CMLL
Tonight’s card:
CMLL (FRI) 07/28/2023 Arena México
1) Astral, Oro Jr., Valiente Jr. vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
2) Blue Panther Jr., Cachorro, Dark Panther vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido vs Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr.
4) Averno, Templario, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Dragón Rojo Jr., Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Titán vs Metalik
6) Máscara Dorada 2.0 vs Rocky Romero [Leyenda de Plata, final]
CMLL has a real fork in the road tonight. There’s the Rocky Romero winning path, where they continue giving wins to a very successful act to build him up for another big match. The other way is Mascara Dorada 2.0 wins the important Leyenda de Plata tournament, and everyone starts comparing him to Hijo del Viking and Mistico. He may get to that place eventually, even without a win; it’s just giving him that win this fast puts him on an arc to become the biggest star in the promotion. There’s no guarantee it’ll work, it’ll just be clear CMLL trying for it. Both paths are defensible and I’m not sure which way CMLL is going to go.
The decision in Titan versus Metalik is not as critical to where they’re going next – Metalik is going back to the US, and Titan is going to just hang around until the next time NJPW needs him – but it’s interesting how CMLL ranks those two. Titan should get the big win because he’s around more often and Metalik is truly just a foreign wrestler finishing up a two week tour (and typically taking the loss at the end of it), yet it’s hard to be confident CMLL sees Titan as a bigger deal than Metalik. Both these matches should be pretty good too.
Match four is the three Aniverasrio feuds; maybe we’ll have a better idea of what’s happening there but probably not. The Villanos team with Zandokan against the Depredadors in match 3. The Panthers brothers reunite as a trio for the first time since Blue Jr.’s return to face Los Cancerberos. Los Indestructibles make a rare Friday appearance in the opener.
It’s on Boletia for the usual price. I like how the ticket form says you can book “Max 10 per order”, a left offer bit applying to physical tickets that no one’s fixed for digital items.
My theory of a Dorada versus Romero title match taking place at NJPW’s All Star Junior Festival was wrong. Thursday, NJPW announced a Hiromu Takahashi & Rocky Romero vs Master Wato & Blake Christain vs DOUKI & Low Rider three-way ladder match, so Rocky is otherwise busy. DOUKI and Low Rider teamed in Mexico but I think spent more time together on the Texas indie scene when DOUKI was based in that state. Low Rider is the guy every promoter likes using after the first show he works for them because he’s so talented and charismatic and then the same promoter wants to block Low Rider’s number by show five because he’s so Low Rider. I feel safe in writing this because I think even Low Rider knows it. He has to be there on DOUKI request (and maybe because other people DOUKI could request aren’t going to be allowed to work a NJPW show.) Anyway, the All Star Junior Festival looks very weird so far and maybe Dorada/Romero would’ve been too normal. That does leave open the question of where a Romero/Dorada title match might happen if Dorada wins tonight – and if we can’t ‘figure out where it’s happening, maybe that’s not the direction.
Mascara Dorada 2.0 told ESTO he was hesitant to take on this gimmick; he didn’t know how the fans would like it and he thought he might be Panterita del Ring Jr.. until he retired. He was convinced to do so by looking at it as a job opportunity (a sort of promotion) and feels the fans have accepted it. The one change he asked CMLL is to let him change the mask to uncover his eyes, so he can see the ropes better on his big spots. They said OK and he feels like he’s now got better vision then he did under the Panterita mask.
CMLL (SUN) 07/30/2023 Arena México
1) Robin vs Enfermero Jr. [lightning]
2) La Vaquerita & Skadi vs La Guerrera & La Magnifica
3) El Audaz, Flyer, Fuego vs Difunto, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Futuro vs Max Star, Rayo Metálico (Guanajuato), Meyer, Gallo Jr., Ráfaga Jr. (Puebla), Brillante Jr., Misterio Blanco [MEX LIGHT, final]
5) Blue Panther, Panterita del Ring, Volcano vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
6) Atlantis Jr., Soberano Jr., Titán vs Hechicero, Niebla Roja, Templario
I really have no idea who’s going to win that title tournament. Brillante Jr. & Misterio Blanco advanced Thursday night. (There’s video here; Platino Kid was the runner up) I lean towards the Mexico City guys but this has been all over the place. CMLL announced they’d air the tournament final live for subscribers; it sounded like it was just the tournament that was airing.
Gallo Jr. & Rafaga Jr. did press before appearing on CMLL Informa. Gallo Jr. has actually been wrestling for longer of the two, claiming a seven-year career. Rafaga Jr. has only been wrestling as three. As mentioned Wednesday, these guys have been as Estrella de Jalisco Jr. I (Gallo Jr.) and Estrella de Jalisco Jr. II (Rafaga Jr.) prior. Gallo Jr. must’ve had a different name earlier. There’s also confusingly another Rafaga Jr. who showed up in Jalisco arenas very infrequently going back to 2013, leaving no real obvious break point between the two.
Beyond the Sunday bonus stream, CMLL surprise uploaded the Saturday Arena Coliseo show for YouTube members on Thursday night. The membership plan has averaged out to about one “bonus” show a week through the first month. If that was the stated plan – Tuesdays live, Fridays on delays, one bonus show of their choosing – it’d be a most customer-friendly plan. It still wouldn’t be the plan it should be, but it’d be better than just paying for stuff that recently was free. It’s still not the CMLL plan though; their plan is just surprises, so the bonus show a week could go away at any point. (The historical content has still not appeared.) It is Mexican wrestling to offer vague promises rather than commit to anything.
CMLL (MON) 07/31/2023 Arena Puebla
1) El Novato & Rayo Metálico vs Espíritu Maligno & Sombra Diabólika
2) Acero, Aéreo, Angelito, Pequeño Magía, Shockercito vs Full Metal, Mercurio, Minos, Pequeño Polvora, Pierrothito [cibernetico]
3) Esfinge, Pegasso, Star Black vs Felino Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.
4) La Jarochita & Lluvia © vs Hera & Olympia [MEX WOMEN TAG]
13th defense (11th on CMLL shows); first in five months.
5) Máscara Dorada 2.0, Místico, Terrible vs Soberano Jr., Último Guerrero, Volador Jr.
A title change seems unlikely. The main event seemed to be heading to a Mistico/Ultimo Guerrero singles match. I guess Ultimo Guerrero and Soberano are allowed to team but not fight?
The upcoming Monday’s Arena Puebla show will have an increased police presence following the robbery this past Monday, as you’d expect. There is no new information about the robbers.
CMLL put out a press release denouncing a show in Ciudad Acuna for unauthorized use of their logo and 90th Aniversario imagery. I have the main poster on the luchadb; the CMLL logo is there and the Aniversario logo pops up on match graphics. This kind of unauthorized logo usage happens a fair bit in Mexican wrestling. (It seems to happen more with the logo AAA than CMLL anecdotally.) This one draws on Octagon & Fuerza Guerrera recently wrestling in CMLL as the justification, but there are plenty of times it happens with people long gone from a promotion or just for no reason at all. It happens enough that there must be a further story explaining why CMLL wanted to dissociate itself from this show, but it’s not immediately obvious what it is. (CMLL notably did not put out a press release to talk about the Arean Puebla robbery.) Lucha Libre Acuna has stopped using the CMLL logo in their most recent social media graphics so whatever CMLL said to them was effective in scaring them.
Villano III Jr. did an interview with MedioTiempo and referred to vague problems he was having in life around that time – “indiscipline” and other issues. At some point, his father told V3 Jr. that he wasting his life, risking his health and his future with whatever he was doing, it wa something that everyone saw, but the only person who could fix it for Villano III Jr. was Villano III Jr. himself. Villano III Jr. says he realized he was not doing the things he should be doing and they were going to take him away the career in his wrestling he wanted. He also realized that many people plan/expect for a life where they live 60, 70, or 80 years, but an accident can happen anytime and end your life. He decided that if he was only going to have 25 years of life, he wanted to make them the best 25 years possible, which motivated him going forward.
Boxing will return to Arena Coliseo on Friday, August 4th. It’s the first boxing event there since 2019.
AAA
Space’s upcoming listings clarified the upcoming TV episodes
- 07/29: TripleMania Tijuana Part 2
- 08/05: Verano de Escandalo Part 2
- 08/12: TripleMania Mexico City Part 1
- 08/19: TripleMania Mexico City Part 2
- 08/26: Orizaba Part 1
- 09/02: Orizaba Part 2
You’ve already seen part 2 of Tijuana if you caught the PPV; if you’re a PPV buyer, you only have one TV episode to track down in the next month.
The first post-TripleMania TV taping should be late August/early September, and we’re in range of AAA announcing information on that.
Mas Lucha has a batch of interviews with wrestlers from a recent AAA staffed show in San Luis Potosi:
Alberto explains he was going to be on TripleMania Mexico City but the plans fell apart: his original opponent “returned to the WWE”, and the second choice got injured. I’m unsure who these people could be (and the normal Alberto disclaimer applies.) Alberto indicates this was a program meant to take place over multiple TripleManias, so it could’ve been something that happened earlier in the year. Alberto did an angle with Thom Lattimer back at the Lucha World Cup, but Lattimer does not appear to be hurt based on match results, and that show was full of teasing matches just do stuff with the extra people around. On the other hand, most of the TripleMania matches came out of nowhere.
Jack Cartwheel was as surprised as everyone else that he was in the Megachampionship match; he found out by reading Twitter. AAA did not tell him at TripleMania Tijuana two days prior. Cartwheel told his mom and dad he was getting a title match at TripleMania and they had no idea what that meant but they understood it was a big deal. Cartwheel mentions he was learning finance and about the economy in college, which I believe makes him totally unqualified for a professional wrestling career.
Daga believes AAA is holding him down with this title match. Hold on, it (almost) makes sense: Daga believes he deserves a one-on-one match and instead, AAA put two other people in it. Conspiracy theory Daga believes this is all a scheme by AAA to protect Vikingo and ensure he keeps the title because, obviously, Daga would defeat Vikingo on his own. Daga dismisses Vikingo being the first person to beat Kenny Omega as a big deal, because Omega doesn’t have the same edge in Mexico, the sort of edge Daga has in his home of Mexico. (Daga might be a good promo now?)
Hijo del Vikingo says he spent two hours with paramedics after the Gringo Loco powerbomb at Verano de Escnadalo and they’ve since sent him for some chiropractic treatments. Vikingo wants that singles match with Gringo Loco, and offers to allow Gringo to choose the rules. Vikingo says his TripleMania opponents are all good, but he’s in his best moment and has experience and a plan to combat all three. He was more focused on the Gringo feud than TripleMania one.
IWRG
Mas Lucha (THU) 07/27/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Fussion & Rey Eclipse b Chaflan & Charifas 
2) Mary Caporal & Reina Obscura b Princesa Águila & Sakura © and Bengalee & Zuzu Divine [LLM TAG]
title change. Sakura may have suffered an injury taking a storm cradle driver for the finish; she got medical attention.
3) Hip Hop Man & Maradó b Mariachi & Rey Pantera Jr.
4) Yorvak © b Chris Stone Jr., Kauris, Payaso Tilin, Haru Taki [GDL HEAVY]
Payaso Tilin and Haru Taki were added to the match.
5) Baby Camaleón, Camaleón Jr., El Camaleón b León Dorado, Mr. Leo, Último Legendario
Ultimo Legendario and his partners didn’t get along and fought after the match.
6) Groon XXX, Hell Boy, Psycho Clown b Elemental, Ivan Rokov, Texano Jr.
Sam Adonis earlier announced he was out of this match by order of a doctor. He teased Payaso Tilin as his replacement, only for Elemental to beat up Tilin. Hell Boy came out next; he didn’t want to team with foreigners but he did want to wrestle big names, so he offered himself. The three rudos came out again (just before the live part of the stream was to end), drawing out Psycho Clown and Gronda so Texano Jr. and Ivan Rokov could attack him. The rudos betrayed Hell Boy in here, too, setting up the new trios match.
Mas Lucha ran the angle to change the main event before the paid stream ended, so that’s an improvement. They did not tweet out the result of the main event, that’s still weird. It seemed like a decent-sized crowd.
IWRG (SUN) 07/30/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Kauris & Rey Espartano vs Centurion & Rey Aztaroth
2) Bengalee vs Danessa, Satania, Sagitarius
3) Gannicus, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Karaoui, Relámpago, Shocko
4) Nishikawa & Nozaki vs Dr. Cerebro & Dr. Cerebro Jr.
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Ivan Rokov
6) Aramis, Hell Boy, Rey Horus vs León Dorado, Rey Espectro, Tonalli
Aramis and Rey Hours back in, maybe for a good main event. Semimain has been built for a couple of weeks.
Big Lucha
It exists. They’re back for a show on Saturday:
Big Lucha (SAT) 07/29/2023 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Helios vs Reieyl, Morfosis, Steel Dragón
2) ? & India Sioux vs Diosa Nix & La Brava
3) Carito, Mr. Win, Tirano vs Andrómeda, Macho I, Máscara Año 2000 Jr.
4) Skayde & Viajero vs Brujo De Iztapalpa & Forneo
5) Bendito, Flamita, Yutani vs Elipse, Iku, Orbita and Gravity, Potro, Rey Horus and Monsther Clown, Panic Clown, Parka Negra [tlc]
6) Emperador Azteca © vs Negro Casas [BIG LUCHA CHAMP]
If it feels like a long time between shows, it is. The last gym show as six weeks ago. They’ve started to post more interviews and social content but it’s easy to forget these guys exist now.
Negro Casas asked for a shot against Emperador back in May, so that’s the story there. There is no real story to the TLC match; it could be spectacular but it’s not clear why it’s happening. Match four continues a couple of feuds, and the Carito/Andromeda goes on in match three. I’m guessing the mystery person in match two wasn’t meant to be a big name, but they were holding a spot for Sussy Love if she’s back from injury in time. This should stream on Big Lucha’s YouTube channel.
It sticks out to me that Big Lucha did not mention Gravity wrestling in AEW or the ROH PPV last weekend. They have mentioned big international matches for regular roster members in the past. Bandido did mention his brother’s match on his own social media. AEW’s got to do what’s best for AEW but I wonder if they may have unwittingly created some drama elsewhere with a meme match or if there’s something else going on.
Other News
Impact tapes TV in Cicero (outside Chicago) this weekend. Samuray del Sol will appear on Friday, teaming with Laredo Kid & Black Taurus versus Bully Ray, Moose, and Brian Meyers, then face Chris Sabin on Saturday. Black Taurus will wrestle Bully Ray on Saturday. Samuray del Sol was a guy I watched (and wrote about here) from his earliest indie days. Somewhere along the line, I lost most interest in him. He is a Chicago guy and he will bring some added interest in an arena that historically brings in a lot of Latino fans; I can be unexcited but I can see how it makes sense. Same thing with that Friday trios; the heels are about as lame and uncool as it gets, but that’s the entire point of it. It still kinda bummed me out; Samuray del Sol is likely going to work these two matches for Impact and never again, and Impact’s giving him the spotlight they’re never going to give Laredo Kid or Black Taurus. They’re never going to be as excited about them as a guy who’s coming off a poor end to a WWE stint and has almost given up wrestling the last few years. (I don’t know that Impact is that excited by Samuray del Sol, he’s just the special guest star for a weekend.) That blow might be softened a bit if those guys were doing something fun in AAA, but they’re just roster filler there as well right now. Maybe AAA and Impact have Very Good Reasons for why they book Taurus & Laredo as they do. I don’t really care about those reasons; I just want to see good wrestlers have some good matches.
I’m not expecting to make it out to Impact. Laredo and Taurus are working GALLI on Sunday. Maybe I’ll go to that.
Mexico State luchador Toro Negro (Jose Ramon Marmolejo Zavala, 72) passed away. He would’ve been around Arena San Juan for decades, as was his family – Flamita and Torito Negro are his grandsons.
Vangellys explained to Record that he doesn’t want to be in a big promotion any more. He’s been in AAA and CMLL, but now his goal make Vangelys Entertainment promotion. He believes the promotion will grow so large that he’ll be able to bring all of La Faccion Ingobernable together under it’s banner.
Do you remember MLW taping TV in February, waiting months to air it, and then not actually airing some of the matches which were very MLW-specific? MLW apparently ended yesterday’s episode easing air those remaining matches next week, six months after they taped them. None of them are interesting and all have been on YouTube Fancams for months, MLW is just weird (and AAA isn’t the slowest to air matches.)
Mexico City luchadors will teach young adults how to prepare sushi at weekly Thursday meetings in the Miguel Hidalgo neighborhood. The idea is the luchadors will be teaching what they’ve learned from their trips to Japan; almost no one on the list has gone to Japan, to my recollection. Sign-up for this activity is July 28th, the sushi lessons are on Thursdays starting August 3rd.