Brillante Jr. wins Gran Alternativa, Hechicero/Danielson, Vikingo/Shani win at Rey de Reyes

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 02/02/2024 Arena México [AS, CMLL, FDDE, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Angelito & Pequeño Olímpico DQ Acero & Pierrothito [Relevos Increíbles]  
11:01. Acero unmasked Angelito, who demanded a rematch next week.
2) Crixus, Raider, Vegas b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora   
16:13
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Tabata b Hera, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis   
10:31. Debut of Tabata, who had previously wrestled masked as Katara in Guadalajara (and is Lluvia’s daughter.) Zeuxis replaced Catalina (illness).
4) Tessa Blanchard b Dark Silueta [lightning]  
8:59. Blanchard offered a handshake after the match, Dark Silueta refused (and crowd sided with Blanchard.)
5) Atlantis Jr., Flip Gordon, Volador Jr. b Soberano Jr., Templario, Último Guerrero   
13:09.
6) Brillante Jr. & Místico b Máscara Dorada & Neón [Gran Alternativa, final]   
17:38. Great match.

The Gran Alternativa has been up and down, but they nailed the final. They pulled off the big spots you’d expect, they changed things up a little bit from normal, and they kept it moving the whole way. Easy recommendation.

It was a big night for Brillante. Winning was big, looking like he belonged was bigger. Neon’s more ready to have great matches right now, Brillante did plenty well enough to prevent it coming off as a terrible decision. (I also like the team of Futuro & Neon and that would’ve gone away if Neon got moved up right now, so maybe I’m biased.) The crowd was also super pro-Mistico, and Neon winning in that environment would’ve not gotten the reaction that was supposed to happen for a Gran Alternativa winner. Brillante has been prone to mishaps in his short CMLL career but found that missing consistency throughout this tournament.

The usual prize for winning the Gran Alternativa is getting in the main event, but Brillante Jr. is too busy heading to Japan for the next couple of weeks to get that. That tour does make me think this was always the plan. Andrade showing up to endorse his cousin doesn’t hurt. There’s been speculation that Brillante Jr. will end up as “La Sombra” since he’s shown up, and winning this tournament does move things more in that direction.

Mistico is the first person to win the Gran Alternativa four times; once as a rookie (with Hijo del Santo) and now three times as vet (La Sombra, Panterita del Ring, Brillante Jr.)

The semi-main was a professional CMLL Trios match, except for Sobernano and Ultimo Guerrero doing their best to ignore each other’s existence.  The lightning match was fine, though the timing was off on the finish. Tabata’s not really for Friday nights but CMLL’s on a youth kick and they’ve got to work to get better. Match two wasn’t much but Crixus is starting to get a strong female reaction. The minis feud is going somewhere, but I couldn’t tell you where.

The CMLL Friday stream worked fine. It’s going to work fine most of the time. They never fixed the Tuesday stream, they hadn’t put up last Friday’s show when I checked as scheduled on Sunday, and there was no sign of the Coliseo matches.

CMLL (SAT) 02/03/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito b Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia
2) Oro Jr., Robin, Valiente Jr. b Dr. Karonte I, Enfermero Jr., Nitro
Valiente Jr. replaced Valiente on Friday (or, more likely, they just listed the wrong name)
3) Disturbio b Dulce Gardenia [lightning]
Disturbio snuck in a foul on Dulce
4) Reyna Isis, Tessa Blanchard, Tiffany b Dark Silueta, Lluvia, Zeuxis
Tiffany replaced Catalina (illness)
5) Blue Panther, Panterita del Ring, Valiente b Felino, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero
6) Flip Gordon, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Euforia, Templario, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

Not a lot here. Not even sure which two matches I’d want to see.

Mistico defeated Averno in MLW on Saturday. This one got lost in everything else going on, as seems to happen a lot with MLW. They completely got their thunder stolen by the CMLL/AEW stuff; if you were curious enough to check out CMLL, you could do it on TV instead of PPV. Dario Cueto seconded Mistico to counter Salina de la Rena with Averno, which just feels weird. Mistico will challenge Rocky Romero for the MLW Middleweight Championship on the next show. I assume Rocky will win, but Kojima (seconded by Okumura) won the MLW main title on the same show, so who knows what can happen there.

CMLL (SUN) 02/04/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Átomo & Periquito Sacaryas
2) Astral b Eléctrico [lightning]
9:56 (or 4 seconds left on the clock)
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Samuray, Stigma
4) Hera, Olympia, Tessa Blanchard b Amapola, Metálica, Persephone
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Octagón b Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
Rudos took 1, rudos got DQed for excessive violence in the second, and tecnicos took 3.

Blanchard went 3-0 on the weekend.

CMLL (TUE) 02/06/2024 Arena México
1) Astral & Oro Jr. vs Grako & Sangre Imperial
2) La Vaquerita & Maligna vs Hera & Olympia
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
4) Atlantis Jr. vs Niebla Roja [lightning]
5) Místico vs Soberano Jr., Máscara Dorada, Ángel de Oro, Volador Jr., Templario, Flip Gordon, Zandokan Jr., Titán, Villano III Jr., Esfinge, Star Jr. [Reyes del Aire]

It’s a Tuesday show but this is really the big CMLL show of next week. The Gran Alternative should be great, and I’ve got no idea who’s will take it. Atlantis Jr. and Niebla Roja is nice bonus match. There’s some hope for match 3. Maybe not those first two.

CMLL (TUE) 02/06/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Leo & Temerario vs Bestia Negra & Rav
2) Fantástico & Halcón de Plata vs Cowboy & Omar Brunetti
3) Arlequín & Garabato vs Adrenalina & Obek
4) Johnny Dinamo vs Principe Daniel [lightning]
5) Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
6) Andrómeda, Dark Silueta, Valkiria vs La Maligna, Persephone, Tessa Blanchard
7) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Internacional Pantera vs Felino, Rey Bucanero, Satánico
8) Euforia & Mephisto vs Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero

The opening three matches here are listed as “(Guadalajara) Gran Alternativa Presentation” matches. This building has been teasing running their own Gran Alternativa during January, and it’s not totally clear if those are first round matches or just the teams teaming in pre-tournament exhibition matches. It’s a 12 team tournament, so that would make sense as a one half of the first round. I don’t need a CMLL Guadalajara Informa, I don’t even watch the IWRG one most weeks, but it would be helpful to know what’s going on in between shows.

Temerario, Rav, Halcon de Plata, Cowboy, Garabato and Obek are the rookies in this batch. There was a Halcon de Plata here around 2011-12, I think the name is recycled, but there’s a chance he could’ve been wrestling on indie shows in Jalisco for some time. (Whatever the deal is, he’s been wrestling with the Romans who work some opening matches here.)

CMLL (FRI) 02/09/2024 Arena México
1) Acero & Pierrothito vs Angelito & Pequeño Olímpico [Relevos Increíbles]
rematch
2) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) Marcela & Skadi vs Reyna Isis & Tessa Blanchard
4) Max Star, Rugido, Volador Jr. vs Averno, Euforia, Mephisto
5) Alom, Astro Boy Jr., Dragón de Fuego, Forneo, Hunter, Legendario vs Emperador Jr., Infarto (Laguna), Misterio Blanco, Misterio Negro, Platino Kid (Laguna), Viento Negro [Torneo de Escuelas, semifinal]

The Torneo de Escuelas matches last year were never main events, even the final, so it certainly sticks out that CMLL’s giving that spot on this show. (This is probably the only Arena Mexico most of the losing team will ever get.) Volador being in the semiman stick out; he’s the only FantasticaMania wrestler on this show. It feels like CMLL’s holding back the actual main event, but they may just have deep faith in this concept.

CMLL/AEW

I guess this is a separate section for a while.

Let’s get the biggest stuff out of the way: AEW wrestlers, specifically members of the Blackpool Combat Club, are likely to arrive in Arena Mexico at some point. I don’t like saying this stuff without having dates of when things are going to happen, and I don’t have dates or that sort of solid info – this is just conjecture. It’s obvious that’s the direction they’re going right now. This is based on a Jon Moxley promo (distills to “maybe we’ll come to your place”) and a Volador promo (distills to “I dare you to show up.”) Watch enough AEW & CMLL and you know they’re only doing that sort of thing if there’s a plan to make it happen. It’s happening. I just don’t know when – the FantasticaMania tour is weirdly an obstacle in CMLL’s international plans? – and I suspect the first BCC appearance will be an unadvertised surprise. Homenaje a Dos Leyendas is the logical date for a match.

Hechicero/Danielson was outstanding. It was a total effort to make Danielson appear in real trouble from the outsider and barely squeeze out the win. Hechicero did his thing: a whole lot of stuff that US audiences hadn’t seen and did them well. He even brought back the fire entrance, which hasn’t been done in Mexico in years, and came off great on US TV. It was every bit a star-making performance as Black Taurus against Hijo del Vikingo on the Ring of Honor PPV, and in front of a crowd that was excited to see him. (Go back and listen to the reaction when he’s announced from Monterrey; this was a Mexico-friendly crowd.) He lost, it didn’t matter. It was a complete success.

(FWIW, Zack Sabre Jr. brought up the Hechicero/Danielson match in a promo to build his match with Danielson in NJPW Sunday. He pointed out he’s defeated Hechicero too – in PWG in 2018 – and threatened to come to Arena Mexico this year. Sabre made the same vague promise to show up in NJPW last year after the tag match with Virus, and nothing came of it. I don’t feel like writing anything off right now.)

The CMLL contingent (Mistico, Volador Jr., Mascara Dorada, and Hechicero) defeated Matt Mernard, Angelo Parker, Christopher Daniels, and Matt Sydal on Rampage in a good match. Volador, Dorada, and Hechicero are back on AEW Dynamite on Wednesday against Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Claudio Castignoli. The CMLL guys have to get a win to keep that feud meaningful.

AAA

AAA TV (SAT) 02/03/2024 Campo Militar 1, Miguel Hidalgo, Distrito Federal [AAA, Record, thecubsfan]
***Rey de Reyes 2024***
1) Faby Apache b La Hiedra, Pimpinela Escarlata [Torneo Reina de Reinas, semifinal]
2) Lady Shani b Sexy Star, Flammer [Torneo Reina de Reinas, semifinal]
3) Laredo Kid b Argenis, Aerostar [Rey de Reyes, semifinal]
4) Texano Jr. b Cibernético, Electroshock [Rey de Reyes, semifinal]
5) Hijo Del Vikingo b Sam Adonis, Psycho Clown [Rey de Reyes, semifinal]
6) Lady Shani b Faby Apache [Torneo Reina de Reinas, final]
8:07. Dalys attacked Faby Apache after the match.
7) Colmillo de Plata, Garra de Oro, Mr. Iguana b Bengala, Kento, Takuma
10:35. Iguana beat Bengala, then immediately got beat up by Kento & Takuma.
8) Hijo Del Vikingo b Laredo Kid, Texano Jr. [Rey de Reyes, final]
17:05. Texano took a knee to the head from a Vikingo SSP off the apron close to 12 minutes in and left the match on a stretcher. Laredo got his hand on the ropes after getting hit by Cuerno del Vikingo. Vikingo kicked out of the inverted Laredo Fly and then landed his own Spanish Fly for the win.

My biggest complaint with AAA of late is the lack of good matches. They tried to book some good matches here. Mixed success, but they tried.

Laredo, Texano, and Vikingo had their working boots on in the main event. The last five minutes with just Vikingo/Laredo were at the level of their previous big matches; it just didn’t go as long. It was still strong with Texano in there; they just could focus better as a 1v1.

Texano’s injury was treated seriously. Vikingo landed on him hard around the head. It also didn’t seem to affect the match; either Texano was just about done anyway, or Laredo and Vikingo did a smooth job of adapting without him.

The trios match moved well, and they had some fun ideas. The ramp set up Iguana getting tossed into the rudos, but they had little room to work with there. It was solid for what they had time. Two straight matches with post-match attacks meant nothing was so AAA.

Lady Shani/Faby Apache makes sense on paper as the match to run but it wasn’t good. It’s been a while since she Shani had a positively impressive match; I’m not sure if that’s on her or simply a general AAA women’s division thing because match quality hasn’t mattered there at all. Faby didn’t look great either. The AAA women need some new blood but AAA tried that last year and then those women all left; maybe that’s got be the part to be fixed.

The new Bengala is Lucha x el Barrio winner Legendario, which he freely admitted on Instagram and in a post-show interview with Mas Lucha; it’s not meant to be a secret. The Bengala character has not gotten over with Ricky Marvin, Super Nova or Arkangel Divino, so it seems unlikely it will work on the fourth try with that baggage. He (and the AAA announcers) are pushing that it’s a difference because it’s a rudo gimmick this time. It’s a rudo gimmick that lost his first match too, though. “Bengala” may just be just a generic gimmick they were going to give the winner of the Lucha x el Barrio tournament regardless just to put them on TV, and they’ll give him a better one if/when they have actual plans for him. I would’ve thought AAA would’ve kept Legendario and Dick Angelo together, and maybe they still will come up with a matching second gimmick.

AAA had a Legendario who is now a Bengala. CMLL has both a Bengala and a Legendario, at least as long as he’s alive in the schools tournament. People who don’t follow lucha libre Mexicana frequently are confused by “Mistico” and also confused at how Mexican fans have no problem with it. The Mistico name stuff is the easy mode, he’s over and known at least.

Hijo del Vikingo and Lady Shani were given ceremonial Machuilas from the Mexican military instead of the usual sword/axe.

In the preliminary rounds (which will air next week), Sam Adonis suffered a broken hand wound taking a broom shot from Psycho Clown. He’ll need six weeks to heal. It could be worse; he should be fine in time for TripleMania. Fightful has a recent interview with Adonis; he mentions he hasn’t been under contract during his CMLL and AAA stints, which is partly by his choice. It sounds like he would rather stay outside a contract in case to make sure he stays available in case something else comes up, but he’d always work with AAA to leave right away if that did happen. Post-match interviews seemed to set up a Cibernetico/Sam Adonis feud.

SEDENA reported the 8,400 attendance. They had said the previous year’s show had 8,400. The bleachers looked slightly more empty this year, but maybe there was more of them? It’s an outdoor show, so the seating areas were enveloped by darkness in the portion we saw and it’s tough to get a total picture of it.

Aerostar suffered an injury in his match. Aerostar seems to suffer an injury in almost every match.

The live portion of these shows included a flyover by military helicopters. One of the helicopters got a bit too close to the Mexican flag and chopped off pieces. This went viral. (Though not as viral as a year-old clip of Vikingo doing a 630 through a table at a GCW show.)

AAA’s show in Aguascalientes on Thursday sold out. It’s a strong week for AAA business with the sell-out in Arena Aficion a couple of days earlier.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha World (FRI) 02/02/2024 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [Big Lucha, thecubsfan]
1) Maniacop & Satania b Alfa Jr. & Diosa Nix 
6:35
2) Big Tao Tao & La Brava b Cósmico & Sussy Love 
6:04
3) Cometa Maya, Morfosis, Radioactivo b Godspeed (Costa Rica), Intocable (Costa Rica), Pesadilla (Costa Rica) 
Intocable replaced Pesadilla Jr.
4) Flamita & Torito Negro b Tirano & Viajero 
18:07. Pinfall seemed to come unexpectedly or the count was otherwise messed up. Torito Negro declared he and Limbo (current #1 contenders) would win the tag titles.
5) Hijo del Pirata Morgan b El Potro de Oro © [BIG LUCHA WORLD] 
10:12. Lokos Evans (actually with Jack Evans!) came to ringside late in the match, which seemed to distract Pirata. Potro got a pinfall attempt, but Lokos Evans pulled out the referee to stop the count. Pirata took advantage of a distracted Potro and beat him to win the title. Lokos Evans offered Pirata a spot post match; he was non-committal. Potro had issues with Lokos Evans (and Orbita again didn’t get along with his partners.) Flamita confronted Pirata and declared himself the next challenger.

There were parts of the top matches went well, they just the land the planes safely. The main event set up a couple of feuds going forward, but it’s always a risky idea to do screwy finishes with your main title. The semi-main was pretty good, with a flat ending. Tirante has shown more in more serious opportunities of late, but could stand to improve the impact of his strikes. Delta Force looked good in what they could control of the trios match, and Big Tao Tao did as well. Satania didn’t look AAA quality in the AAA tryouts and didn’t look Big Lucha quality in the opener. (She also hurt Alfa Jr. on her shooting star press to the floor.)

Someone who I assume was Pesadilla Jr. was sitting in the crowd with a sling, so that may explain the match change.

AVE (Wotan/Trauma)

AAA , AVE (SAT) 02/03/2024 Arena Lopez Mateos [@ptotime, thecubsfan]
1) Troyano b Atomic Star, Sol, X-Devil Jr., Venganza, Steven Manson, Íkaro, Belial, Impulso, Drago Kid, Calibus, Mini Vikingo 
2) Dragón King b Jack Evans [IWC LEGACY CRUISER] 
3) Cometa & Reina Dorada b Abismo Negro Jr. & La Hiedra 
3) Abismo Negro Jr. & La Hiedra b Cometa & Reina Dorada 
Flammer helped Hiedra
4) Dr. Karonte Jr., Esquizofrenia, Gran Markus Jr. b Pig Decapitador, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool and Centauro, Jefe Del Norte, Pistolero Negro 
13:44. Challenges followed.
5) Forastero & Sansón b Demonio Infernal & Trauma II, Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr. [AAA TAG] 
35:40. Challenges followed.
6) Aeroboy b Hijo Del Vikingo, Aramis, Ovett Jr.
11:35. Aeroboy beat Aramis.
7) Psycho Clown b LA Park, Fresero Jr., Pig Destroyer
16:23.
8) Trauma I b Wotan [mask] 
33:08. Referee 19.5 favored Wotan and was replaced by Chiquilin mid match. Wotan is Ruben Torres, 46 years old, 24 years a wrestler

I’m hoping to get the Tapatia awards done this week. (I’ll gesture at the rest of this post as the reason why it may be delayed. There’s a bunch of FantasticaMania stuff too I thought I’d get done this weekend before Things Started Happening.) One of the trends that’ll be evident in the voting is there are a lot more people watching and enjoying these style of Mexican wrestling shows than might be evident. You can find some writing and talking about it, but it still seems underserved. They also show I’ve mostly shrugged off as Not For Me, but the votes pushed me to think I need to pay more attention when it’s something important from this part of this scene. This mask match was important and worth jumping into the Mas Lucha subscriber pool for at least this month.

The AVE show and the mask match didn’t exactly convince me I had to make more time for all of this. The pacing is the one real thing that sticks out when going from CMLL or AAA to current Mexican indies. CMLL matches are generally between 10-15, and they’re going at a snappy pace. Indie matches go much longer and at a much more leisurely pace. The timing issues might have been related to Vikingo and Psycho needing to make it over from Rey de Reyes, but even the main event was meandering before the referee change. Vikingo and Psycho probably weren’t necessary; it felt like most of the crowd was wearing one Trauma shirt and would’ve been there just for that main event. The Pigs felt like an expired act, but the Negocio Traumado guys were way over on this show (and the Wotan fans only a vocal minority.)

The last half of the mask match was good, though maybe not the Wotan brawling fans he wanted to see. The four-way match with Vikingo was clearly thrown together, but they’re good enough to make that entertaining. If there was a Mexico promotion that consistently booked singles matches and even booked a singles feud, I’d love to see Aramis and Aeroboy work an actual program – their small interactions in this stood out. I only caught the matches after Rey de Reyes; this entire show a five hour stream that ended about 1 AM, and no one’s got time for all of that.

That IWC Legacy title match comes courtesy this week’s strangest use of money. US lucha promotion IWC Legacy coming to Mexico City to get their title belts endorsed by Mexico City lucha libre commission El Fantasma. Even pretending “endorsing belts” is meaningful, it’s unclear what a wrestling commission in Mexico City would have to do with approving belts for a US promotion. This was also an attempt to get the Mexico City press more interested in IWC Legacy, a promotion that runs shows thousands of miles away and whose shows (sometimes) turn up on Mas Lucha months after they occur. The big idea is they will eventually run four shows at Arena Lopez Mateos. IWC Legacy also seemed to find a way to get a title match onto that AVE card. SuperLuchas left this press conference thinking IWC Legacy was based in Atlanta. They’re based in Denver. It wasn’t even great at building awareness.

IWRG

IWRG , RGR (SUN) 02/04/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, La Tijera, Mas Lucha]
1) La Sádica b Bengalee, Satania, Dehyna, Princesa Azul, Amazonika [RGR WOMEN, #1 Contenders]  
2) Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr. b Noisy Boy & Spider Fly [IWRG IC TAG]   
fifth defense
3) Tonalli b Black Destiny [RGR MIDDLE]  
first defense
4) Estrella Divina, Lolita, Vito Fratelli b Big Mami, Niño Hamburguesa, Pimpinela Escarlata 
Chuy Molina helped the Fratelli team and challenged Hamburguesa to a match
5) Hell Boy & Hijo de Canis Lupus b Coronel VIP & Hijo del Pirata Morgan [RGR TAG, torneo] 
Both Reyes Rosas and Hijo del Tirantes got involved. Canis Lupus, earlier said to be out two weeks, was cleared just in time to wrestle anyway.
6) DMT Azul © DQ Blue Demon Jr. [IWRG IC HEAVY] 
DMT Azul retains? Maybe? Ref Hijo del Tirantes got taken out, Ivan Rokov ran out and attacked Azul, encouraging Demon to cover. Demon hesitated. A Galeno Del Mal shaped man in a DMT Azul mask and shirt ran in next, teasing hitting Demon before hitting Azul. Tirantes saw that one and called a DQ, raising Azul’s (knocked out) arm. Rokov and the mystery man blocked Tirantes from giving the belt to Azul, giving it to Demon and putting it on him instead. Demon didn’t want it but ended up leaving with it as if he were the winner anyway.

The finish is enjoyably horrid. The fight over the chair, Tirantes bump, Azul’s kick that doesn’t come near Demon, Azul giving up on his finish hold well before the run-in happens, and the complete nonsense that follows. Tonalli/Black Danger was said to be good, at least.

IWRG (SUN) 02/11/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Ajolotl vs Histeriosis
2) Bengalee & Zuzu Divine vs Dehynna & Lolita
3) Fussion, Keira, Tornado vs Águila Roja, Rey Halcón, Sádika
4) Asterboy, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Abigor, Puma de Oro, Yorvak
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus, Mamba, Tonalli vs Hijo del Fishman, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Wesley Pipes
6) Hell Boy © vs Ivan Rokov [AIWF CHAMP]

I’m unsure what the AIWF championship is. I’m unsure if Fantasma has endorsed said championship.

Other Notes

Today is the 40th anniversary of El Santo’s passing. By the time you read this, there will have been a tribute to him at his statue in Tulancingo.

El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. won NOAH’s GHC Heavyweight Championship from KENOH on Sunday, becoming the first Mexican and second foreigner (Eddie Edwards) to hold that championship. Wagner’s victory seems to be a well-recovered surprise; he’s gotten good reviews for his work there, but it didn’t seem like he was expected to win. Wagner may be a short-term champion, but many thought he’d be holding the National Championship, which he held forever. Wagner joins Diamante as Mexican wrestlers currently holding the heavyweight championship of a Japanese promotion.

Elsewhere on that NOAH show, Daga kept the GHC Junior Heavyweight championship, and Los Golpeador failed in their challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team championship. They still hold the junior version of those titles. (Edit: nope, they lost it and I didn’t notice!)

The reopening of Arena San Juan for a show promoted by “The Wolf Kingdom” looked to be a sell-out. The Parks beat Los Traumas and Wagner on top. They set up a Super Boy Jr. vs Rokambole Jr. vs Brazo Celestial mask match for 03/01. That’s an Ovett son versus a Villano V son versus (I think) a Super Brazo son, and I think Super Boy’s the slight favorite to lose.

Diva Salvaje broke their leg on a show in Saltillo on Saturday. Jessy Ventura is trying to raise money for medical bills; more information in that link. Laredo Kid was also raising money at Sunday’s Arena Neza’s show. You can see the incident at the tail end of this video; Salvaje went for an Asai moonsault, and two people were there to catch them. It’s not a great catch, but it still seems more a freak occurrence based on the impact. Salvaje was one of the most active luchadors in 2023.

When Rey Fenix vaguely tweeted about “getting used to the new hip”, I thought maybe he got surgery or maybe it was Rey Fenix being his obtuse self on social media. Rey Fenix, Sunday on Instagram, called a SuperLuchas report that he got surgery “fake news.” It is better never to pretend to understand what Rey Fenix means.

Segunda Caida write sabout more Monterrey.

The Dragon has a video of Titan’s top ten moves.

ProCine previews the upcoming El Halcon movie.