AAA
AAA TV (SUN) 04/16/2023 Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon [AAA, ABC Noticias, AS, ESPN, Record, thecubsfan]
***TripleMania XXXI Monterrey***
1) Argenis & Myzteziz Jr. L Antifaz del Norte, Octagón Jr., Villano III Jr., Laredo Kid, Aerostar, Parka Negra, Abismo Negro Jr., Taurus [cage, losers advance]
Dralistico was originally announced, then replaced by Abismo Negro Jr. on 03/28. Antifaz and Laredo Kid fought on the outside and Antifaz was stretched out without entering the ring. No evident time minimium before escape. Escape order: Aerostar, Parka Negra, Villano III, Octagon Jr., Laredo Kid, Abismo Negro, Taurua leaving Argenis and Myzteziz Jr. behind.
2) Chessman b Vampiro
8:52. Originally Adrian Marcelo, then Vampiro a mystery person. (Marcelo downplayed in commentary during the match.) Mr. Iguana and La Hiedra were seconds, got involved, Hiedra and Chessman had an argument leading to Vampiro’s win.
3) Baby Extreme, Flammer, Hijo de LA Park, Toscano, Zorro b Arez, Dave The Clown, Látigo, Negro Casas, Niño Hamburguesa [Copa TripleMania]
Hijo de LA Park added to the match on 04/10. Nino Hamburguesa replaced Lady Shani. Babo scheduled to second Toscano but ended up appearing in a separate segment later. Elimination by pinfall, elimination or over the top. Elimination order: Baby Extreme (by Latigo), Latigo (over the top), Dave the Clown (Toscano), Hijo de LA Park (over the top), Nino Hamburgesa (by Flammer with help from Toscano), Zorro (over the top), Arez (Flammer), Flammer (Negro Casas), Toscano (Negro Casas after Nicho interference.) Nicho threatened to send Casas back to CMLL.
4) Alberto el Patrón & Pentagón Jr. b Psycho Clown & Sam Adonis [Guerra de Rivalidades, quarterfinal]
13:35. Adonis spent most of the match working against Psycho Clown, leading to theri loss.
5) Myzteziz Jr. b Argenis [mask]
11:08. Set by mask match. La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla, Dulce Kanela and Sexy Star all got involved. Myzteziz Jr. may just be Myzteziz now. He won with a 450 splash. Argenis unmasked while fighting Myzteziz afterwards, and announced himself as Mirzha Adan Uribe Nava, 36 years old, 22 a wrestler.
6) Blue Demon Jr. & DMT Azul b LA Park & Rush [Guerra de Rivalidades, quarterfinal]
16:05. Rush was originally teaming with Pagano, then Pagano was “injured” on 02/18 and eventually replaced by LA Park on 03/28. Both teams generally got along (or kept out of each other’s way) until the last few moments. LA Park eventually attacked Rush and pulled Blue Demon on top to make sure he and Rush advanced in the tournament.
7) Hijo Del Vikingo © b Rich Swann, Shane Strickland, Komander [AAA MEGA]
22:17. Cuerno del Vikingo on Komander after the other two had been taken out. Konnan came out after the match to present Vikingo with the title.
The main event four-way was as good as expected, and the semi-main was maybe a bit more violent than expected. That’s about it. It’s a little bit better than expected but not something I’d recommend going out of your way to see before it turns up for free. I want more than two memorable matches on a $20 PPV.
Vikingo tried a couple of things that Strickland wasn’t used to taking, and those didn’t go well, but the four kept up the action the rest of the match. They got the highlights they wanted and Vikingo got the clean win at the end. The idea at the end might have been “Konnan coming to the ring to endorse Vikingo” but it didn’t come off that way in execution.
The LA Park/Rush vs DMT Azul/Bleu Demon was laid out interestingly, with the partners avoiding fighting each other for most of the match and just separately beating up the other team. It was a good twist on expectations and made it bigger when they did fight at the end (they hadn’t done it a bunch of times before then, which was the Psycho/Adonis story.) It was also super bloody and occasionally impressively violent. LA Park comes through in big TripleMania situations.
Argenis & Myzteziz had some good moments but didn’t click as a big match, and had the problem of following Chessman and Vampiro do a lot of similar weapon spots. It was also one that, while a rivalry that happened in the past on AAA TV, wasn’t hot at the moment. (Today was the first time they’ve wrestled this year. They actually only wrestled three times last year too.) Antifaz never got in the cage in the opener, and didn’t do much in the brawl to set up his injury. It came off as Anitfaz del Norte could not wrestle for some reason and AAA needed some way to get him out of there, but maybe it’s just how it looks. Antifaz is scheduled for the AAA show in Tijuana on Saturday so I guess we’ll know quick. AAA could run the Laredo Kid/Antifaz del Norte mask match on one of the Showcenter events or hold it over to next year if they’re interested in finishing it.
The Argenis unmasking was unusual – he brawled with Myzteziz, he unmasked and but didn’t stay in the ring long, his name was briefly announced but only so, and then he stopped at the announce desk to take a headset and do it again (and mention being a professional.) La Planchitas claims Argenis was unhappy with AAA about various things, including not getting enough booking and instead being offered a spot on the Luchatitlan project (which means moving to Cancun.) I thought he was just being a rudo.
Penta/Alberto vs Adonis/Psycho was fine, like an average TV match that just existed to get to the next part of the story. Alberto got a pop when he was introduced but the match itself didn’t have much heat. Sam Adonis & Psycho Clown will do fine in the main event of TripleMania if that’s choice but there’s a big gulf of interest in between the two possible match-ups (and nothing really that can be done to fix it.)
I was racking my brain when Tosscano was honored for his career about who AAA would honor in Tijuana, and then it became rather obvious once Nicho turned up. That’s the good part. The bad part is as much as people like Nicho – got a nice chant here – he’s also limping just doing run-ins and has looked physically diminished for years. Maybe there’s something they can do with Negro Casas and Nicho to draw (one of these men must win a hair match) but it’s probably not going to be pretty.
(AAA also seems to be spelling Tosscano with 2’s consistently – it was on the trophies. I presumed it was a misspelling on the poster since everyone has always spelled it with one S and now I’m not sure.)
English announcers explained the Adrian Marcelo situation by totally focusing on Chessman and not mentioning Marcelo at all. I didn’t catch all of the Spanish commentaries but he didn’t seem to come up there either. I don’t know if the angle is continuing at this point; maybe no one’s sure.
Vampiro in a nine-minute match, even with Hiedra and Iguana giving him rest breaks, is asking way too much and AAA is putting him out there way too often. He was back to teasing retirement on Facebook on Monday. He’s scheduled for Sinaloa this week, but definitely seemed like a guy who was not enjoying what he was doing on Sunday. I agree with the Monterrey lucha libre commission refusing to allow Adrian Marcelo to wrestle if they did not believe he was ready for a match, but you can’t convince me Vampiro would’ve passed those same tests. He would’ve been done quicker. That’s not on Vampiro either. If the point of wrestling licensing is to keep people out of the ring who aren’t prepared to be in there, than the commission failed.
Babo appeared later in the show with Toscano, but did not second him during the match. I wonder if the Marcelo situation got whatever Babo was going to do also scratched since Arez and Dave were cutting promotes like he was expected at ringside there and he was nowhere to be seen. Lady Shani wrestled an extreme match with Ludark and Dalys on Saturday and maybe she wasn’t good to go Sunday as a result.
Announcing seemed fine. Production was the usual. The shot of Myzteziz doing a SSP of the cage looked great. It was atypical. AAA is not something produced primarily for TV. That’s clear every time tecnicos do dives out of different sides of the ring at the same time, something the production seems to have no ability to film (and the people in charge aren’t concerned enough to get the wrestlers to stop doing it.) AAA might be better off producing shows for the live crowd, but it adds up when you’re charging 20 USD for PPV and missing spots.
AAA didn’t announce an attendence number and none of the articles I’ve seen so far is reporting one. It seemed better than the World Cup, so over 10,000 at least. It filled in a lot from the early matches to later on.
Deep in a Wikipedia rabbit hole, you’ll find a 1994 Barbados vs Grenada soccer game where the complicated tiebreaker rules compelled both teams to start to try to score goals on themselves at stages late in the game. That came to mind thinking of LA Park & Rush versus Psycho Clown & Sam Adonis in Tijuana, a match where neither team seems like they’ll want to win. It’s also setting up a situation where the crowd will desperately want Park & Rush to advance, and the same crowd will be just as certain it’ll be Psycho and Adonis advance. I’ll write it again now and maybe twenty more times before Mexico City: Sam Adonis versus Psycho Clown will do fine as a TripleMania main event. The problem isn’t with them, it’s the match they’re opposite again is a once in a decade match. I expect there to be some decent ticket moving this week on the Mexico City show just on the gamble the match might happen. I figured Azul & Demon were advancing because I thought that match was happening this year (and they acted like it still might.) Advancing Park & Rush is a much better move for business, even if people get angry about the bait and switch in July.
AAA’s next taping is Saturday in Tijuana. Adonis & Psycho are booked, Rush and LA Park are not. Maybe they’ll set up other matches for that TripleMania show in the same town. The lineup will change. Toxin is still out hurt, Komander is booked in GCW.
Lady Shani, promoting her own show this past Saturday, says it was Lizmark who got her in to train lucha libre. She didn’t like lucha libre and didn’t understand why people would hurt themselves on purpose, but she was taking it as an exercise class. It was disrespect from the men in the classes that encouraged her to prove she could do it, and she continued with it until she liked it. Her father didn’t like her wrestling and her mother did, then they both changed their viewpoints – Shani’s father would even bring (and dress up) weapons for Shani to use when she wrestling in extreme matches. Shani mentions she’s wrestling through a knee injury.
AEW announced Komander versus Jay White for Wednesday’s Dynamite and Hijo del Vikingo versus Dralisitco for the AAA Mega championship this Saturday (special day) on Rampage. AEW/ROH having the Gringo Loco defenses taped and Dralistico title announced did seem to make it harder for AAA to sell a 23 USD PPV to AEW fans on the idea of seeing Vikingo wrestle. That’s just not as an easy a sell if you can see Vikingo once a week on AEW TV for free or on ROH for a cheaper price.
CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 04/14/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Cronista del Ring, Estrellas del Ring, Excelsior, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Pierrothito b Angelito [lightning] 
8:11.
2) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sanely b La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis 
8:33. Tecnicas won, so no title match yet.
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Rugido [lightning]
7:48.
4) Místico, Titán, Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero 
11:30.
5) Templario b Ángel de Oro, Panterita del Ring Jr., Sagrado, Fugaz, Esfinge, Magia Blanca, Dulce Gardenia, Rey Cometa, Espíritu Negro [CMLL Universal, semifinal]
30:42. Order of elimintion: Espiritu Negro (via Sagrado), Magia Blanca (Panterita del Ring Jr.), Dulce Gardenia (Esfinge), Rey Cometa (Fugaz), Sagrado (Templario), Esfinge (Angel de Oro), Fugaz (Panterita del Ring), Angel de Oro (Templario), Panterita del Ring (Templario) leaving Templario as the winner. He advances to the final on 04/28.
Some good stuff, not great stuff. The main event had some great stuff near the end, and also an attempt to put Esfinge, Fugaz and Sagrado farther than usual. They didn’t do well with the chance. Fugaz is in a trap where he needs to do tricky stuff to stand out and they’re too tricky for him to pull off consistently; Panterita consistently outshined him whenever they did matching spots.
Matches 2/4 were noticeably shorter than usual. The tecnicas winning and the feud being over for the moment was a strange u-turn. Rugido didn’t look as good in this lightning match as in other matches. Pierroth/Angelito was fine.
CMLL (SAT) 04/15/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito b Minos & Pequeño Polvora
2) La Magnifica b Olympia [lightning]
3) Flyer, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Rey Samuray b Difunto [lightning]
5) Dark Panther, Panterita del Ring, Volcano b Felino, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
6) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero b Atlantis Jr., Místico, Valiente
UG win via mask pull on Atlantis Jr., who wants a singles match.
It would not be a surprise for Ultimo Guerrero to win one of these feuds.
CMLL (SUN) 04/16/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Full Metal & Mercurio b Kaligua & Pequeño Magía
2) Metálica b Tiffany [lightning]
3) Capitán Suicida, Pegasso, Stigma b Ángel Rebelde, Crixus, Vaquero Jr.
Angel Rebelde, Crixus and Vaqueor listed as La Nueva Generacion. Team Stigma took 1/3.
4) Audaz b Luciferno [lightning]
5) Gemelo Diablo II, Mephisto, Yota b Esfinge, Panterita del Ring, Star Black
Yota pins Esfinge before a lightning match on Tuesday
6) Atlantis, Titán, Valiente b Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja
Atlantis (& Octagon) picks up a win over Hermanos Chavez before his tag title shot on Tuesday
Weird for CMLL to build from Sunday to Tuesday.
CMLL (TUE) 04/18/2023 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
2) La Guerrera, Sanely, Skadi vs Amapola, Metálica, Reyna Isis
3) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Esfinge vs Yota [lightning]
5) Blue Panther, Dark Panther, Panterita del Ring vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
6) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © vs Atlantis & Octagón [CMLL TAG]
Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja should be mentioned in the list of every great tag team in wrestling today if they can get a 3.5 star match out of 2023 Atlantis & Octagon. In theory, Atlantis & Octagon get in Friday’s match if they win here.
CMLL (TUE) 04/18/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella de Jalisco II & Último Ángel vs Misterio Blanco & Misterio Negro
2) Multy (Puebla), Perverso, Rey Samuray vs Barboza, Draego, Persa
3) Crixus, Futuro, Neón vs Bestia Negra, Cris Skin, Gallero
4) Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. vs Arlequín, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte
5) La Fashion, Misterioso Jr., Tonalli vs Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel, Ráfaga
6) Averno & Místico vs Bárbaro Cavernario & Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
Mexico City mix on top, lots of the newer guys in the first half.
CMLL (FRI) 04/21/2023 Arena México
1) Diamond & Oro Jr. vs Inquisidor & Raider
2) El Audaz, Star Black, Valiente vs El Hijo del Villano III, Felino, Rey Bucanero
3) Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Templario [lightning]
4) Místico, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero vs Atlantis Jr., Averno, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Gran Guerrero vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Titán, Dragón Rojo Jr., Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Hechicero, Euforia, Stigma, Mephisto [CMLL Universal, semifinal]
CMLL champions block
Angel de Oro did get his wish and gets to be the first person in multiple blocks of this tournament, as a double champion. (It’s also probably because someone realized one of these blocks would have nine people without him, and now both are an even ten.)
I wish CMLL had swapped the order around a bit and did this block earlier. It feels like it has to be Dragon Rojo because it’s going last and Templario’s already made the final, but there are a lot more people who could’ve won if this had gone before the national group. On the other hand, they wouldn’t be booking a Panterita/Templario rematch if they hadn’t met in the final. Fourth match should be good. 2nd match has a weird group of people.
Catrina told Biobiochile that wrestling in CMLL is harder than wrestling in WWE. Her reasoning is there were many people just starting out in WWE, while everyone in CMLL had been wrestling or around wrestling for years. She plans on staying in CMLL for “several years.”
Volador did beat Rocky Romero on Saturday on NJPW’s show in DC, so we’re due another title match between them soon. Volador’s said he wanted Romero to admit Volador earned the shot and that he was open to it happening anywhere. Maybe that means it’ll happen on a NJPW US show, where the feud will be a less over but it will expose the big title match to a difference audience.
NJPW announced an All Star Junior USA festival in Philadelphia on Saturday 08/19. I would presume there will be some CMLL participation. Impact announced another of their Multiverse United 2 show in Philadelphia the next day. The CMLL Gran Prix is usually that month, and it may be around those days since the NJPW people will be on the continent anyway. Maybe the 18th would be too much but the week before or after.
IWRG
IWRG (SUN) 04/16/2023 Arena Naucalpan
***Guerra de Golfo, 2023***
1) Baby Star Jr. b Fussion
2) Arandú (Baja California) & Lady Lee b Centurion & Danessa
3) Caballero de Plata, Jhon Tito, Spider Fly b Mr. Leo, Mr. Mike, Rey Halcón
Mr. Mike’s first match here in a year.
4) Hell Boy © b Hip Hop Man [IWRG MEXICO]
first defense. As per pre-match agreement, Hip Hop Man must dress up as comedy TV character Excelsa the rest of the month.
5) Tonalli © b Brazo De Oro Jr. [IWRG IC WELTER]
first defense. Jhon Tito cashed in his Cofre for an immediate title shot…
6) Tonalli b Jhon Tito [IWRG IC WELTER]
John Tito lost his cash in. Aramis showed up and challenged Tonalli for the next match.
7) Shocko L Gianni Valetta, Heavy Metal, Hijo del Alebrije, Heavy Metal, Hijo del Alebrije, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Rocky Casas [Guerra de Golfo, semifinal]
Hijo del Alebrije was the last escapee.
8) Puma de Oro L Hijo de Canis Lupus, Yorvak, León Dorado, Cerebro Negro, Aster Boy, Manaicop 360, Luka [Guerra de Golfo, semifinal]
Hijo de Canis Lupus and Cerebro Negro were last two out.
9) Puma de Oro b Shocko, Hell Boy [Guerra de Golfo, hair, cage]
Puma de Oro was supposed to be in the match but some how Hell Boy took Shocko’s hair.
This was a subscriber-only show. Haven’t seen it. I watched the clips if I could understand how Hell Boy ended up in the cage match at the end and I could not understand it. I mean, I know the answer is “Hell Boy has been feuding with GIR and so they wanted to make sure he got the win”, but also the whole thing reads silly.
Brazo de Oro Jr. versus Tonalli was an AAA vs CMLL match but maybe CMLL wasn’t aware Brazo de Oro Jr. shows up on AAA TV. CMLL has to know Aramis is in AAA and IWRG knows what they’re doing here. Either the match won’t happen or there may be some heat on Tonalli if he wrestles.
IWRG did upload last Sunday’s IWRG show, but they did it in weird fashion that’ll probably make it less likely that people watch it. It’s on YouTube as “IWRG Lucha Libre” with no description. It’s also not just Sunday’s show; they alternate matches between the Thursday Rosales show and the Copa High Power Sunday show. Not sure why they did it, seems like it made it was more work but less useful to watch.
Other News
NOAH announced Rey Escorpion as coming in to face Dralistico on 05/04. Rey Escorpion is still with AAA but doesn’t appear on TV much; I don’t know if AAA’s got other priorities or his contract status changed. Whomever is booking the Mexican guys with lucha libre was into AAA around 2018/2019 based on the people they’re using, or maybe they’re just looking for people who can help Dralistico.
WWE is coming back to Mexico on July 22nd (CDMX) and July 23rd (Monterrey). That’s earlier than usual; it’s gets WWE in Arena Ciudad de Mexico before AAA this time around.