CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 11/10/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Esquina Caliente, Excelsior, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Futuro, Neón, Robin b Crixus, Raider, Vegas 
2) Pequeño Magía, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito b Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito
12:07. Dragoncito beat Mercurio to set up a title match next week.
3) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther b Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.
13:54, Panthers getting their revenge for last week.
4) Atlantis Jr., Esfinge, Titán b Bárbaro Cavernario, Templario, Terrible
15:44. Titan return from Japan.
5) Averno & Euforia b Ángel de Oro & Gran Guerrero
13:03. Angel de Oro was a late announced sub for Stuka (ankle). Euforia beat both Oro and Stuka in the third fall to set up a CMLL HEAVY match.
6) Soberano Jr. b Volador Jr.
24:00. Soberano drove to the front door and walked in with two women and 1 security person (an unmasked Tyson La Bestia.) Volador jumped the barricade to attack him, but Soberano snuck around and attacked Volador. Exceptionally long third fall (19 minutes.) Soberano snuck in a foul on Volador for the win , then said he’d beat all the top names in CMLL.
One of the big CMLL questions the last few months was if any of the native talent would see what Rocky Romero was doing with big character bits and try to adapt it for their own characters. Soberano was paying attention. His car entrance is something that’s been done a hundred times in US wrestling, even a bit AAA’s done in the past. It stood out so much more in CMLL for the same reason it stood out for Romero: that sort of showmanship is just so out of the ordinary in the serious and stable CMLL. It’s something that I think will play as “kinda cool” to people who just dip in to CMLL, and something that made Soberano look like the biggest possible star if CMLL’s all they watch. Everyone can’t be doing these things or they’ll be a little special, but they certainly help if there’s any idea for them every so often. (And it’s also greatly helped by CMLL’s willingness to go along with these ideas, ones they may have been more resistant to in the past.)
Soberano did a lot of character work in the main event, and it was not the strongest moves match. It’s probably what it needed to be in his first match as a full-time rudo; he needed to win by a foul and then claim it as a clean win. The fans were totally into booing him and his antics. This character shift might sacrifice a bit of quality but it’s created someone the fans want to see beat.
In his post match interview, Soberano Jr. declared himself the #1 enemy of CMLL. I’ve read that I was that in the past so I wish Soberano luck in taking over the role. Soberano claimed his mask was the most valuable in CMLL, more so than Atlantis. He threw out a challenge to Mistico for a mask versus mask match at the 91st Anivesario. Soberano really wants to be in the 100th Aniversario main event but doesn’t think Mistico will last that long. He’s clear that he’s not joining Los Infernales and not teaming with his father Euforia, they’re both walking their own path. Soberano spoke about leaving Mexico next week (as he did in his post match promo, we’ll get to that in a sec) but returning with a new trio. I’m hesitant to believe this, luchadors are fond of talking about big plans that never come through, but I’m willing to believe there is actually a plan there.
Both the ladies Soberano and the bodyguard seemed like accessories for the entrance, not full time characters. Box y Lucha has a shot of Soberano about to attack Volador as their cover this week.
All the matches were good. The semimain was the weakest one; Gran Guerrero was positioned as the tecnico and he’s just not suited in that role. Panthers/Villanos was strong for a second week (though Dark Panther seemed to be working with one good arm) and the opener was spectacular as usual. AAA was in a pre-pandemic where they had so many young guys who would be The Guy but Hijo del Vikingo existed so they were fighting for second best. Same thing now in CMLL Neon would be the guy everyone in CMLL would be excited about if Mascara Dorada didn’t existed, and maybe it’d be Futuro if Neon didn’t exist. There’s a lot to be excited about.
The NJPW US show went about as should’ve been expected. Vaquer and Iwatani had a pretty good title match. TJP & Mistico was about the match you expected that to be, though I guess that depends on what you expected it to be. I read Mexican fans say it felt like a good US-style match and heard US fans say it felt like something they’d see in Arena Mexico but without that crowd. The crowd was part of the story with this show; 1000 fans seems good for an NJPW US show with Shingo Takagi on top but it was in a 6000 capacity building. They turned the building dark to hide the emptiness. You could still feel the emptiness and it hurt the atmosphere. The opening trios was meant to be a Mascara Dorada showcase, to the point that I can barely remember anything Tiger Mask or Ultimo Guerrero did. Unfortunately, Dorada had one of the messier nights of his career and was off on a lot. Hechicero did a great job of trying to salvage things and I’m not sure if it stuck out as much to NJPW fans as a result, but Dorada just wasn’t himself. Maybe the NJPW logo got him nervous. Mascara Dorada and Rocky Romero grappled over the Historic Welterweight Championship after their match and they teased that title match in promos as well. It’s just impossible to know where with Rocky; it could be CMLL, it could be NJPW, it could be MLW. NJPW US itself is off until January.
That’s not all of the NJPW news though. NJPW announced sixteen teams for their World Tag League tournament and sitting there in Block B is the CMLL team of Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. In post match interviews, Soberano had talked about leaving the country for some reason but never specified where. I didn’t even consider it’d be the World Tag League. No CMLL wrestler has participated in World Tag League since Rush teamed with Naito in 2016. There’s been no all CMLL team in World Tag League since 2012, with Diamante Azul and Rush. NJPW seems to use the World Tag League as a tryout for people who may be used more in the future. (Diamante Azul never wrestled in NJPW again.) This Soberano Jr. and Atlantis Jr. was obviously put together before CMLL decided to go rudo with Soberano, and I don’t know if he and Atlantis will ignore it for the entire NJPW tour or if it’ll be anarchy. (Most likely, they’ll ignore the storyline until the final day of the tour.) If Soberano decides to try to win, the team has a shot of making the tournament. It’s a top 2 advance out of the block situation. Hiroki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi, the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team champions and probably have one spot locked down. El Phantasmo and Hiklueo are the NJPW Strong tag team champions but aren’t as guaranteed to advance, there’s a chance for an upset there.
One of the other teams in the block is Yota Tsuji and a mystery person. NJPW usually lists mystery people under the name of “X”. Tsuji has insisted on referring to the mystery person as “Z”, says it’s a friend from his overseas travels, and that person will not actually be joining LIJ. If it’s a person from CMLL, the two people who would fit are Zandokan (has a Z) and Terrible (Tsuji’s #1 CMLL wrestler.) Zandokan is basically still a CMLL rookie and getting a NJPW tour of any kind would be amazing is amazingly unlikely. Terrible has worked World Tag League before and knows the assignment. Either (or any other CMLL wrestler) would figure to take a lot of Ls for their team.
CMLL (SAT) 11/11/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Grako & Inquisidor b Eléctrico & Oro Jr.
2) Angelito, Fantasy, Kaligua DQ Full Metal, Minos, Pequeño Polvora
Full Metal unmasked Kaligua for the DQ.
3) Cancerbero b El Audaz [lightning]
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
5) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black
6) Atlantis, Octagón, Volador Jr. b Bárbaro Cavernario, Gran Guerrero, Terrible
Lots of minis DQs to come. I had to double check I had the lightning match result right.
CMLL (SUN) 11/12/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Dr. Karonte I & Dr. Karonte II b Diamond & Valiente Jr.
2) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. b Inquisidor, Nitro, Sangre Imperial
3) Difunto b Misterioso Jr. [lightning]
4) El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora b Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma
Polvora won with a mask pull on Maya. Fuerza Poblana demanded a rematch.
5) Panterita del Ring, Valiente, Volcano b Kráneo, Rey Bucanero, Virus
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán DQ Hechicero, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero
Hechicero fouled Dorada, setting up a singles match between them.
Dorada/Hechicero could be great if they can smooth out the problems from Texas. Match 4 might be heading to a title match (Maya is still national middleweight champion.)
Guadalajara also had a free charity show on Sunday that streamed on YouTube, but you’re reading this sentence because I haven’t had time to assemble the results from several social media posts.
It’s not streaming, but the trios championship match in Arena Puebla is a rare title change opportunity on a Monday night. At least one we might see coming. The arena will have a new look tonight: a group of artists have been painting a mural on the side of the building. ESTO says the mural was done by 16 artists from the Lumen Creacion y Difusion Cultural collective and spans 40 meters.
CMLL (TUE) 11/14/2023 Arena México
1) Fantasy, Pequeño Magía, Shockercito vs Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito
2) Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Neón vs Crixus, Difunto, Raider
3) El Audaz vs Espanto Jr. [lightning]
4) Fugaz, Star Jr., Valiente vs Averno, Mephisto, Zandokan Jr.
5) Stephanie Vaquer © vs Lluvia [CMLL WOMEN]
first defense
6) Ángel de Oro & Volador Jr. vs Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Not in favor of Soberano teaming with a tecnico already. Vaquer/Lluvia could be good. Match two should be pretty good, as could be the opener.
CMLL (FRI) 11/17/2023 Arena México
1) Andrómeda & Skadi vs Hera & Olympia
2) Mercurio © vs Último Dragóncito [CMLL MINI]
7th defense
3) Atlantis vs Ángel de Oro, Star Black, Esfinge, Hechicero, Volcano, Último Guerrero, Bárbaro Cavernario, Terrible, Stuka Jr., Niebla Roja, Sagrado [Leyenda de Azul, semifinal]
final two advance
4) Gran Guerrero © vs Euforia [CMLL HEAVY]
3rd defense
5) Máscara Dorada & Místico vs Titán & Volador Jr.
Another strong card, though again it’s weird to see Volador on the effective rudo side after being a tecnico this past Friday.
Euforia is a strong favorite to win the title. Gran Guerrero is not around a lot and not really impressive when he is around. Mercurio seems unlikely to lose his title but it’s also the mini title so it can change hand at any time without hruting things.
The Leyenda de Azul is harder to figure. It’s surprising they went down from 16 to 12, and they could go in plenty of directions for the final two. Cavernario is probably not winning after winning Rey del Inframundo, though it doesn’t rule him out from going onto the final. Volcano, Sagrado and Atlantis would be poor ideas for a singles match but etyer other combination seems possible.
Box y Lucha has an interview with Terrible from the CMLL Tunel. He confirms what’s seemed apparent for the last couple of months: Los Ingobernables are done. He says the concept just didn’t work with this combination, but they split on good terms and Terrible has positive things to say about both Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja. He believes he, Dragon Rojo and Cavernario will be a better fit, though they still need to figure out a name.
AAA
Laredo/Taurus/Dralistico from AAA TV was good and interesting, though also a bit destroyer. Laredo and Taurus did a lot; it wasn’t their best performance but it was a strong one for each. Dralistico did a little more Destroyer variations. Dralistico got the win. Maybe AAA sees something I’m missing, maybe they just think it’s a fresher match with Vikingo. I just see him as a guy who brings little to the table except for being a star (never the top star) in the rival promotion when it went through a down period, and has picked up since the moment he left. I also think there’s a realistic chance AAA puts the Mega title on him this Sunday; Laredo or Taurus would’ve been so the obviously the better match that Dralistico’s only makes sense in that spot if AAA believes he’s the better draw or the one they want to have the title going forward. On the other hand, it’s AAA so it doesn’t have to make sense.
(I think the idea that Dralistico might beat Vikingo for the title might stun most people who don’t follow AAA – first, that the match is even happening, and later that AAA would make that move. There is no buzz. There is the logistics of Dralistico working in Los Angeles on the AEW PPV the night before; he should make it to Juarez by midday.)
Las Shotas versus the opening match crew was a bunch of moves with no flow. Shotas wore Halloween costumes, which didn’t make a lot of sense for a show airing on November 10th. No one on these AAA shows has a good sense of making them feel current by the time they air. The announcers referenced Willie Mack wrestling Samoa Joe for the Ring of Honor TV championship a couple of times. That happened just four days prior to the taping, but it was a four week old distant memory by the time it airs. (AEW Collison also only airs on competition streaming network Vix, so it’s unlikely most of the intended audience would’ve known about it anyway.) Mack/Octagon versus NGD was fine; NGD glaring walking around to set up reversals is one of those reasons I’m not too high on them these days. This was a dead taping in front of an indie level crowd so maybe I should cut them so slack for lesser effort but it happens a lot with them. I did have the results wrong on that one; it was Mack who took the pin, not Octagon. Don’t take that as meaning Octagon Jr. has a chance to win; AAA aired a (cell phone?) filmed bit from a recent AEW taping where Penta and the QT crew had issues again. Nothing meaningful is happening in that feud until Penta gets his third match with Marshall, either in AAA or in AEW.
Dalys, Negro Casas, Chessman and Latigo will be judges for the INJUVE Lucha X El Barrio talent search contest. The fitness test part of the competition takes place Tuesday morning.
IWRG
IWRG (SUN) 11/12/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Zona Ruda]
1) Adrenalina & Súperboy b Águila Oriental & Auzter
2) Lolita & Satania b Danessa & Sagitarius
Danessa replaced Diosa Quetzal
3) Caballero de Plata, Tornado, Último Legendario b Mr. Mike, Rey Aztaroth, Rey Halcón
4) Cerebro Negro Jr. b Dr. Cerebro Jr., Fussion, Gannicus, Yorvak [IWRG IC Light, #1 Contenders]
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus, León Dorado, Mr. Leo b Mocho Cota Jr., Súper Comando, Tito Santana
Tecnicos want an IWRG TRIOS chance.
6) Águila Roja & Hijo del Pirata Morgan b Hell Boy & Shocko and Noisy Boy & Spider Fly and Cerebro Negro & Tonalli
If Cerebro Negro Jr. wins the title on Wednesday, I’ll actually get to adding his profile to the luchadb.
IWRG , NGT (WED) 11/15/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Steve Manson vs Súper Boy
2) Águila Oriental & Tornado vs Black Shadow II & Rey Aztaroth
3) Noisy Boy vs Kali, Danessa, Sagitarius, Mr. Mike, Fly Star
4) Águila Roja © vs Cerebro Negro Jr. [IWRG IC Light]
first defense
5) Dr. Cerebro Jr. & Spider Fly vs Rey Halcón & Toxin
This is the first of an unknown number of Nueva Generacion Talents show, which cost a lot less to attend and likely pay accordingly. Match 3 is listed as a “free for all”, and I’m not sure how that differs from normal IWRG.
BIG LUCHA
This week’s Big Lucha World is very much worth checking out if you’re interested in that promotion. The second match, Helios versus the returning Bendito, was a pretty strong showcase of what Bendito can do as a base if he focuses on it. There were some amazing spots. Morfosis and Ryu Orochi in the opener had some good moments. The main event didn’t work as well for me but it was otherwise what I want out of these short shows.
Other News
Metalik took to Twitter to deny refusing to lose Komander. He praised Komander, said the story wasn’t true, and he was not interested in telling the story.
Pahuca luchador/promoter Emilio Hernandez Noble (74) passed away on Sunday. He ran shows at Deportivo/Arena 11 de Julio, though it doesn’t sound like he was the person running them there currently. He wrestled under the names Pantera Negra and El Genio.
AVE says they’re running Trauma I vs Wotan in a mask match in February 2024. Wotan’s been announced for big mask matches that haven’t happened prior though.x
ESTO interviews Mexico City Dark Ludgia, who is 16 and talks about all the time he’s been out due to injuries already. His long term plan is to go to UNAM and study dentistry so he has something to fall back on.
GCW is bringing in Andrade in for some dates in December and January. I found about this by reading my Twitter mentions after being offline for a few hours and seeing a whole bunch of “wow”/”great!” type posts and then sadly realizing they weren’t reacting to anything I did.