Gran Alternativa Block A tonight, AAA in Queretrao, Big Lucha

sorry aggregators, no hot signings news signings to mention today

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 01/19/2024 Arena México
1) Valiente Jr. vs Felino Jr. [lightning]
2) Futuro & Neón vs Magnus & Rugido
rematch from 10/13
3) Máscara Dorada vs Bárbaro Cavernario
rematch from 12/30
4) Brillante Jr. & Místico vs Crixus & Euforia and Explosivo & Titán and Raider & Templario and Atlantis & Rey Samuray and Hijo de Stuka Jr. & Stuka Jr. and Ángel Rebelde & Star Jr. and Esfinge & Halcón Negro Jr. [Gran Alternativa, battle royal]

If we presume Mascara Dorada & Neon are the favorites in the other block, then it’s probably a rudo team coming out of this block. Crixus has been pushed hard (but they also seem to know he’s not good.) Raider & Templario would be the best, but it would also make the final feel like a repeat. I wouldn’t have given the Stukas much of a chance before, but it seems more likely now that we know Stuka is facing Dorada on FantasticaMania. It’d fit as a FantasticaMania main event now.

Matches 2 and 3 could be great. Valiente Jr./Felino Jr. could be good, but it’s hard to remember the last standout Felino Jr. match. This show depends on how that tournament works out, could be really enjoyable depending on who gets the block final. It’s on PPV, and it’s free if you have the coupon code from last week. Hopefully it works.

Mistico says he’s going to retire – at some point. Like every other wrestler, he wants to retire young. He gives no dates to this, which saves me the time of not believing them.

CMLL (SAT) 01/20/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Acero, Aéreo, Fantasy vs Full Metal, Minos, Pequeño Polvora
2) Astral & Diamond vs Nitro & Sangre Imperial
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Skadi vs Dark Silueta, La Catalina, Zeuxis
4) Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther vs Averno, Euforia, Mephisto
5) Star Black © vs Magnus [MEX HEAVY]
first defense
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Titán vs Hechicero, Soberano Jr., Templario

I’d be oddly intrigued in the title match if it aired. A title change seems unlikely.

CMLL (SUN) 01/21/2024 Arena México
1) Bengala, Leono, Retro vs Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr.
2) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito
3) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs Okumura & Pólvora
4) Fugaz, Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr. vs El Coyote, Rey Bucanero, Sagrado
5) Atlantis, Flip Gordon, Valiente vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6) Volador Jr. vs Último Guerrero

The promised Volador/UG match, on a Sunday, not a Tuesday.

CMLL (MON) 01/22/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger & Millenium vs Hijo del Perverso & Sombra Diabólika
2) Enigmática, La Vaquerita, Lady Metal vs Dark Silueta, Diablita Roja, Lady Amazona
3) Arkalis, Pegasso, Rey Samuray vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
5) Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6) Máscara Dorada vs Templario

The main event is the expected Dorada/Templario title match.

CMLL (TUE) 01/23/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan, Cosmos vs Demonio Rojo, Ponzoña Jr., Rumbero
2) Atilus, Maximus, Rey Urano vs Obek, Rav, Temerario
3) Ángel Negro, Halcón Suriano Jr., Tonkawa vs Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico
4) Dark Magic, El Elemental, Yutani vs Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
5) Adira & La Pantera vs Hatanna & Katara [OCCIDENTE WOMEN TAG, final]
6) Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. vs El Malayo, Rey Apocalipsis, Siki Osama Jr.
7) Dark Silueta, Lluvia, Zeuxis vs Hera, Olympia, Persephone

An unusual women’s main event here, though it is Las Infernales teaming up. The Guadalajara duo of Adira & Pantera are favorites to win the vacant tag titles. Elemental and Yutani resurface. No idea who Tonkawa is.

AAA

AAA tapes in Queretaro this week

AAA TV (SAT) 01/20/2024 Auditorio General José María Arteaga, Querétaro, Querétaro
1) Dark Crazy & Kastigador vs Hijo del Picudo & Ursus and Galáctico Dragón & Murciélago Plateado Jr.
2) ?, ??, ??? vs ????, ?????, ??????
3) Estrellita, Faby Apache, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Dalys, La Hiedra, Maravilla
4) Drago, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa vs Belcegor, Dinámico, Parka Negra
5) Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. vs Aerostar, Mr. Iguana, Súper Fly
6) Chessman & Pagano vs Electroshock & Zorro
7) Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown, Psycho Clown vs Cibernético, Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz, Dark Scoria

Matches four and five could be good. Match 1 is the dark match, match 2 is probably the Lucha x el Barrio show. The Mexico City taping starts airing this week, so this looks like it’s airing on 02/03 and 02/10. AAA probably has a new taping to announce around those dates.

Elegido told ESTO the heartwarming story of how his fellow AAA wrestlers beat him up for years because they thought he wasn’t any good. He feels strong to have gone through it all. It is weird to tell this story before an AAA TV taping.

LuchaTitlan’s next periodic big show is on 02/10.

The great AAA/TNA alliance led to Vikingo and Laredo winning none of their matches this past weekend, with Laredo Kid taking a pinfall on last night’s Impact TV show. That’s nothing new, just sticks out a bit more after the ‘news’ of this past week.

I am certain there will be more/new AAA people in TNA. AAA wants to prove to their wrestlers they’ll get them to the US, and TNA always could use a few new faces. They may even run something like Ultraclash in reverse, just to say they’ve done it. I just both AAA and TNA do it a lot better than they’ve handled this relationship in the past. It is striking that two sides couldn’t figure out a way to give an AAA wrestler a win right after the announcement of their great deal; it shows the lack of seriousness about all of this.

a brief summary of recent events in the Vaquer/Cuatrero case

• a reporter: from the investigation, here are Whatsapp messages where Vaquer reveals she’s been attacked by Cuatrero, Hiedra consoles and mentions Sanson did the same to her, and advises Vaquer to conceal the incident
• La Hiedra: that’s fake news
• the same reporter: from the investigation, here’s La Hiedra’s sworn testimony confirming she had a text conversation with Vaquer after the alleged incident

That doesn’t look good for La Hiedra. The testimony is from July, after well after Cuatrero has been arrested. Hiedra then says Vaquer believed Cuatrero was cheating on him and that’s where the argument started between them. She also plays down the wounds, saying they looked like a couple of scratches.

I am a little curious about how and why a reporter who mostly seems to cover some serious stuff – not that isn’t serious, but you can scroll down his timeline and find reports on cartels, extortion, and murders – end up with all this information and decided to put it out. It could be as simple as Cuatrero’s family asking for more attention on the case earned them the sort of attention they didn’t want. They clearly don’t believe that’s the situation: Cuatrero’s family and friends held a protest in the streets near Arena Mexico on Wednesday, blocking traffic in the area to get noticed.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha (FRI) 01/19/2024 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) La Brava vs Diosa Nix
2) Ancestral & Blue Monsther vs Dankar & Platino
3) Brujo, Limbo, Torito Negro vs Auzter, Black Skayde, Fulgor
4) Cody 1-8 & Mr. Win vs Elipse & Orbita

Lokos Evans and Cody 1-8 cost each other matches last week, setting up the main event. Match 2 is maestros (Monster, Platino) and their trainees. Big Lucha hasn’t booked many women’s matches of late but they do like booking La Brava.

Big Lucha mentioned they were running on the 19th and the 26th. What they didn’t mention is the 26th is a show in the Zocalo. That always seems like a cool scene for a wrestling show, though I’m not sure about the streaming out there. This is part of Big Lucha’s partnership with INJUVE, who is hosting a lot of youth-focused events in the historical heart of Mexico City. That show, in terms of people hanging out in the general vicinity of the ring, will probably be the biggest attended Big Lucha show yet.

Bandido posted a note on Instagram officially leaving Big Lucha. You may recall Bandido leaving Big Lucha month, but that puts you ahead of some people. The story as I understand it is some people – especially non-Mexican people who don’t really follow lucha libre but want to come to wrestle in Mexico anyway – still didn’t understand Bandido left Big Lucha months ago and were still contacting him for info about the promotion and the gym. This was an attempt to remedy that. Please understand the country and promotion you’re trying to work.

Other News

Former Coliseo Coacalco regular Kazuchika Okada has announced his intentions to wrestle in the US in 2024. I hope it works out for him. There’s some decent similarity between Okada going to AEW or WWE and Mistico going to WWE. Both guys taking off led to their whole scene going through a boom. Both are leaving their home when that boom seems on the downside, though there still was a lot left to it. I know I had the fear that when Mistico left – and when Andrade and Mascara Dorada and others left – that Mexico wouldn’t be able to keep their top stars anymore. To some extent that’s worked true – Penta and Fenix and Rush and Bandido have all followed to the US instead of main eventing promotions in Mexico, and guys like Komander were swooped up before it even got that far. It hasn’t been everyone, and it also hasn’t been devastating. Having those talent around would patch over some holes, but CMLL’s instead use those holes to keep their push different people, and has done well when those new talent have done well. The contract imbalance does loom over a lot of decisions; for example, Andromeda’s a far from finished product, but CMLL’s probably got to start pushing her before she ready, because she’ll be plucked off the tree by someone else by then. Everyone’s just got to adjust to the reality they’re living in, instead of idly complaining about the changes and hoping it’ll snap back to the way it used to be.