CMLL
CMLL (MON) 07/17/2023 Arena Puebla [CMLL, El Sol de Puebla, El Tiempo, ESTO, thecubsfan]
***Arena Puebla 70th Anniversary*** Attendance: 2400
1) Asturiano, Prayer, Xelhua b Futuro, Neón, Vegas 
10:54
2) La Jarochita & Lluvia DQ Hera & Olympia
5:51. Hera landed badly on Jarochita in the second fall, and they sped through the third fall with Jarochita out of action. Challenges followed.
3) Perverso b Rey Samuray [CMLL BARROCO]
14:05. This appears to be a new yearly competition, a sort of CMLL Universal championship for Puebla-only wrestlers. Perverso won clean with a Gedo Clutch after cheating earlier in the match.
4) Magia Blanca © b Pegasso [MEX WELTER]
11:33. 3rd defense
5) Máscara Dorada 2.0, Metalik, Stigma b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black
11:33.
6) Atlantis, Octagón, Templario b Dragón Rojo Jr., Fuerza Guerrera, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
12:20. Tecnicos won clean, then Dragon Rojo unmasked Templario post-match and demanded a title match next week.
CMLL doesn’t give out attendance, but this looked like a complete sell-out. It was a hot crowd, too. They really helped make the two title matches feel really big. Nothing else on this show is necessary to watch, though most of it was fine. The stream had some issues all night – it seemed like the video was dropping frames – but it was still watchable. It was nice to have Puebla back for one night, and I don’t understand why it’s just one night.
Perverso is a solid rudo who would’ve been wrestling here for about twenty years without doing much – maybe losing his hair at some point – under the way CMLL was handling this venue previously. This new tournament gave him a chance for a big win and it was clear how much it meant to him.
Prior to the show, Atlantis was honored by the Puebla government with a plaque.
CMLL (TUE) 07/18/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, thecubsfan]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Chamuel & Mije
Mije replaced Periquito Sacaryas. Joined in progress on the stream.
2) Astral, Leono, Oro Jr. b Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr.
13:38.
3) Difunto, Sangre Imperial, Zandokan Jr. b El Audaz, Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr.
9:31. Sangre Imperial is officially a rudo, stole Hombre Bala’s mask and pinned him. Bala challenged him to a singles match next week (and lost his mask again.)
4) Hijo del Villano III & Villano III Jr. b Blue Panther Jr. & Dark Panther
15:18. CMLL debut of Villano III Jr.; the Villano brothers got a win in the first team up.
5) Último Guerrero TLDRAW Averno [lightning]
the two continued to fight after the match. Averno demanded a singles match with Ultimo Guerrero, and definitely not a cage.
6) Dragón Rojo Jr. & Volador Jr. DQ Ángel de Oro & Templario [Relevos Increíbles]
12:47. Volador faked a foul from Angel de Oro. Dragon Rojo/Templario and Angel de Oro/Volador made challenges.
Volador Jr. was having a good time trolling Angel de Oro in the main event. Ultimo Guerrero and Averno were far more serious. It was clear nothing here mattered as much they were going to announce on Informa, so this post went up quite later than usual.
Villano III Jr. did well in his debut and Blue Panther Jr. was fine in his return. There are easy comparisons to the Puma/Tiger vs Panthers matches from when the Panthers first came in, and this was about on the same level. Hijo del Villano III still seems too passive for me and hopefully, Villano III Jr.’s aggressiveness will rub off on him. They had a ton of tag team ideas to use in this one. This was great and worth checking out if you can find it.
Sangre Imperial shows no more charisma as a rudo, though it still seems like a better use.
CMLL (TUE) 07/18/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Mas Lucha]
***Atlantis 40th Anniverasry***
1) Atilus, Maximus, Rey Uranio b Gallo Jr., Ráfaga Jr., Último Ángel 
2) Futuro, Max Star, Neón, Vegas b Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Optimus, Trono
3) Barboza, Draego, Persa b Pegasso, Perverso, Rey Samuray
4) Dark Silueta, Náutica, Sanely b La Catalina, Maligna, Valkiria
5) Brillante Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Vaquero Jr. b Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Mephisto
6) Máscara Dorada 2.0 & Metalik b Euforia & Soberano Jr.
7) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Místico b Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Satánico
Haven’t seen it but the crowd looked good for the last of the Atlantis Anniversary swing.
CMLL Informa teased news on the road to the Aniversario. I guess they delivered. Angel de Oro and Volador Jr., Averno and Ultimo Guerrero and Templario and Dragon Rojo all signed contracts to wager their mask or hair on September 16th. And that was it – the show ended with on explanation of what’s going on. CMLL talk about a format or anything, they just signed the contracts and moved on. CMLL left open the possibility that all three matches would happen, but they absolutely did not promise that and I don’t think that’s what is happening here. I’m no more sure about what is happening here than I was on Tuesday. I shouldn’t have waited to do this post!
There was a tease of the Gran Prix at the end of the show; Jorge Livan reported details for that will be announced next Wednesday. I sort of miss the days when I could ignore Informa and go out and get some fresh air.
CMLL put up the Magnus/Rugido vs Fugaz/Esfinge match as their free match of the week.
AAA
AAA announced their TripleMania lineup on Tuesday. It’s a show.
AAA TV (SAT) 08/12/2023 Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal
***TripleMania XXXI Ciudad de Mexico***
1) Dalys, Lady Shani, Sexy Star vs Chik Tormenta, La Hiedra, Maravilla
2) Komander vs Laredo Kid, Willie Mack, Dave The Clown, Pagano, Aramis, Mr. Iguana, Murder Clown, Arez, Octagón Jr., Myzteziz, Niño Hamburguesa [Copa Bardahl]
3) Negro Casas vs Nicho el Millionario
4) Taya © vs Flammer [Reina De Reinas]
5) Pentagón Jr. vs Qt Marshall, Dralistico, Brian Cage [AAA LA]
6) Hijo Del Vikingo © vs Mike Bailey, Daga, Jack Cartwheel [AAA MEGA]
7) Sam Adonis vs Psycho Clown, LA Park, Rush [mask, hair]
This is listed as an 8 pm start, which means it’ll air directly after AEW Collision for people interested in both.
Working backwards:
AAA backtracked on the rules for the main event. It was the first person who lost loses hair or mask on Saturday. At this press conference, Dorian Roldan said the rules were still to be determined. AAA prefers to have multiple press conferences for these events and needed something to announce on the second one. AAA may not know what the rules but it gives them something to get attention about in a few weeks.
The big advantage to the non-finish in Tijuana is AAA can say they’re the ones who finally ran LA Park and Rush in an apuesta match. It’s about as accurate as AAA saying they ran Madison Square Garden; it’s adjacent to the truth, and they’ll get credit from some places for doing it, but they’re not truly running that match. If AAA could get LA Park or Rush to lose, they’d run that 1v1 match, and Sam Adonis would be in another match. The big question is if Psycho Clown is still going to that win, or if it’ll be like 2018 where suddenly LA Park won Hijo del Fantasma’s mask.
Rush and friends have been teasing a big announcement, which is intended to lead people to think he’s jumping to WWE. You should read that as Rush’s AEW contract expired, he hasn’t gotten the contract offer he wants yet, and he’s trying to exploit any leverage he has. Good on him. It’s always possible WWE tries that, but I don’t think it would affect this match.
The title match is a lot like the replacement TripleMania Monterrey event when Omega pulled out: AAA doesn’t feel like they had a star name, so they added as many people as possible. It did not work for that show, it didn’t really work for Monterrey this year’s four-way and it doesn’t realy work here. Jack Cartwheel is a mid level guy who’s got throw out of Copa TripleMania as no big deal and is now getting a shot at the biggest title. Daga was last seen getting put in a submission hold by UFC’s Brandon Moreno and is now getting a title match. Both AAA and Daga seem to strongly believe Daga is one of the best wrestlers in the world; this is not a belief shared by others.
Roldan led into the AAA Latin America championship match by talking about how AAA’s fans had asked for more title matches and the titles defended more often. He then announced the vacant title would be decided between four people who all work for AEW and will find it hard to return to AAA to defend this title. It was the sort of logic that only makes sense to AAA. This four way match which belongs more on a US indie like North East Wrestling than an AAA show. It really doesn’t matter who wins that title, it’s not going to mean a thing to anyone but the winner. AAA never books Brian Cage for any other AAA show but TripleMania Mexico City, and he’s booked for this one every year.
Taya is finally giving the title shot she offered after 13 months. I would assume Flammer wins but it’s a bad idea to assume things.
I didn’t include in the match listing but there’s some Dr. Simi surprise bit in the middle. It’s a sponsor tie in so AAA’s getting paid, but it’s also the now mandatory attempt to go viral on every TripleMania.
Negro Casas was struggling to have ten minute singles matches in his last CMLL year. Nicho looked better in Tijuana but no great shakes either. They’ll use weapon shots and interference to disguise this. Their match is honoring the legends by giving them a singles match but I’m not sure you’re really honoring someone by putting them in a position to struggle. There were hair and career challenges thrown out in that feud and the one good thing AAA did was not to add either of those stipulations. No one believes a career stipulation and neither man losing their hair would be taken seriously. Nicho trashed “the place where Negro Casas came from” in his promo at the press conference, which got some CMLL superfans very upset. It’s kind of weird that the guy defending AAA is the heel but it’s AAA.
The Copa Baradahl might actually be good if it was a cibernetico with all that talent, but it’ll be a royal rumble like always. It’s a lot of people who were part of angles on TripleMania Tijuana for no real reason since they weren’t going to follow up on them here. AAA’s pattern is to have those feuding people come out and interfere – we may see Antifaz stroll out and fight with Laredo again, we may see Texano & Taurus attack Pagano again – so it’ll probably be worse than it looks on paper.
The women’s match will be fine. Most of the card will be fine. I have a fear the Casas/Nicho match may fall apart, but we’ll probably actually be surprised by what turns out to be the worst match. I’m the only person in the world disappointed we’re not getting the straight-up Sam Adonis/Psycho Clown match. Maybe Sam is with me on this one. It’s a much bigger match with LA Park and Rush involved and has the chance to have the best match on the show. Everything else should be fine to good. The four ways have a ceiling on them because of that style, and everything has a drag on them due to AAA’s presentation and style. This show should be fine. I’m not excited or particularly interested in at all. It felt like this show got much interest from the English-speaking wrestling fans either; the only thing that popped from my posts was a mention of a Mortal Kombat tie in (and people wishcasting that into a Marvel Lucha Libre style match.)
We can safely assume Villano III Jr. was told he was in the Copas for these if he was booked and decided to explore other options. More people should probably explore other options. Flamita and Bandido also missed some great chances to be thrown out midway through a battle royal by taking those The Crash bookings. On the other side, it’s strange AAA was in a hurry to debut Drago and other gimmicks in Orizaba if they weren’t going to be on another show for months. Maybe the TV will be reordered in a way that they debut after the TripleManias and get some momentum after that, maybe Drago will be a mystery person on Verano de Escandalo. It doesn’t make much sense to me as is.
Local estimates had the Estadio Chevron 90-95% full on Sunday, which fits with the reported attendance. I may not like the TripleMania shows but they’re drawing great and there’s not going to be a compelling reason for them to change how they’re done. If you also do not like the shows, I would not suggest waiting out AAA to make change right now – it’s not happening.
Record has a profile of Arkangel Divino, which mentions his most recent match was on TripleMania Tijuana, That must’ve been the dark match. Arkangel Divino and Ultimo Maldito were famously street performers with their father, eventually getting into (slightly more) organized wrestling. Diving mentions that during the pandemic, with no work to be found, he and his son went back to making money in the streets for a while.
On an AEW media call, Tony Khan was talking about the ROH tag title match for their PPV and mentioned they’re had issues getting the Lucha Brothers on ROH TV at times because of lucha libre commitments elsewhere when they’re taping on Saturdays. Fenix & Penta haven’t defended those tag titles since winning them in March, which has been as big a pain point there as Fenix not defending his AAA titles. Khan indicated those commitments are being wrapped up and they’ll be available on Saturdays for the Collision/ROH tapings. I’m certain TripleMania Mexico City is an exception, but that would mean Penta won’t be available for AAA tapings on Saturdays.
This may affect other Mexican wrestlers, since ROH has tended to more of a lucha libre focused show. That may mean people like Komander, Rush, Gringo Loco, Dralistico, and Hijo del Vikingo become unavailable for AAA on Saturdays. Heroes Inmortales is a Saturday show, Guerra de Titanes is a Sunday show, we don’t know any other date. Maybe AEW will also let those guys go for big AAA shows, we don’t know that either.
Psycho Clown showed off his new gym. A Superluchas article argues a bigger role for Psycho Clown: booker for AAA. Psycho’s “Psycho Producciones” shows have generally been a success, including a strong turnout in the same Orizaba venue that AAA struggled in a few weeks ago. It’s a fun thought, though making the top star always the booker of the promotion has never worked out well (and I wonder how much of Psycho Producciones is actually Psycho Clown’s work.) Again, as long as AAA is drawing well for TripleManias, there’s zero chance anything is changing.
IWRG
IWRG (THU) 07/20/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Baby Star & Legado vs Adrenalina & Rey Aztaroth
2) Danessa, Fussion, Hatana vs Candy Swing, Lolita, Rey Halcón
3) León Dorado, Mr. Leo, Puma de Oro vs Imposible, Relámpago, Shocko
4) Tonalli vs Hell Boy
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus & Noisy Boy vs Hijo del Pirata Morgan & Látigo
Top two matches look fun.
Other News
Box y Lucha #3560 covers the Atlantis anniversary show.
The Israel-based Global Pro Wrestling Summit show, featuring a lot of big names while looking exactly like the kind of show that falls apart before it happens, fell apart before it happened. Psycho Clown and Hijo del Vikingo were booked for the show that never was going to happen.
At a talk in San Luis Potosi, Alberto el Patron claimed he was going to be in one of the John Wick movies but issues related to COVID prevented it. Like most things Alberto says, it’s hard to believe. Alberto believes he’ll be in a movie soon. There was also another bit of “Vince loved me but HHH hated me” that I can’t bother to link.
PWG returns on August 13th, after an extended hiatus. It’s a Mystery Vortex show with no announced matches. That’s the day after TripleMania and I’m sure there will be people on both shows who have a much better match on PWG.
GCW on August 19th in Atlantic City has Hijo del Vikingo vs Girnog Loco vs Komander vs Alex Zayne vs Ninja Mack vs Arez.
A profile of Tlaxcala’s Guerrero Inca.