Pagano in the TripleMania tournament if his surgery will keep him out longer six weeks. (There were fans definitely hoping for LA Park to replace him as Rush’s partner.) I’ll have an additional post if it’s big enough news.

The Cancun-based Luchatitlan project, with AAA involvement, is on target for an opening the end of March.

AEW announced Komander will debut for the promotion this upcoming Wednesday as part of their Face of the Revolution ladder match. The winner will get an AEW World Title shot. Komander is almost certainly not winning, but has a real chance to impress in this match.

Komander showing up in AEW sure seemed like maybe there had been some fence-mending going on between AAA & AEW after things seemed to break down last year. Those hopes may be premature. AEW never referenced Komander as from AAA in their announcements. AAA didn’t mention Komander’s appearance in AEW until the next day, bringing up on social media as his match was airing for their promotion. There’s something more there.

I don’t believe Komander is actually signed to AEW; it’s likely a per night deal (and like Bandido, it can quickly turn into a full time deal if Komander wows AEW.) For what it’s worth, I don’t think Komander is signed to AAA either. I believe Komander is still under the KAOZ Lucha Libre contract he signed back in December 2020, and AAA couldn’t sign him even if they wanted until whenever that one ends. I have questioned the relevance of those KAOZ deals but I’ve been told they are real and last some substantial amount of time.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 02/26/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Zona Ruda]
1) Legado & Rey Eclipse b Águila Oriental & Ajolotl 
2) Baby Star & Hades (Indie) b Kenji & Satania 
3) Jhon Tito, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly b Dick Angelo 3G, Legendario, Rey Halcón 
4) Luka & Super Mario AK47 b Corsario Negro & Enfermero Del Mal 
5) Hip Hop Man, Karaoui, Shocko, Wesley Pipes b Eli Isom, Hell Boy, Hijo del Alebrije, Puma de Oro 
Eli Isom debut. Team Hip Hop Man demanded a EDM trios title match and will get it, facing Las Shotas.
6) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Paymon b Imposible, Maniacop 360, Rey Espectro 

I didn’t have time to catch much of this. I saw some clips. The clips were not good.

I think they debuted the “Super Mario AK47” name a week early; the idea was he quit being an official last week, his new friend (giant stuffed animal?) Luka gave him mystery new gear as a replacement, and this week he showed up dressed as Super Mario.

IWRG (THU) 03/02/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Fussion vs Nubilus [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
2) Espartano vs Samuray Azteca [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
3) Riesgo vs Centurion [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
4) Eddie Rodríguez vs Mandibula Jr. [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
5) Rey Minos vs Dariux, Ángel De Plata [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
6) Gannicus vs Vendaval [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
7) Amnesia vs Golden Power [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
8) Haziel vs Kariel, Garrobo Punk Jr. [IWRG TRYOUT, 8F]
9) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Paymon vs Hip Hop Man, Karaoui, Shocko [EdM Trios]
1st defense

I like the idea of pairing up the tryout matches (largely going to draw friends and family) with cult favorites Las Shotas.

I’m assuming the top eight from this tryout go onto the finals, but I haven’t seen that actually said. Centvrion is obviously good enough to be on IWRG shows, Eddie Rodriguz from San Luis Potosi is the best of the guys I didn’t know before (but I still haven’t gone back and seen show #1.) Everyone who advanced actually made it to this show.

Other News

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Fresero Jr. lost his hair to Cuatrero in the finals of the NGD/Negocio Tramuado cage match on Saturday. He and Demonio Infernal were the two only two putting hair on the line, and Fresero Jr. was maybe a bit too obvious in talking about how all his family and friends would be there. They did a finish where Fresero grabbed the ref’s hand to stop the count before three, and the ref simply used his other arm to count the pin. This appeared to draw a close to sell out of Arena Lopez Mateos (in the 2,000 range) and the Mas Lucha subscriber stream seemed decently active when I was in there. (The “kickoff” free portion actually has more matches than the free show.)

Pimpinela Escarlata took Zumbido’s hair in Saltillo, as part of the KAOZ/Crash show on Saturday.

The Crash show main event changed before the show, then changed again during the show. Rey Escorpion working the main event of a rival to EMW (AAA’s affiliate) looked surprising on paper and didn’t happen. The Crash instead ran an angle where Mesias and DMT Azul teamed up, with LA Park pairing with local Arandu instead. It ended in a DQ and DMT Azul/LA Park challenges. No explanation seemed to be given about Escorpion. The Crash had announced Dralistico was missing the show (and he did end up on the ROH tapings.)

In Guadalajara on Sunday, Yemaya unmasked Lady Frenic. The unmasked Lady Frenic is Miriam Jazmín González Virruet, 18, 4 years a wrestler.

Near Mexico City on Sunday, Princesa Nocturna took Guerrero Nocturno’s hair in a four-way also including Diosa Nix and Uzumaki. Princesa Nocturna is Guerrero Nocturno’s daughter.

Chihuahua area luchador Ave Salvaje (Armando Flores Salazar) reportedly passed away over the weekend. I have him active between as recently 2022 and as far back as 2015, though he probably goes back farther. I haven’t seen a cause of death or an age.

Dralistico, Rush and Metalik (Mascara Dorada) all appeared on the ROH tapings this Saturday and Sunday. And maybe Monday for as long as they were going. It seemed like Metalik may have a match set up for the 03/31 Supercard of Honor show. It’s possible the other two have a match too, it’s just less clear from what I’ve read.

A Blue Demon exhibit opened in Monterrey Sunday at the Metropolitan Museum and will be free to the public until May.

Big Lucha says they’ll be working with Christian Cymet and appear at La Mole Comiccon between March 17th and the 19th. It reads like signing/merch and not matches.

Former ROH star Cheeseburger is coming to Mexico in March. He’s already announced for the 03/17 LuchandoLibre show in Tulancingo.