Month: December 2023

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/29/2023 Arena México [AS, CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, FDDE, Kaiser Sports, Publimetro, thecubsfan] Attendance: 16500
1) Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio b Diamond, Oro Jr., Robin   
11:20
2) Cancerbero, Kráneo, Vegas b Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Volcano   
11:28. Kraneo left the match hurt in the second fall
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.    
15:20
4) Stephanie Vaquer © b La Jarochita [CMLL WOMEN]   
14:31. 3rd defense
5) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán b Averno, Euforia, Mephisto    
14:59
6) Volador Jr. b Andrade el Idolo    
14:05. Andrade’s last match for this run

The main event was pretty good, though short of the match of the year level it could’ve been with those two. It went a little shorter than the biggest CMLL matches of the year. Andrade later posted a photo of being on a 12:30 am plane back to the US, so getting out of Arena Mexico in timely fashion may have been a requirement. They worked hard for the time they went, it just felt like the finish came a little quicker than normal.

That’s it for Andrade. It was very obviously it for Andrade for now with the way the match ended. Volador winning completely clean, Andrade/Volador embracing like the feud was over, and CMLL’s schedule filled up with the Best of, Gran Alternativa and FantasticaMania over the next few months. That all became moot by Saturday, when worked leaked and later was confirmed that Andrade had finished in AEW and is expected to be back in WWE as soon as Monday. The CMLL run for Andrade was a bucket list item, and also one of a couple of ways for him to try to pick up some heat before returning WWE, hoping to better his chances there in a second run. I hope it works better for him this time, I have no confidence WWE will be good for Andrade, but it is also clearly the place Andrade wanted to be from about the moment he left. I’m really glad we got this fun month with Andrade returning to CMLL, and I’m not unsure if we’ll ever see him in the Arena Mexico ring again.

In retrospect, Andrade sure seemed to enjoy lying about about so many things if he was always going back to WWE on 01/01. He’s a wrestler, lying is a big part of what they do, but he definitely wanted to misdirect the press as much as possible – and all for not, since the truth got out before he turned back up in WWE anyway and WWE seems to be happy to have that extra buzz.

Andrade is currently the The Crash heavyweight champion. He never got the belt because a previous champion (LA Park) still has the phsyical item. I guess that’s OK now? What a weird title.

(This is nothing about nothing but, given what we know now, can anyone make sense of the ‘AAA wanted to bring in Andrade but he decided to work CMLL’ story? AAA was done running TV tapings for the year before Andrade even showed up in CMLL. The pieces do not fit.)

Jarochita/Vaquer was pretty good. The crowd booed Vaquer but there were never chants or other indications of why they might be booing. It came off as tencica/ruda stuff even if that’s not usually how they react to women’s matches. The semimain had some slips but was overall a strong match but suffered from a couple of atypical slips. Mistico was the most over guy on the show. Fugaz was way off during portions of the third match. Kraneo suffered a cut somehow in the second match and left to get the bleeding treated; it didn’t seem serious.

Tessa Blanchard and Reyna Isis were spotted watching the show from the seats by fans. They weren’t mentioned on the broadcast.

I really don’t believe the seating capacity of Arena Mexico in 2023 (or 2024) is really 16,500 but I don’t know what it actually is.

CMLL (FRI) 12/29/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Mortis & Rav b Amenaza Negra Jr. & Ponzoña Jr. 
2) Adira, Dulce Kitty, Náutica b Hatanna, Katara, Magia Azul 
3) Estrellita Mágica & Lady Metal b Estrella Maldita & Lady Amazona 
Alondra, Andormeda and Lady Shadow scheduled but moved into their own match
4) Alondra & Andrómeda b Lady Shadow & Reyna Suriana 
5) Dulce Gardenia & La Fashion b Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte 
Exoticos asked for an OCCIDENTE TAG title shot
6) El Malayo, Rey Apocalipsis, Siki Osama Jr. b Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico © [OCCIDENTE TRIOS] 
Champs fall on their 3rd defense
7) Atlantis Jr., Brillante Jr., Flip Gordon b Bestia Negra, Ráfaga, Rafaga Jr. 
Brillante Jr. replaced Soberano Jr. due to injury, then later swapped from 2v2 to 3v3 with the Rafagas added
8) Black Boy L Maléfico, Exterminador, Destructor, Javier Cruz Jr., Rumbero, Yaky Boy, Thunder Boy, Maximus, Atilus, Rey Urano, Demonio Rojo [mask, hair, cage] 
Exterminador won the mask of Black Boy (Carlos Dominguez Mercado, 30 years old, 2 years a professional wrestler)

This one definitely wasn’t a sell out; the crowd was noticeably down from a normal Tuesday. This show was announced only a few days in advance and with a cage match featuring few important people, so this result is unsurprising. Black Boy saying he was 30 and had been wrestling professionally for 2 years seems unlikely; maybe he was under another name as independent and doesn’t consider that professional.

CMLL (SAT) 12/30/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Átomo & Chamuel
2) Amapola, Metálica, Tiffany b Andrómeda, La Vaquerita, Magia Azul
3) Espíritu Negro, Fuego, Rey Cometa b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Dark Panther, Star Jr., Valiente b Akuma, Dark Magic, Sagrado
5) Atlantis Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. b Mephisto, Stuka Jr., Templario
Mephisto replaced Soberano
6) Máscara Dorada b Bárbaro Cavernario
said to be a great match

I think that main event airs next Saturday on HeraldoTV.

CMLL (MON) 01/01/2024 Arena México
***Sin Salida, 2024***
1) Futuro & Valiente Jr. vs Arlequín & Draego
2) Andrómeda, Reyna Isis, Tessa Blanchard vs Marcela, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
3) Máscara Dorada vs Ángel de Oro [lightning]
4) Atlantis Jr., Flip Gordon, Místico vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
5) Último Dragóncito vs Pierrothito, Fantasy, Mercurio, Minos, Aéreo, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Magía, Pequeño Olímpico, Shockercito, Pequeño Violencia, Acero, Angelito, Full Metal, Kaligua, Galaxy [cage, mask, hair]

CMLL is back Monday with Sin Salida on PPV. There are options to buy it both USD and Mexican Pesos. You should buy it in pesos. CMLL sent out a discount code – CMLL44 – for those affected by the issues on the 12/22 PPV. The small problem is the USD purchase link has no place to enter a coupon code, it only shows up on the Mexican Peso form. I have no idea how that happens, but you’re best using the discount on the one that lets you use the discount.

The minis issues started with Pequeno Violencia fouling Aereo, so the reverse is still the most likely outcome. These CMLL New Year’s Day cage matches routinely are the lowest people on the totem pole taking the big loss, the variance is more in who gets the win.

(The Monday Puebla show still hasn’t turned up for members, a week later. There’s no explanation. What a weird company.)

CMLL (TUE) 01/02/2024 Arena México
1) Aéreo, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia
2) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs El Coyote [lightning]
3) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Skadi vs Amapola, Metálica, Tessa Blanchard
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Cancerbero, Difunto, Virus
5) Atlantis, Star Jr., Valiente vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6) Hechicero, Máscara Dorada, Místico vs Averno, Titán, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

A random partners main event and a Los Barbaros semimain.

CMLL (TUE) 01/02/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Diablita Roja (Puebla) & Estrelita Mágica (Puebla) vs Adira & La Pantera [OCCIDENTE WOMEN TAG, torneo]
2) Emperatriz & Miss Guerrera vs Dulce Kitty & Nexy [OCCIDENTE WOMEN TAG, torneo]
3) Espíritu Negro, Halcón Negro Jr., Rey Cometa vs Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
4) Dark Silueta & Valkiria vs Andrómeda & Náutica
5) Blue Panther & Okumura vs Maléfico & Satánico
6) Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte © vs Dulce Gardenia & La Fashion [OCCIDENTE TAG]
third defense

Zeuxis & Stephanie were the initial Occidente Women’s Tag Team champions. They defended it once (against the Valiente sisters) and then gave the titles up upon winning the CMLL World Women’s trios championships. The titles are being relaunched for the women who work here regularly, which is a decent purpose. The full tournament field hasn’t been announced.

CMLL (FRI) 01/05/2024 Arena México
1) Astral vs Capitán Suicida
rematch from February 14. One fall match
2) Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Stigma vs Futuro, Max Star, Vegas
rematch from May 7. 2/3 fall match.
3) Reyna Isis & Tessa Blanchard vs Dark Silueta & Zeuxis
Replaces Espiritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs Akuma & Dark Magic. 2/3 fall match.
4) Esfinge vs Cavernario
rematch from September 29. One fall match.
5) Lluvia vs Stephanie Vaquer
Rematch of November 14? 1 fall
6) Soberano Jr. vs Templario
rematch from January 6. 2/3 match.

This is a change from what was announced on Informa, with the Atrapsuenos/Ola Negra match removed and two women’s matches being added. My theory is CMLL is running a women’s tag title match next week, they belatedly realized they needed to move Lluvia/Vaquer to another date to get in it, and the other tag match got bumped to next week. Just a guess.

The strength of this lineup is on Soberano/Templario. Soberano missed Friday’s Guadalajara show and Saturday’s Coliseo show with an injury, so this may not work out great.

AAA

AAA on Space aired part 2 of the Best of

• Psycho Clown vs Sam Adonis
• Hijo del Vikingo vs Jack Cartwheel vs Mike Bailey vs Daga
• Komander vs Kuuaki vs La Estrella vs Mecha Wolf

Notable that none of the TripleMania tournament aired, which was meant to be the big thing of 2023. They aired a Psycho/Adonis match and they showed parts of those tournament matches in a show ending clip package, but not among their best of the year matches. Some of those matches picked were good and maybe even the best AAA matches of the year, but wouldn’t have been in consideration if they happened in previous years. It was not a good year for AAA matches.

Aramis announced Friday he’s finished up with AAA. He’s leaving AAA on good terms, thankful for his time there, and says he’s going to focus on international work.

AAA plucked Aramis from the indie scene in 2018 and he was a regular through 2023 (outside of a pandemic break.) Aramis was and still is an impressive young high flying tecnico with technical ability. He had a bunch of good matches but never much of a direction. He had some random title matches, participated in tournaments, but didn’t win anything notable. He had a grand total of one singles match on TV in five years. This year, AAA ran a vignette where Vampiro was taking Aramis under his wing. They did team together a bit, along with Willie Mack and Jack Evans, but the story never developed past that and was dropped when Vampiro was dropped. Aramis hasn’t actually appeared on AAA TV since TripleMania Mexico City, though he was part of the 12/12 Bardahl special which may air next week. Aramis was listed on the 01/06 taping and then replaced by Arez; I’d been forewarned that Aramis was probably done in AAA already and wouldn’t be working that show.

Arez is kind of a reason for Aramis’ departure, though not in a negative fashion. Arez publicly requesting his release from his MLW contract and MLW responding that he had already been released (and AAA had failed to tell Arez that) is how Aramis discovered he too was released from MLW. There were negative feelings on all sides about that situation but it also meant Aramis was free to pursue a contract from other US promotions. I believe Aramis has decided to leave AAA because he feels he has a shot at signing a deal elsewhere. Beyond that, AAA seems to be taking back some control over international bookings from the individual wrestlers in 2024, and those who have benefited from picking up a lot of US dates may not want to have AAA a part of that.

Lucha x el Barrio announced 22 wrestlers will participate in the 01/06 final round of their tournament to find a new AAA wrestler. As with previous rounds, the people advancing are listed purely by their participation number. Facebook page Lucha Mex has what they say are the full list of 22. I’m dubious this is completely correct, but it’s more than I was able to find.

1. Skayler (Morelia)
2. Dick Angelo 3G
3. Legendario
4. Black Shadow II
5. Epydemius Jr.
6. Osiris
7. Shere Khan
8. Lady Wind
9. Rey Espartano
10. Dragon Suicida
11. Kenji
12. Steven Manson
13. Vengador (Queretaro)
14. Radioactivo
15. Princes Azul
16. Alfa Jr.
17. Hija del Vikingo
18. Thunder
19. Mary Caporal
20. Andy Panda Jr. (Morfosis)
21. Forneo

I know Black Andromeda and Rey Espectrito said they qualified too, which is 23 names for 22 spots. I think Mr. Leo and Leon Dorado Jr. are also part of this, and then we’d be way over.

The finals of the Lucha x El Barrio competition will stream starting at 2 pm next Saturday on social media. I suspect it’ll be 3-4 matches and with these people, and then one more match as part of the TV taping.

Other Notes

Damian 666 has been sidelined by back surgery and is getting an update on his ability to return to the ring in February. In the meantime, he’s now the head of the Tijuana commission and is disappointed by how few new wrestlers show up to get licensed; there were only three last years. There are new wrestlers, they’re just going to places that don’t check licenses – Rosarito is mentioned here.

Hidalgo’s Ola Blanca talk about winning a local sports award.

An article (or more a press release) about Lucha Libre Cancun’s year.

An interview with El Yetti.

The Trauma I/Wotan mask match is set for 02/03 in Arena Lopez Mateos, with a card and everything.

Site Notes

No post Monday. Maybe a magazine history post on Tuesday and back to normal on Wednesday. My big New Year’s Eve plans are to work on the La Tapatia award ballot (and to finish doing some laundy), so that should be out soon.

This is the last post of Year 21 of doing this blog. I want to have some great statement about the year or this blog but I don’t really have one today. 2023 was a rough year for me personally; I’m glad to see it over. I don’t know what 2024 will bring.

Other stuff going on in my life made it a harder year to keep doing the luchablog and the assorted project. I think I did OK at this blog, even while changing the way and times I’m doing most of the work. It was a good year for getting more attention on the stuff I did, though I think most of that attention only goes to the Twitter account and little of it spreads elsewhere. I’d like to focus more on longer/bigger projects and less on the daily grunt work – not just news entries, but tracking down and entering posts and sorting through video links – but it also feels like if I don’t do those things, there’s no one else out there left doing them. I’ve tried to be more accepting that I’ll never be able to accomplish everything I want to do, but picking and choosing what to do (and not be bothered by those I can’t) is something I still struggle with.

A goal I didn’t achieve this year was to try to create a new (5+ minute) video a month for YouTube. There are people I’m never going to reach with text and probably not going to reach with Twitter than maybe I’ll reach with a video. I didn’t come close to getting that done in 2023, so I’ll try again in 2024. I’d also like to try to, if not migrate, then to diversify my social media presence. I’ll never have as big a platform on Twitter on any other social media again, but fewer people are around that on Twitter. That’s a reason to do YouTube videos, but maybe it’s a reason to invest the time in recreating some of the lucharobot stuff for Instagram, or for finding a purpose for my bluesky account beyond just posting links. It’s just a matter of figuring out what to stop doing to start doing something else.

I have thoughts about the year in lucha libre, but I’ll save it for one of those videos in hopes that I get it done. I hope you found something interested to read here in the last twelve months, and thanks for reading.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/29/2023 Arena México
1) Diamond, Oro Jr., Robin vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
2) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Volcano vs Cancerbero, Kráneo, Vegas
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
4) Stephanie Vaquer © vs La Jarochita [CMLL WOMEN]
3rd defense
5) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán vs Averno, Euforia, Mephisto
6) Volador Jr. vs Andrade el Idolo

Volador Jr. and La Sombra first wrestled on August 30th, 2010 in Arena Puebla. That match seemed to kick off a new era for CMLL, with those guys on top wrestling super athletic matches. It was the case for the first half of the 2010s, until Sombra became too big to be kept in Arena Mexico (and kept in his mask.) Volador stayed in CMLL, becoming the template and eventually the teacher for many young luchadors. La Sombra became Andrade, with many international adventures but no place that seems as home as the one he left. Tonight, they’ll wrestle a singles match again for the first time in seven years. Maybe Andrade will stick around in 2024 (or beyond) and this will be the first of many more matches. Maybe Andrade will indeed go back to WWE when his AEW deal expires, make a fantastic living, have no need or urge to ever return to Arena Mexico again, and this is the last time we’ll see these two men in a singles match. We only know that it’s going to be special to see them against each other once more, when even that much wasn’t certain to ever happen.

I want to say it’s a pretty good show beyond the main event, but it felt that way last week and it didn’t work out well. On paper, Los Infernales versus Dorada, Mistico and Titan looks great. Vaquer and Jarochita are about as good as title match the CMLL women can have had in a positive year for that division. (The two had a singles match in Sinaloa on Wednesday, a place where I struggle to find info on shows until results or video turns up later. That show, headlined by Mistico, was said to be a sell out) The all-Guadalajara match looks fun and there could be some entertainment in the undercard. It still requires a bit of luck and effort on a holiday week, and there’s no knowing how that’ll go.

The show is on PPV as usual, and back in USD.

Those who bought last week’s Friday PPV, which had multiple issues, were emailed a discount code for the 01/01 show. (It seemed to be slowly sent out over a few hours.) It’s not a refund, but it’s better than nothing. It was noteworthy that the refund came from CMLL itself – not from the PPV company, as has happened during past Boleta and TicketmasterLive issues – and that it means CMLL does get plenty of information on the individuals who buy these shows.

Guadalajara also has their cage match show tonight.

CMLL (SAT) 12/30/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Átomo & Chamuel
2) Andrómeda, La Vaquerita, Magia Azul vs Amapola, Metálica, Tiffany
3) Espíritu Negro, Fuego, Rey Cometa vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Dark Panther, Star Jr., Valiente vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Sagrado
5) Atlantis Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. vs Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Templario
6) Máscara Dorada vs Bárbaro Cavernario

Dorada/Cavernario sounds like a fun way to end the CMLL year.

CMLL (MON) 01/01/2024 Arena México
***Sin Salida, 2024***
1) Futuro & Valiente Jr. vs Arlequín & Draego
2) Andrómeda, Reyna Isis, Tessa Blanchard vs Marcela, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
3) Máscara Dorada vs Ángel de Oro [lightning]
4) Atlantis Jr., Flip Gordon, Místico vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
5) Último Dragóncito vs Pierrothito, Fantasy, Mercurio, Minos, Aéreo, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Magía, Pequeño Olímpico, Shockercito, Pequeño Violencia, Acero, Angelito, Full Metal, Kaligua, Galaxy [cage, mask, hair]

This is a 149 pesos/9 USD PPV (unless you’ve got one of those discount codes.) That’s a new price point. Guess they didn’t think people would pay for a minis cage match at the highest price. Dorada/Angel de Oro should be good. Tessa is back already. She and Isis are pictured as a pair, so they may be setting up a tag title match.

CMLL (MON) 01/01/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Centella Roja & Hijo de Centella Roja vs Dreyko & Fénix SO
2) Astoreth & Lady Metal vs Hera & Olympia
3) Arkalis & Rey Samuray vs El Malayo & Rey Apocalipsis
4) Esfinge & Star Black vs Hijo de Stuka Jr. & Stuka Jr. and Blue Panther Jr. & Dark Panther and Akuma & Hijo del Villano III
5) Atlantis, Stigma, Titán vs Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja, Templario

Just a random card.

CMLL (FRI) 01/05/2024 Arena México
1) Astral vs Capitán Suicida
rematch from February 14
2) Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Stigma vs Futuro, Max Star, Vegas
rematch from May 7
3) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs Akuma & Dark Magic
rematch from July 14
4) Esfinge vs Cavernario
rematch from September 29
5) Soberano Jr. vs Templario
rematch from January 6

These matches were announced at the end of CMLL Informa, along with the official announcement that this Best of 2023 concept would be extended to three weeks. Gotta find a way to fit all the Esfinge matches in. These are all billed as being selected by fans voting for the best match each month on CMLL’s website. Those polls get very few votes – like less than 100 – and even I don’t keep track of who wins them. I think CMLL plays it straight, following the winners, but no one’s checking.

That January Soberano/Templario match is actually their match from last year’s Best Of show so that they could be caught in an infinite loop on this. Likewise, Esfinge/Cavernario happened because Esfinge fans voted him into the Night of Champions show and then voted him again. Match three is a rematch of the hair match.

CMLL also announced Gran Alternativa will return on January 19th and 26th, with a final on February 2nd.

Flyer puts his mask up against Guerrero Negro Jr. in Monclova on New Year’s Day. Guerrero Negro Jr. is ex-CMLL, last wrestling there in 2014. Flyer may be ex-CMLL; he’s wrestled one match there since July. Guerrero Negro Jr. would assume to be losing that sort of match normally. He probably still will, but Flyer’s recent career is too erratic to rule out him losing his mask and vanishing.

Okumura made his annual return to Osaka as part of his goodwill duties.

AAA

AAA on Space has part 2 of the Best of show.

Capital 21 will air a live special on the Lucha X el Barrio competition and contestants at 1 pm on January 6th, the afternoon of AAA’s TV taping. Maybe we haven’t heard who’s the finalists because they’ll be determined and/or revealed. That public broadcasting channel streams live on their website everywhere.

Other News

Cancun luchador El Corsario (Ezquiel Hernandez Dionisio, 63) passed away Thursday due to kidney problems. He wrestled as a rudo in the 80s/90s and had been ill the last few months.

Mil Mascaras, who must’ve done one long interview that El Universal is breaking up into many smaller articles, claimed he was set to go to the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He says he qualified in both greco-roman and amateur wrestling and would’ve won gold in both. However, the Mexican committee deceived him about not having the money to send him until it was too late to fix it. Later, after he turned professional, he faced the Japanese gold medalist (not said in which style) and easily defeated him. There were five Japanese gold medalists in the 1964 Olympics, all in the lightest weight classes (Mil would’ve been in bigger classes) and none became professional wrestlers. Mexico sent four wrestlers to the 1964 Olympics, so they probably would’ve sent someone who was sure to be a double gold medalist. Mil had already started his professional career by the 1964 Olympics.

Criterio Hidalgo interviews Arquitecto del Mal I about his career.

There’s a new lucha libre movie in Guatemala.

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 12/25/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports, thecubsfan]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Chamuel & Periquito Sacaryas 
8:52
2) Acero, Galaxy, Pequeño Magía DQ Aéreo, Fantasy, Pequeño Polvora 
9:56. Fantasy unmasked Acero as cage match build
3) Rugido b Hombre Bala Jr. [lightning] 
8:08
4) La Jarochita, Marcela, Skadi b Dark Silueta, Hera, Reyna Isis 
13:03.
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente b Felino, Hechicero, Sagrado 
12:17
6) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. b Averno, Soberano Jr., Templario 
14:50

This is a free CMLL show and is an easy watch if you’re dying to check out CMLL and don’t want to pay for it or find it through other means. It was also mostly forgettable with a happy main event.

It’s unclear what CMLL is doing with the New Year’s Day show.

CMLL (MON) 12/25/2023 Arena Puebla [Mano a Mano]
1) Fénix SO & Siky Ozama b Meyer & Millenium
2) Olympia & Persephone b Estrellita Mágica & Lady Metal 
3) Arkalis, Pegasso, Rey Samuray b El Perverso, Pólvora, Prayer 
4) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, El Audaz b Crixus, Difunto, Felino Jr.
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b Dragón Rojo Jr., Hijo de Stuka Jr., Terrible 
6) Andrade el Idolo, Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. b Euforia, Místico, Stigma [Relevos Increíbles] 
Andrade beat Mistico via foul. Challenges followed.

This show was said to be a sell out, all around Andrade’s return.

CMLL said this was a subscription show and did tape it, but it hasn’t turned up as of the time of this post. It’ll probably be on the channel soon enough. It was probably the right call not to stream it after the last stream from Puebla didn’t go well, but also CMLL’s capable of saying “this is for subscribers but not live” and just doesn’t do those thingsg.

CMLL (TUE) 12/26/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Excelsior, Kaiser Sports, thegladiatores.com]
1) Meyer & Xelhua b Dr. Karonte I & Felino Jr.  
Felino Jr. replaced Dr. Karonte II
2) Grako, Inquisidor, Sangre Imperial b Astral, Eléctrico, Valiente Jr.  
3) Neón b Raider [lightning]  
9:35, very good match
4) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma  
5) Flip Gordon, Star Jr., Valiente b Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible  
6) Andrade el Idolo & Soberano Jr. b Atlantis & Atlantis Jr.  
Andrade and Soberano snuck in fouls. Andrade’s wife was at ringside again. Andrade said he’d return to take Atlantis’ mask if he felt like and that Soberano Jr. would take Atlantis Jr.’s mask.

Neon/Raider was great again, and the main event was an enjoyable character match. Andrade is clearly enjoying his time.

CMLL (TUE) 12/26/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara]
1) Adira, Dulce Kitty, Náutica b Atenea, Estrellita Mágica, La Pantera 
2) Astro Oriental, Gallo Jr., Príncipe Dragón, Rafaga Jr. b Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II, Eclipse Jr., Temerario 
3) Barboza, Draego, Persa b Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. 
4) Brillante Jr., Crixus, Star Black DQ Bestia Negra, Gallero, Halcón Negro Jr. 
win via foul
5) Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr. b Arlequín, Difunto, Esfinge [Relevos Increíbles] 
6) Andrómeda, Persephone, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis b Dark Silueta, Lady Shadow, Sexy Sol, Valkiria [Relevos Increíbles] 
7) Máscara Dorada & Místico b Averno & Furia Roja 

Everyone seemed to be a festive party mood, especially match 5. Good turnout for both Tuesday shows.

CMLL switched to promoting the Best of 2024 shows to a three week event, instead of two. Maybe we’ll hear more about those on Informa.

CMLL Informa today has

• Mistico, Atlantis, Templario, Hechicero, Reyna Isis: ??
• Stephanie Vaquer & Jarochita: title match
• Pierrothito, Mercurio, Angelito, Pequeno Magia: cage match

CMLL (FRI) 12/29/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Hatanna, Katara, Magia Azul vs Adira, Dulce Kitty, Náutica
2) Estrellita Mágica, Lady Amazona, Lady Metal vs Alondra, Andrómeda, Lady Shadow
3) Dulce Gardenia & La Fashion vs Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte
4) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico © vs El Malayo, Rey Apocalipsis, Siki Osama Jr. [OCCIDENTE TRIOS]
3rd defense
5) Atlantis Jr. & Flip Gordon vs Bestia Negra & Soberano Jr.
6) Maléfico vs Exterminador, Black Boy, Destructor, Javier Cruz Jr., Rumbero, Yaky Boy, Thunder Boy, Maximus, Atilus, Rey Urano, Demonio Rojo [mask, hair, cage]

A special Friday show in Guadalajara, probably streaming for free. The main event is the same opening match apuesta cage match CMLL ran in January, though I’ve got even less idea who will win. Match 5 is listed a revelos incredibles but everyone’s on the correct side.

CMLL (SAT) 12/30/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Átomo & Chamuel
2) Andrómeda, La Vaquerita, Magia Azul vs Amapola, Metálica, Tiffany
3) Espíritu Negro, Fuego, Rey Cometa vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Dark Panther, Star Jr., Valiente vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Sagrado
5) Atlantis Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. vs Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Templario
6) Máscara Dorada vs Bárbaro Cavernario

Dorada and Cavernario headline the final CMLL show of the year. Not much going on anywhere on 12/31.

Notably, no 01/01 Sin Salida lineup yet. Maybe some of those names with no reason to be on Informa will figure in a match for it.

Atlantis Jr. very much wants to be in 2024 NJPW G1. He felt he’s learned a lot in 2023 by wrestling people of different styles and wants to do more of it.

Prestige Wrestling (Los Angeles) announced Mascara Dorada versus Rey Horus for their 02/25 show. You may remember Rey Horus (and Bestia 666) popped up in The Crash and working The Crash means they’re done in AAA if you follow all this closely. CMLL typically doesn’t follow that stuff closely. Maybe it’s just slipping by because it’s a US show, but I take it as a sign there’s been a conversation between Horus and CMLL.

A report about spending by Mexico’s Federal Judiciary Council on non-judiciary things mentions the government agency bought 2,465 tickets for the CMLL Father’s Day show for 960,758.40 pesos. That’s about 400 pesos a ticket, which is a little odd – only the front two rows cost that much.

AAA

AAA put up a listing for a 01/20 show in Queretaro on their website. It’s been up there for a couple of days, Facebook pages noticed it over the weekend, but it’s not a place that has had much news since the latest redesign. Maybe that’s changing. The page just has the top half of the poster, no matches or ticket listing. AAA posters follow a pattern, so it’s easy to read what matches are scheduled. It’s a very unofficial lineup, just truly  an assumption:

AAA TV (SAT) 01/20/2024 Auditorio General José María Arteaga, Querétaro, Querétaro
1) ?, ??, ??? vs ????, ?????, ??????
2) Faby Apache & Pimpinela Escarlata vs La Hiedra & Maravilla
3) Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. vs Aerostar, Mr. Iguana, Súper Fly
4) Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown vs Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz, Dark Scoria
5) Chessman vs Electroshock
6) Pagano & Psycho Clown vs Cibernético & Zorro

This is another Retro branded show, which appears to be the AAA theme for 2024. A Retro theme doesn’t sound promising regarding the fresh ideas AAA or the good matches they’ve lacked in 2023, but maybe it’ll create a nostalgia-based attendance boost. Match 3 could be good but the rest does nothing for me as is, so I hope I got the lineup wrong.

AAA Retro is unlikely to be “current AAA wrestlers against former AAA wrestlers” all year. This is a bit of a guess, educated and not, but I think the AAA Retro concept will eventually re-introduce some older AAA characters with new (or current) luchadors. Think Abismo Negro Jr. and Octagon Jr., though maybe not even the junior. It fits Retro theme, and it gives AAA a little more control of the wrestlers.

IWRG

AAA , ROSALES (MON) 12/25/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Faby Apache & Lady Shani b Diva Salvaje & Jessy Ventura
2) Daimo, Galio, Golden Jecket, Kingoo b Rey Halcón, Skayler, Toxin, Visonario
3) Astuto, Mini Charly Manson, Mini Psycho Clown b Aerostar, La Parkita, Máscara de Bronce
4) Dave The Clown, Dizzy, Murder Clown, Panic Clown DQ Abismo Negro Jr., Joe Lider, Súper Nova, Texano Jr.
5) Hijo Del Vikingo b Taurus [AAA MEGA]

Vikingo/Taurus was said not to be as good as the US ones and still the best match on this show. This appears to have been a sell out, Arena Naucalpan is believed to have a capacity of 2,300, and so this Taurus/Vikingo match would’ve been in front of more people people live than their one at Final Battle. (The ticket revenue is surely different.) IWRG put up a link to stream the show and then deleted it before it got started. It’ll likely get up sooner.

Vikingo made his double bookings. Pigs didn’t make their tripleshot; they were in Mexico City as their match in Arena Lopez Mateos was happening.

IWRG (MON) 01/01/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Bengalee vs Sádika, Sagitairus, Satania, Amazonika, Kali [IWRG WOMEN, #1 Contenders, cage]
2) Low Rider vs Spider Fly, Abigor, Tornado, Rey Halcón, Freelance, Vaquero Fantasma, Águila Roja, Histeriosys [El Cofre de Tesoro, cage]
3) Keyra vs ? [IWRG WOMEN, cage]
4) Tonalli vs Dr. Cerebro Jr., Puma de Oro [cage, hair, ? CHAMP]
5) Cerebro Negro, Cerebro Negro Jr., Heddi Karaoui vs Aster Boy, Hijo del Alebrije, León Dorado [seconds hair, cage]
Reyes Rosas (Cerebros) and Sonrisas (Leon Dorado) have hairs on the line
6) Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Hijo del Fishman, Rey Espectro [IWRG IC HEAVY]

This is the annual Guerrero de Acero show. Every match is a cage match. The actual matches are usually not good but the concept sells out the building. The cage matches themselves have different rules: the main event is “first person who climbs up and grabs the belt” match, the opener is “first one who escapes gets the title shot later in the night.” Cofre de Tesoro is their money in the bank gimmick.

Other News

This has nothing to do with anything, but I was watching the “highlights” of Canek’s match on Monday, where he slowly moved out of the way of chopping spots and stuck his arm out for opponents to take a hip toss bump. Atlantis, around the same time in Arena Mexico, was more mobile but also reliant on a lot of spots where he moved just enough for his opponents to run into each other. Maybe we don’t give La Parka AAA enough Hall of Fame credit for being an innovator in the space of “bluffing your way through a wrestling match when you physically can’t do much of what you used to do.” The types of wrestlers who would’ve been critical of Parka’s performances basically wrestle the same way he does now.

Mil Mascaras talks about his career, says he spoke to the governor of New York City (maybe he means mayor) to get permission to wrestle masked in Madison Square Garden. In a second article, Mil mentioned he’s living in the United States and it’s tough to keep up with Mexican wrestling there. So I hear. He considers himself an active wrestler.

Kaoz Lucha Libre is promoting Matt Cardona and Marty Scurll for their March 24th show. No tickets are on sale yet and Kaoz has a recent poor track record of running their shows. Cardona is one where it’s tough to figure him meaning enough in Mexico to be worth the cost of bringing him in. Monterrey does have a good amount of US/foreign-wrestling interested wrestling fans who will show up for things like this (see the chants for Tommy Dreamer at Ultraclash) and maybe Cardona will be a big deal to them. The Cardona Facebook post does have a lot of positive comments.

Critero Hidalgo interviews rookie wrestler Destructor.

Box y Lucha 3583 has Volador Jr. & Andrade on the cover.

Aeroboy talks about reaching twenty years in his career.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/22/2023 Arena México [AS, CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Excelsior, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan, thegladiatores.com]
1) Pierrothito & Último Dragóncito b Pequeño Olímpico & Shockercito [Relevos Increíbles]   
5:31
2) Futuro, Max Star, Neón b Crixus, Difunto, Raider   
13:46
3) Andrómeda, La Jarochita, Marcela b Metálica, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis    
10:01. Straight falls. Jarochita pinned Vaquer to set up a title match next week
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Templario b Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr.    
15:34
5) Soberano Jr. b Atlantis Jr.    
19:30
6) Andrade el Idolo, Brillante Jr., Espanto Jr. b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Volador Jr.    
17:09. Andrade snuck in a foul on Volador. Andrade’s wife was seated in the front row.

Andrade was asked about possibly going to Japan, and mentioned he would’ve like to work FantasticaMania, but had a date conflict this year. He suggested maybe he’d do in 2025. It’s a great thought. He also noted he has a lot of open doors to him right now and he’s not sure which one he’ll choose. Andrade’s wife at ringside served as a reminder of the other day he could (and likely will) be stepping through. My hunch is Andrade will make an appearance in NJPW at some point in 2024, but I don’t expect him to be part of FantasticaMania 2025.

There’s a lot more Andrade could do in CMLL, and he sounded interested in returning in 2024. It looks like this week’s flurry will be the end of it though. Andrade will have had five matches as of Friday, and that’s the number the WON had reported. He’ll have wrestled Mistico, Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., gotten his relatives a main event match, and gotten one more singles match with Volador. Again, there’s much more Andrade could do, but it also fits as one last run in CMLL.

Just like there was an increase in press attention on last Friday’s CMLL show because Andrade returned, there was an extra amount of press attention all focusing on Charlotte Flair seated at ringside. She came to her seat during the semi-main and was on crutches. CMLL showed and identified her on the stream, though they were careful to use her real name and not her WWE character identity. Flair comes to Andrade’s matches often when available – she was spotted at his The Crash appearance in Tijuana – though I haven’t heard of her being at an AEW show. It certainly is a different landscape when a AEW star is show kissing a WWE star on a CMLL landscape, though it might have to do with those specific people more than anything.

Atlantis Jr/Soberano Jr. was still pretty good and a matter of getting used to the new Soberano style. He’s playing a much more dramatic character – definitely been watching NXT to get their trademark shocked face down – and he’s replacing big moves with taking wilder bumps. Atlantis came up with a couple of new ideas on his side, which follows Soberano being critical of him “only doing quebradoras” in his World Tag League matches. I was stunned Soberano lost clean, seems well too early after the rudo character. Those sorts of wins and losses don’t matter as much in CMLL, but I would’ve done whatever I could do to keep Soberano hot.

Stephanie Vaquer got noticeable boos on Friday. It wasn’t much of the crowd, but it was enough that tell who it was pointed at and have a good guess why. CMLL women, tecnicas or rudas, hardly ever get boos for character reasons. They may get booed if they’re having a bad match or if the crowd is restless and wants to see something else, but neither of those happened on Friday’s show. I can’t see into the hearts or minds of those doing the booing, but it seemed the first case of the Cuatrero supporters making themselves heard in Arena Mexico. Maybe it’ll be a one-week thing, but next week could be tough. The natural selling point to the Jarochita/Vaquer title match is Jarochita trying to bring back the championship to Mexican arms. That same xenophobia is also one of the selling points of the Cuatrero supporters – they feel the justice system should always support a Mexican over a foreigner – and maybe CMLL will stay away from it instead. They’ve stayed far away from this story.

The undercard of this show was disappointing. Both 2/4 had the young guys having lots of idea and middling success at how to do them. Villanos and Zandokan could use better idea of when to put all the stuff together too. (They were so good with the Panthers because those guys have that stuff figured out really well.) The opener was not much; hopefully, one year, CMLL will come up with more ideas for a cage match beyond “every match ends in a DQ.”

Friday’s stream was a fiasco. Neerme started playing the show about 30 minutes after the show started. They also never made the VOD available, even two days later. (I think, technically, Neerme failed to realize the show was over two days later and was still airing the ‘live’ stream.) CMLL said the late start wasn’t their fault. They appear to be telling the truth. If you hunt around Neerme’s server – in simple ways that would impress no one who does that for a living but still might get your computers seized – it was straightforward enough to find the full broadcast as sent by CMLL. They did their part, the problem is whatever software controls Neerme had to turn on and turn off the stream failed, and there’s no human backup keeping it on it when CMLL’s the only show they’re streaming.

Neerme/Boletia is more willing to do refunds and make goods when things fail, so maybe that’ll be coming this week. Neerme is better than Ticketmaster Live – that show would’ve been lost forever – but it’s still a substandard experience.

CMLL (SAT) 12/23/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Eléctrico & Oro Jr. b Enfermero Jr. & Príncipe Odín Jr.
Principe Odin’s first match since August.
2) Astral, Capitán Suicida, Diamond b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) El Audaz, Stigma, Volcano b Cancerbero, Felino Jr., Kráneo
4) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente b Rugido, Sagrado, Virus
5) Flip Gordon b Hechicero [lightning]
Flip Gordon used an STF
6) Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible b Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán
Cavernario snuck in a foul on Dorada

CMLL’s recap noted Flip Gordon used the STF of Lou Thesz, making for the first time Flip Gordon and Lou Thesz were positively compared. Not as joking, I think there was a point in the last few years where I thought Flip Gordon might become NWA champ.

Principe Odin Jr., previously as Artillero and Chamaco Torres even earlier, has been around CMLL regularly since 2002. Every time he turns up I wonder if it’s the last time he’ll turn up.

CMLL (TUE) 12/26/2023 Arena México
1) Meyer & Xelhua vs Dr. Karonte I & Dr. Karonte II
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Valiente Jr. vs Grako, Inquisidor, Sangre Imperial
3) Neón vs Raider [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
5) Flip Gordon, Star Jr., Valiente vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6) Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. vs Andrade el Idolo & Soberano Jr.

CMLL’s schedule is bonus stream on Monday, normal stream on Tuesday, PPV on Friday, and probably another bonus stream on New Year’s Day. Andrade will be gone by then, but they’re making sure all of his matches air one way or another.

Neon/Raider is a rematch from September, was great then, should be great again.

CMLL (FRI) 12/29/2023 Arena México
1) Diamond, Oro Jr., Robin vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
2) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Volcano vs Cancerbero, Kráneo, Vegas
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
4) Stephanie Vaquer © vs La Jarochita [CMLL WOMEN]
3rd defense
5) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán vs Averno, Euforia, Mephisto
6) Volador Jr. vs Andrade el Idolo

The main event result has some intrigue. Andrade does not lose outside of AEW much, like most AEW wrestlers. This is one where he really ought to lose; Volador’s the guy sticking around. Again, wins and losses don’t mean as much here but it seems like an easy decision to keep the right person hot. It’ll also go a long way to frame how we think about AEW people coming into CMLL going forward.

CMLL had that story this summer about Los Infernales splitting and that Satanico needed to come in to declare who could use the name now. Averno ended up teaming with Mephisto and Euforia and it just seemed to be missing Satanico walking out with them to give the thumbs up. Never happened, not sure why. Julio Cesar Rivera called them Los Infernales as if it had been set for a while, and they’re listed as such on this poster. They should be good opposition for those tecnicos.

The women’s title match is about as good as CMLL can make with who they have around on a regular basis. Match three is the face Guadalajara team against the Guadalajara rudos who’ve solidified themselves in Mexico City this year. Suicida, Fuego, and Volcano are a comedy team going against Kraneo and a couple of unusual partners. The opener seems like a way to get Los Indestructibles one last week for the year.

(Note Andrade will be squeezing in another match in Arena Olimpico Laguna on Thursday. I wonder if he’ll be on Informa on Wednesday.)

That Lucha Tour graphic teasing KeMalito and a mystery person revealed the mystery person as Mascara Dorada. That seems like a change of plans. I’ve belatedly realized that if CMLL doesn’t believe Monday’s Arena Mexico show is important enough to stream, it’s probably not important enough to debut a new KeMonito either.

Last Wednesday’s CMLL Informa did a lot of looking back at the year’s events. It’s always worth watching these with lucha libre promotions, just to see what they’ve decided to remove from history already. One look back that stood out was the Torneo de Escuelas. The tournament final saw Team Guadalajara’s Angel Rebelde defeat Team Mexico City’s Tonalli for the win. The broadcast instead presented the Arena Coliseo anniversary show cibernetico as the ultimate end of the tournament, which was instead won by Rey Samuray. Tonalli ended up not coming in to CMLL – he had a chance to work internationally on RGR shows with AAA wrestlers and picked that instead. Angel Rebelde has only wrestled in Mexico City twice since that cibernetico, has spent the year occasionally wrestling in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, and isn’t even really pushed there. I keep thinking how weird it is that CMLL went cold on Angel Rebelde, but maybe the question is why how they were so high on him to give him the win in the first place. The rest of the Guadalajara team didn’t stick in Mexico City either except for Crixus. Maybe the decision was Guadalajara had to go over, Crixus was too unsteady to carry the final of a tournament, and Rebelde could have the most spectacular finish with Tonalli. It should’ve been Mexico City winning, with Neon as the winner, but maybe there are political reasons to reward one of the outlets instead.

AAA

AAA’s TV show was a Best Of, with three matches: Cartwheel/Komander, the Mexico/Japan match from the Lucha World Cup, and Omega/Vikingo. One of those matches was not the quality of the other two. There was less than five minutes of new content, just plugging the 01/06 show and the announcers setting up the matches.

AAA will air a second Best Of next week. That would leave one blank week (01/06) for the Baradhal sponsored show, and then onto 2024 tapings.

IWRG

IWRG sent out a statement demanding Poder del Norte return the IWRG trios belts to their offices by January 5th, and threatening legal action if they defend the belts elsewhere. IWRG didn’t threaten this for any of the previous trios champions who defended their belts outside of IWRG (and seemingly without their authorization.) This would be an entertaining lawsuit, so I hope Poder del Norte goes for it.

Other News

Guanajuato exotico luchdor Bella de Paris (38) passed away on December 21st. This story is getting a lot of media attention not because of the wrestler’s career but because of the sordid death. Bella de Paris ran a beauty shop in Leon in their other life. Two men entered the shop Thursday night and shot Bella de Paris eight times. A relative was also wounded. There’s no word on the motive. As the article notes, there’s been a rash of violent luchador deaths in Leon in recent years. I only have about three matches with Bella de Paris in recent years, usually in prelim roles; I assume there was a previous identity.

Luis Mante, better known in Mexico as Diamante, won Dragongate’s Open the Dream Gate championship, their top title, on Sunday. I believe he’s the first Mexican wrestler to win the top championship of a major Japanese promotion. (Violento Jack has won Freedoms top championship, but Dragon Gate is a more significant promotion.) It’s rare for a Mexican wrestler to even challenge for the most important title in a Japanese promotion. Mante winning is a major achievement, one that’s not gotten its due in Mexico to this point.

This Dream Gate seems a reign more riding off the momentum of Mante’s mask loss earlier this year. It’s unlikely he will become the central figure of Dragongate even as champion. On the other hand, it was incredibly unlikely Diamante would ever win this championship (or do anything of note) when he was brought in as Ultimo Dragon’s designated opponent in 2019.

ESTO has two articles about Blue Demon Jr., one about his holiday memories and one about his painting. In the first, Demon joins the grand tradition of wrestlers claiming they were going to be in the Olympics but some misfortune happened; he claims a shoulder injury cost him from wrestling in the 1984 Los Angeles games.

Segunda Caida reviews more 1991 Monterrey.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/22/2023 Arena México
1) Pierrothito & Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico & Shockercito [Relevos Increíbles]
2) Futuro, Max Star, Neón vs Crixus, Difunto, Raider
3) Andrómeda, La Jarochita, Marcela vs Metálica, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Templario vs Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr.
5) Atlantis Jr. vs Soberano Jr.
6) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Volador Jr. vs Andrade el Idolo, Brillante Jr., Espanto Jr.

All eyes on the meeting of the 80th Aniversario participants in the main event. It was the apuesta match the fans (very loudly) didn’t want to see ten years ago and would very much like to see today. Andrade looked great and greatly motivated last week, and mixing it up with Volador should be good.

The direction of the main even is a bit cloudy. CMLL seems headed to an eventual Volador/Andrade match and 12/29 would normally be the logical date for it. However, 12/30 is the next AEW PPV and it’d be logical if Andrade was required to be in town for that the night prior (even if he doesn’t figure into their tournament final.) CMLL Informa repeated that the 01/05 and 01/12 shows are meant to be the Best of 2023 events, which means no space for Andrade. CMLL could just ignore that and do whatever, but it’s possible this is the end of Andrade for a bit.

Volador, on CMLL Informa, criticized Andrade’s decision to team with his family. He noted Brillante Jr. was just a raw rookie and called Espanto Jr. a guy who’s been in CMLL for years without ever accomplishing anything. Espanto Jr. is one-half of the Arena Coliseo Tag Team champions with Akuma; it’s up to you if that counts as “anything.” It is unlikely Espanto Jr. will ever again headline a Friday night show outside of this Andrade storyline. Brillante could (and very well may) have a bad day and it can be written off as inexperience. Espanto Jr. is bad fairly often but few notice because it’s in prelim matches (or because teammate Dark Magic is worse.) There’s no hiding tonight.

Atlantis Jr. and Soberano Jr. are just starting their own Volador/Sombra rivalry, and figure to get off to a good start. The rest of the show is really solid: the Villanos and Zandokan reunite and  promisng matches in the 2/3 spot. It’s going to take a lot to steal the show with the top matches but I think it’s possible the minis try to do it from the openers. We’ve seen in the past that when an older generation gets a rare opportunity for a match together on a Friday night, that they tend to greatly exceed expectations. Time is running out for the Pierrothito, Pequeno Olimpico, Ultimo Dragon trio in particular, I think they know it, and they might want to go out big.

It’s on PPV as usual, just in Pesos like the other shows this month.

Soberano Jr. says he’s signed a one year contract with NJPW. NJPW (and CMLL) haven’t said anything. This came up in one of the Wednesday media sessions. It well into the interview and Dr. Landru of the Gladiatores was the only one who seemed to notice it as news.

There’s something off about this news. NJPW typically doesn’t have all of those who would be consider ‘regular’ roster members under contract. Locking down someone likely to work three or four tours and not part of a faction is unusual. Either Soberano’s going to get added to a NJPW faction soon (which would be a minor story), NJPW greatly expanding the number of people they have under contract (which would be a major story), or something got lost here (which would make it a non-story.) Soberano seems serious about this, but there’s clearly a piece we’re not getting.

CMLL (SAT) 12/23/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Eléctrico & Oro Jr. vs Enfermero Jr. & Príncipe Odín Jr.
2) Astral, Capitán Suicida, Diamond vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) El Audaz, Stigma, Volcano vs Cancerbero, Felino Jr., Kráneo
4) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente vs Rugido, Sagrado, Virus
5) Flip Gordon vs Hechicero [lightning]
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible

Another Barbaros main event. Flip Gordon/Hechicero has a chance to make a lot of people very mad.

CMLL (MON) 12/25/2023 Arena México
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Chamuel & Periquito Sacaryas
2) Aéreo, Fantasy, Pequeño Polvora vs Acero, Galaxy, Pequeño Magía
3) Hombre Bala Jr. vs Rugido [lightning]
4) La Jarochita, Marcela, Skadi vs Dark Silueta, Hera, Reyna Isis
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente vs Felino, Hechicero, Sagrado
6) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. vs Averno, Soberano Jr., Templario

Special holiday show doesn’t have any special matches to it. The main event could be good. I made fun of it on Twitter, but the lightning match could be good. The minis match should be fun before the finish. It is notable the Gemelos are in the building.

CMLL (MON) 12/25/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Meyer & Millenium vs Fénix SO & Siky Ozama
2) Estrellita Mágica & Lady Metal vs Olympia & Persephone
3) Arkalis, Pegasso, Rey Samuray vs El Perverso, Pólvora, Prayer
4) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, El Audaz vs Crixus, Difunto, Felino Jr.
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Hijo de Stuka Jr., Terrible
6) Euforia, Místico, Stigma vs Andrade el Idolo, Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

The Puebla show will be the bonus holiday stream, showcasing Andrade’s return to the arena. Nothing too special here otherwise, though the matches may good. Gran Guerrero finished higher than Andrade in the PWI so maybe he can give Andrade some tips.

Estrellita Magica is a curiosity to me. She was a fringe CMLL Mexico City roster member from 2009 to 2011, and somehow ended up in Puebla the last few years. She would’ve fit in Pegasso’s women’s wrestling class, but maybe they specifically wanted people from Puebla, not those who ended up there.

CMLL (TUE) 12/26/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Adira, Dulce Kitty, Náutica vs Atenea, Estrellita Mágica, La Pantera
2) Astro Oriental, Gallo Jr., Príncipe Dragón, Rafaga Jr. vs Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II, Eclipse Jr., Temerario
3) Brillante Jr., Crixus, Star Black vs Bestia Negra, Gallero, Halcón Negro Jr.
4) Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. vs Barboza, Draego, Persa
5) Arlequín, Difunto, Esfinge vs Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Andrómeda, Persephone, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis vs Dark Silueta, Lady Shadow, Sexy Sol, Valkiria [Relevos Increíbles]
7) Máscara Dorada & Místico vs Averno & Furia Roja

Both the Andrade and the building seemed to indicate he’d be there on this show. Furia Roja seems to be in his spot, and Esfinge is a weird spot himself.. Could be something has come up. It’s a long trip from a late night Tuesday Guadalajara show to Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, though I don’t know if that’s the reason. Maybe we’ll know later.

Match 6 is foreigners versus Mexicans, just as long as you pretend Andromeda is from outer space.

Satanico wrestled in Arena Aficion this past week, which he believed was for the first time in 15 years. He told the press he doesn’t believe wrestlers wrestling the way today will have 30 year careers, much less the 50 he did, because their bodies just won’t hold up that long.

Ciudad Olinka has a story about Salavador Lutteroth’s birth town of Colotan, Jalisco. He moved to Mexico City as a child, but did travel back to support the town by building a school and nursing home among other actitives. This past September, the town unveiled a bust of Lutteroth, which sits in the media of a major street.

AAA

AAA’s episode description is “Especial de Navidad.” A holiday recap show? New matches? No idea.

Many people have big goals and aspirations for 2024. I sadly lack any good ideas on that front. Perhaps our friends at AAA do have a dream of accurate TV taping lineups for 2024. AAA updated the 01/06 lineup to remove Aramis from the opener and replace him with Arez. Mexican wrestling shows, not just AAA, often have a lot of changes and they’re usually brushed off and mean little. It means a little bit more if a card change happens in AAA in early 2024.

When Jessy Ventura signed with AAA last week, I assumed that long-time Las Shotas tag team partner Diva Salvaje would be doing the same. I think I even wrote that in a poster and then backspaced out of it; might as well let it play out. It is playing out, in that Diva Salvaje sounds like they’re planning on staying independent at the moment.  Salvaje says there is no issue with them and Jessy Ventura. I think it’s more an issue wit hAAA’s contracts than any issue between the team members.

Vix streaming series Cada Pasion Tiene Su Sabor is about visiting famous sports event travelogue, combined with eating food and visiting locations. Episode 8 of their most recent season is about TripleMania Tijuana. (It played for me without signing up for anything; I can’t promise it’ll work for everyone.) I can’t recall hearing about it at all, and I know about it because of a mention on social media. Vix is Televisa owned, the rival of AAA’s partner Azteca. It’s weird this even exists, and maybe that’s a reason why it hasn’t been promoted.

Fightful Select reported QT Marshall finished up with AEW already. That AAA video looked like it was filmed somewhere outside of AEW.

The Cuatrero march did take place on Wednesday. While not a big number, they did seem to have a few more people than the first try a few days, and got some additional media attention. Cuatrero’s next court date was today (Friday), and a third protest march was held outside the jail.

IWRG

No Thursday show. Or Sunday show. Rosales runs the show on Monday.

This week’s IWRG show is the top two matches from December 12, 2010. They were posted online back in the day (and before they could be posted in one part.)

I have results from that show, and linked to six different sources. Estrellas del Ring still exists, but they’ve long abandoned their Blogger site where the recap was posted (and have almost totally pivoted to video.) The Gladiatores still exists and resumed posting on their website after a hiatus, but there’s some encoding error causing issues with the recap. MedioTiempo still exists but the link doesn’t work; not sure if they’ve changed their site or just removed old content. Mi Lucha Libre is distant memory. Al Filo del Ring might exist behind what Blogger has as a locked page, but I suspect it’s gone as well. Black Terry Jr. is still around, but he long ago took down or turned private most of his content; he just wasn’t getting enough out of it to keep it up. The internet turns over, especially when there’s not money to keep this going.

Other Notes

Andrade’s latest return to his home town took place in Arena Olimpico Laguna on Thursday night. Andrade, Penta, Cinta de Oro, DMT Azul had a four way ladder match in front of what seemed to be an overcapacity crowd. Penta might have been more over. This match was for the IOWC championship, a in-theory “independent championship” that is in practice a Cinta de Oro vanity belt. Andrade had won the title from Cinta previously, so they ran a ladder match here just to find a way to get Cinta back his belt without Andrade taking a pin.

Black Taurus worked the undercard on that show. I don’t think he’s under AAA contract, but he’s still a guy CMLL would consider an AAA guy. In previous years, CMLL would frown on guest wrestlers working shows with AAA wrestlers when they’re taking dates from CMLL. (Lady Frost worked an indie show with AAA wrestlers, and that’s the guess why CMLL stopped bringing her in.) It could be CMLL policy has changed, or it could be CMLL sees Andrade as a big enough deal to overlook the issue just for him.

The Black Taurus match also included Gravity, filling in for Bandido. It was a rare appearance for Gravity in Mexico, and he doesn’t wrestle much in the US outside Ring of Honor. I assume he’s concerned about getting hurt and hurting his US deal, but he’s a guy who could use more work.

Hijo del Vikingo and Black Taurus will wrestle again for the AAA Megachampionship tonight on AEW Rampage. I would be surprised to see any official announcement of Taurus’ status tonight, but I’ve been told to expect to see Taurus in AEW/ROH more going forward. Tony Schiavone, in talking about the Final Battle match on his podcast, said Vikingo was “really hurting” after the match. I believe he was banged up on the powerbomb on the floor, which affected his performance for the rest of the match. It was not serious enough to keep him from wrestling a few days later.

An El Universal article interviews older wrestlers about why they keep wrestling, and comes to the conclusion that it’s because the fans want them to keep doing themselves. Solar says the people demand he doesn’t retire because he does a style no one does before (even if it’s a poor and slow imitation of that style by now.) Mil Mascaras is quoted as saying wrestlers will stop when they no longer feel they have the qualities to be good wrestlers. The issue is more wrestlers will convince themselves they still have the qualities to be a good wrestler as long as a promoter calls them up and opens the job. Mascaras himself was not good for decades before he (seemingly) stopped wrestling.

Segunda Caida reviews LA Park & Sayrus vs Pimpinela Escarlata & Kaoma Jr..

Site Notes

The posting schedule will be couple of weeks for reasons both obvious and not as much. There may be Sunday updates instead of Monday updates for the next couple of weeks, and posts may come out as weirder times.

I’m still planning on doing La Tapatias starting on 01/01, although this is the first time I’ve thought about it.