CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 05/17/2024 Arena México [CMLL, FDDE, Kaiser Sports, thecubsfan]
1) Átomo, Chamuel, Kemalito b Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Tengu 
9:11. KeMalito snuck in a foul on Tengu. Both teams agreed to a rematch.
2) Persephone, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis b La Catalina, Lluvia, Sanely
8:22. Zeuxis landed on Lluvia’s face on a tornillo moonsault and Lluvia seemed to suffer a jaw injury. Lluvia stayed in the match until she finished her planned offense in the third fall and then left to the back.
3) Hijo de Stuka Jr. & Stuka Jr. b Blue Panther & Hijo de Blue Panther
15:28. Hijo de Stuka beat both Panthers in the third fall to win.
4) Star Black © b Akuma [MEX HEAVY]
12:00. 2nd defense
5) Star Jr. b Volador Jr., Soberano Jr., Averno, Hijo de Octagón, Niebla Roja, Dragón Rojo Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr., Villano III Jr., Brillante Jr. [Copa Junior VIP, semifinal]
30:54. Elimination order: Niebla Roja (medical stop due to arm injury), Hijo del Octagon (via Averno), Villano III (Volador), Guerrero Maya Jr. (Volador), Brillante Jr. (Soberano Jr.), Soberano (Dragon Rojo), Dragon Rojo (Averno), Averno (Volador), Volador Jr. (Star Jr.) leaving Star Jr. as the block winner
The main event was one of the rougher ciberneticos CMLL, especially with main roster men’s talent. There were a lot of errors in the first half of the match. Pretty much everyone was involved one way or another. (Hijo de Octagon definitely didn’t earn the full time spot he was hoping for with his performance.) It settled down a bit as it got the last two and Star Jr. winning was a memorable upset, but the whole thing is worth skipping.
This whole show is a skip outside of the Panthers/Stukas match, which was well crafted in the usual Panther match. Akuma slipped on his apron dropkick, a mistake I’ve never seen him make before. That title match got better but never got super memorable. Lluvia being fine to wrestle until it got time for her to sell was highly amusing. The micros match was better than the last micros match but nothing you need to back and watch.
CMLL (SAT) 05/18/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito b Minos & Pequeño Violencia
11:52.
2) Capitán Suicida, Diamond, Eléctrico b Enfermero Jr., Forneo, Sangre Imperial
15:04
3) Amapola, Metálica, Olympia b Kira, La Maligna, Sanely
13:29
4) Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa, Volcano b Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
14:23
5) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo b Esfinge, Fugaz, Valiente
10:01. Esfinge replaced Flip on Saturday. Fugaz landed on his head on a running Spanish Fly in the second fall and left the match in some pain.
6) Volador Jr. b Soberano Jr.
Volador took 2/3.
Volador/Soberano was the fair bit off goofing around expected for those two on a b-show but it was still a good match.
Fugaz went head first into the mat; I thought I could see his neck compress. He was off posting Instagram stories the next day but it would surprise me if we saw him again for a few days.
La Maligna has replaced Tiffany as the luchadora consistently having the worst performances. There was a headscisosrs on the floor spot in the third fall that she even knew wasn’t going to happen, and gave utp to an armdrag.
CMLL (SUN) 05/19/2024 Arena México [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito b Angelito & Galaxy
8:11
2) Leo (Jalisco), Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
13:56
3) Kira, Skadi, Tessa Blanchard b Hera, Sanely, Zeuxis
13:02
4) Magia Blanca b Hijo del Villano III
10:47. Magia Blanca took 1/3.
5) Dark Panther, Esfinge, Star Black b Cancerbero, Terrible, Zandokan Jr.
Dark Panther replaced Flip on Sunday. Cancerbero replaced Niebla Roja (injury on Friday.)
6) Star Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. b Averno, Euforia, Mephisto
Niebla Roja’s injury didn’t look that severe but it must be something if he’s missing shows. I got as through watching the show as far as the Magia Blanca/Villano III match, which was solid with one weird Villano III dive. Skadi, Kira and Hera were back trying things in the third match, some of which needed a little bit more baking. Mafia Tapatia was fine.
CMLL (TUE) 05/21/2024 Arena México
1) Fantasy & Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal & Pequeño Polvora
2) Astral, Capitán Suicida, Valiente Jr. vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) Fuego, Histórico, Max Star vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs El Coyote, Pólvora, Vegas
5) Atlantis Jr. vs Euforia
6) Flip Gordon, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Hechicero, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.
The FantasticaMania UK crew filter back in on this show. Atlantis/Euforia follows up from last week. Historico reappears – that’s his first match since October – and feels like a late fill in.. It doesn’t make sense for him to be booked higher than the tecnicos in the second match, but he’s taller and sometimes that’s all there is to it. Raider is also listed back, but he’s been listed back a few times and then got chagned out.
CMLL (TUE) 05/21/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Amenaza Negra & Maximus vs Thunder Boy & Yaky Boy
2) Adira, Hatanna, Náutica vs Emperatriz, Lady Shadow, Miss Guerrera
3) Cris Skin, Gallero, Halcón Negro Jr. vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
4) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico vs Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.
5) Kira, La Catalina, Lluvia vs Persephone, Tessa Blanchard, Valkiria
6) Ángel de Oro & Star Black vs Star Jr. & Stuka Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Match four seems interesting. Not sure why the main event setup.
CMLL (FRI) 05/24/2024 Arena México
1) Átomo, Chamuel, Kemalito vs Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Tengu
2) Kira, La Catalina, Skadi vs Persephone, Tessa Blanchard, Valkiria
3) Kojima & Okumura vs Magia Blanca & Rugido
4) Star Jr. vs Templario [lightning]
5) Místico vs Atlantis Jr., Ángel de Oro, Mephisto, Esfinge, Felino, Stuka Jr., Magnus, Dark Panther, Hijo del Villano III [Copa Junior VIP, semifinal]
Star Jr. winning probably means Mistico and Atlantis Jr. aren’t advancing to face him. Angel de Oro or Stuka Jr. would work. Templario would normally figure to beat Star Jr. but not the week before he has a big singles match. Match 3 is non-title, though could lead to a title match next week. Persephone, Tessa and Valkiria being a trio on back to back shows might be something. Week 1 is a rematch, and I suppose it could also set up a title match.
Tickets for FantasticaMania USA went on sale today. Notable is they’re no longer running the San Jose Civic Center, but instead the Mt. Pleasant High School. (Comedian Hasan Masaj has two shows at the San Jose Civic Center instead.) The Wrestling Observer reported the high school gym has a capacity of about 1,000 people. Pro Wrestling Revolution runs their a fair bit and fills it pretty well with a few lucha names, so a full on FantasticaMania show with NJPW people will probably move tickets quick. It might also mean a few less fly-ins, with lesser ticket revenue to pay for it.
Former CMLL luchador Pequeno Nitro (Carlos Rodea Gomez, 40) passed away. The news came out this weekend when Demus (his brother-in-law) mentioned his passing on social media. (Pequeno Nitro married Demus’ sister.) Record reports Pequeno Nitro actually passed away back on May 3rd. Pequeno Nitro was a regular rudo in the CMLL minis division from 2009 to 2020, with a brief absence in 2019. His biggest victory would’ve been taking Aereo’s mask in 2012. He never returned to CMLL after the pandemic hiatus and (normal sized) Nitro unexpectedly gave the Pequeno Nitro gimmick to someone else in 2022. Record’s story is Pequeno Nitro suffered ankle injuries which took him away from wrestling, and a final one in 2023 finished his career. He felt into depression and alcoholism, and ended up living his last days on the streets. His body was found in Toluca on May 3rd, but it wasn’t until May 14th that he was identified by his family. CMLL has not acknowledged Pequeno Nitro’s passing.
FantasticiaMania UK
CMLL , RevPro , 1pm (SUN) 05/19/2024 York Hall, London, United Kingdom [@gadget80, backbodydrop, CMLL]
1) Stephanie Vaquer b Kanji
14:05
2) Bárbaro Cavernario b Robbie X
11:10.
3) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Dulce Gardenia b Kid Lykos I, Kid Lykos II, Okumura
12:38
4) James Drake, Luke Jacobs, Zack Gibson b Futuro, Máscara Dorada, Neón
15:38
5) Hechicero b Connor Mills
16:23
6) Ángel de Oro & Último Guerrero b Michael Oku & Zozaya
18:17. Angel de Oro beat Michael Oku.
7) Gabe Kidd, Magnus, Templario b JJ Gale, Místico, RKJ
15:24
This first show was largely unwatchable as a live stream; lot of buffering wheels, lots of the stream stopping and starting. The show is now up as an OnDemand show.
From what I saw live, the opener was good, Hechicero/Connor Mills was Great, and I can’t really tell you too many coherent thoughts about the rest. Angel de Oro beating Oku was shocking but immediately made sense with what was next.
CMLL , RevPro , 6pm (SUN) 05/19/2024 York Hall, London, United Kingdom [@gadget80, Backbodydrop, CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Ángel de Oro b Zozaya
12:24
2) Bárbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, Okumura b Dulce Gardenia, Futuro, Robbie X
13:32
3) Máscara Dorada b Gabe Kidd, Magnus
9:42. Dorada beat Magnus
4) Stephanie Vaquer b Rhio [NJPW STRONG WOMEN]
12:00. Made a title match before the match took place.
5) Neón b Jordon Breaks [Undisputed CRUISER]
8:58. Neon cradled Breaks to win the title. He becomes the 26th champion and the first Mexican wrestler to win this championship.
6) James Drake & Zack Gibson b Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. [Undisputed TAG]
11:36
7) Místico b Templario
20:40
8) Michael Oku b Último Guerrero [Undisputed HEAVY]
17:37. Angel de Oro challenged Oku to defend the title against him when he comes to Mexico in June.
Mistico/Templario was what you’d picture in your mind given that time, and the crowd seemed to like it a lot. UG/Oku is also probably about what you’d think. The rest of the matches on this one as find enough; maybe Angel de Oro/Zozaya was a bit better than that.
The implication was Oku/Angel de Oro on FantasticaMania Mexico, though it doesn’t necessary have to be. That show will already have Mistico/Hiromu so they might save another title match for a different day.
Vaquer match with Kanji of the two, though she came off as impressive in both. She announced she’d be back for the RevPro anniversary show, the same August weekend as All In. (Maybe that’ll be more important later.)
Neon/Breaks didn’t really click until maybe the last thirty seconds. Everyone seemed shocked that title change hands; I think the expectation was the RevPro sides would be winning all of their title matches. I don’t know how or when they’re going to follow up on this; there was no indication of Neon coming back or anyone besides Oku going to Mexico. That same RevPro date as Vaquer would make sense, but RevPro runs often enough that they could slip Neon in earlier if they want.
A Wrestling Observer Radio emphasized differences between the crowd for show 1 and show 2, and how they reacted differently than a normal indie wrestling crowd. That didn’t come across on the (very flawed) stream. They were very enthuastic into the CMLL names, treating Mistico in particular like a big deal, but otherwise came off to me as a normal UK crowd. I don’t watch much UK wrestling though, so maybe it was lost on me.
Attendance seemed down from last year. I may be reading too much into it, but the show-ending speech by Oku referred to expecting FantasticaMania UK would happen again, not a definite promise it would happen in 2025.
AAA
No news from this week’s TV, but that’s for the best for the matches. I thougth the Faby Apache, La Parkita, Mr. Iguana and Pimpienla Escarlata versus Bengala, Dalys, Jessy Queen, and Parkita Negra match was Good, and therefore better than anything that happened on TripleMania Monterrey. The opener (Money Machine & Reina Dorada vs Adelicious, Belcegor, Taurus) had good moments too, though Adelicious seemed completely miscast as a ruda and wasn’t even really trying to be one. The old guys looked old.
The Crash results should go in this section because they tied in:
The Crash (FRI) 05/17/2024 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California [The Crash Lucha Libre]
1) Mirage b Anubis, Gallo Extreme, Bamboo, Rey Furia, Ángel Metálico [Trofeo Querubin]
2) El Rey, Keyra, Mamba b Goya Kong, Mr. Maldito, Tony Casanova
3) Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota, Tito Santana b Destiny, Noisy Boy, Toto
sets up Carta Brava challenging for The Crash Cruiserweight Championship
4) Daga b Gringo Loco (Indie), The Beast Mortos, Willie Mack [Copa Hector Garza]
Jeff Cobb was announced, hinted he was off the show immediately, and The Crash just didn’t replace him.
5) Galeno del Mal & Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. b Dinámico & Laredo Kid and Nick Wayne & Timothy Thatcher [The Crash TAG, #1 Contenders]
Wagners face Los Golpeadors for the titles.
6) Bestia 666 b Rey Horus, Mecha Wolf [cage]
Mortos and Daga helped Bestia win.
This streamed on Facebook and is slowly going on YouTube.
The Crash also announced a bunch of stuff for the 06/15 TripleMania Tijuana show:
- Rey Horus vs Bestia 666 vs Mecha Wolf will rematch off of this main event. No stip.
- Team The Crash (Mamba, Keyra, Toto, and Anubis) versus Team AAA (Mr. Iguana w/Microman, Nino Hamburgesa, Faby Apache, Pimpinela Escarlata)
- the previous trios match is now D’Luxe, Destiny, Noisy Boy versus Komander, Laredo Kid, Octagon Jr. vs Blake Christian, CIMA, Nick Wayne
Horus/Bestia/Mecha didn’t seem to be a draw for the Crash; this show was one of their weaker turnouts of the year. I’m not sure if this is just a concept fans weren’t going to be in to regardless, but the angle getting into it wasn’t well done (and seemed rushed as if everyone agreed to do it at the last second.) On paper, that match should be big to the Tijuana fans and the AAA/Crash stuff should be big. It hasn’t turned out that way so far. The three way will probably still be one of the better matches on that TripleMania show.
Blake Christian replaces Kyle Fletcher. Christian probably won’t be working this show. What appears to be happening is wrestlers are taking bookings with The Crash, not knowing/thinking they’re working with AAA, and then NJPW contacts to let them know working with AAA is a no no if they still want to work NJPW. Blake Christian is currently leading the NJPW Best of Super Juniors. He likely will not win, but he – like Fletcher and Cobb – will not throw away future NJPW bookings over a one off random match in Tijuana. AAA and the Crash should be aware of this and stop booking people who are likely to pull off their show.
(There seems like a general theme of outside people working the show because they work for the Crash, not because of AAA. Microman’s worked a lot of The Crash and stopped working for AAA, Nick Wayne’s been on their last few shows.)
Another incomprehensible thing about AAA is how they always believe more is better, despite lots of evidence to the contrary. That three way trios match will be worse for having a third team in it. D’Luxe, Destiny, and Noisy Boy are all good and can contribute to good matches, but it’s going to slice up a time strapped match even more ways. AAA is ending up with a slightly more spectacular version of their same Copa Bardahl, where a lot of will happen and very little of it sinks it because it’s so jammed together. It almost makes sense when it’s trying to reward regular roster members with a TripleMania payoff, but now it’s paying for Nick Wayne to fly to Tijuana to do his cutter and two other spots just to say you booked Nick Wayne. It’s a waste. I think it’d be better at least as a 4v4, so I hope they just don’t replace Christian when he pulls off and move CIMA and Wayne to the other teams.
The Crash’s own next show will be June 28th with Matt Riddle, Hellboy, Tigre Blanco (debuting!), Los Golpedadors, Ninja Mack and Penta. Penta’s also announced for an Robles show in Arena Neza on June 16th against Samuray del Sol in addition to the match they’re doing in Monterrey. Penta’s working a fair bit in Mexico, just not on AAA TV.
Former AAA announcer Andres Maronas is hospitalized and urgently in need of blood donations. This is the same announcer Latin Lover talked about bringing back last week. Social media had indicated Maronas was ill prior to this news, but there’s no word on the cause.
Faby Apache and Lady Flammer appeared on social media video series Si Yo Puedo Todas Podemos. It’s a “television personality learns how to do lucha libre” bit.
Big Lucha
Big Lucha World (SAT) 05/18/2024 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [Big Lucha, thecubfsan]
1) Skailer & Visionario b Wisin El Dog & Zenky 
9:35. Rey Espectrito tripped Wisin off the top rope to set up the win. (Wisin actually got beheaded on the finish, but Big Lucha’s cameras did not show the face under the mascot head.)
2) Ishtar, Killer Frost, Marishka DQ Danessa, India Mazahua, Nix
10:19. Listed as Danessa, Vecinita, and a mystery person, the Big Lucha team ended up as Danessa, Nix, and India. Both sides used weapons and shoved the referee around, but an accidental dropkick to the referee was too far (and allowed team WWS to get a win without anyone having to lose.)
3) Caballero de Plata & Mr. Win b Bogdan Klimov & M2R
13:17.
4) Platino & Reiyel b Cósmico & Skayde
14:36. The maestros praised the students.
5) Cometa Maya, Morfosis, Radioactivo DCOR Big Bulldog, Rocky Bulldog, Terry Bulldog
14:48. Both teams brawled outside for the draw, then did the obligatory super libre challenges.
6) Mexicano, Orbita, Viajero b Atómico Jr., Elipse, Vengador
16:00
This stream had just one camera, a floor cam. The floor cam stood in the same corner, seemingly physically able to move but unwilling to do so. The finish to the main event saw Atomico Jr. and Viajero in the ring – they were by far the best combo – going through a bunch of near falls. The sole cameraman panned away from the ring to show Orbita and Elipse rolling around and brawling on the floor. He kept on them even as the announcers called the finish, going back to the ring only as the referee raised Viajero’s hand. There were no replays, no other cameras, so the main event finish was never shown.
That’s this Big Lucha show. None of the matches were good. Some were much worse. The Bulldogs were no good, the women’s match was a mess, Cosmico had a bad night, the guys on the 2v2 had no rhythm and Caballero de Plata seemed totally confused. Next Friday’s show will have a different vibe as an outdoor show. The one felt like the party’s over, the party’s actually been over for some time, and it’s well past time time to go home. In my head, a Big Lucha show should always have a good match because of the level of the talent – but looking at that lineup, that’s an unfair expectation in 2024. I probably should’ve used the time to watch The Crash show.
Flamita is return to Dragon Gate. He wrestled Kzy in Hong Kong, who invited him to return to the promotion as a part of the Natural Vibes stable. This seems like it’s been in the works as while; probably at least as far back as when Flamita stopped being Demonic Flamita and became a tecnico. I suspect GLEAT and Big Lucha are done (and have been quietly done for a while.) I figure CIMA showing up on AAA shows likely means a deal may be made there instead.
IWRG
IWRG (SUN) 05/19/2024 Arena Naucalpan [Estrellas del Ring, IWRG]
1) Histeriosis & Príncipe Centauro b Sacro & Sky Man 
2) Shocko & Vudu Max b Auzter & Huitzil
3) Soy Raymunda b Estrella Divina, Bengalee, Bugambilia, Bizhota
4) Abigor, Sangre Azteca, Yorvak b Caballero de Plata, Luka, Multifacetico Jr.
Yorvak & Abigor used the ropes to win, attacked Caballero de Plata post match and Shocko made the save.
5) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. b Hellboy, Misterioso Jr., Veneno
La Pandemia beat Misteriso via mask pull. Misterioso put over the Pandemia post match and said he was coming for the IWRG heavyweights
6) Hijo del Fishman © b Máscara Sagrada [IWRG JUNIORS]
5th defense. Fishman says he’ll defend this title in Canada.
I know nothing of this.
Other news
Saturday, I had about four different streams playing at once. I would not recommend this; you get glimpses of things but really can’t follow much.
I saw a bunch of Super X; it was streamed on Triller and in English for whatever reason. (The Triller chat was very confused by the show starting 40 minutes late, so it was not a lot of Mexican fans watching.) The English announcers were Mas Lucha’s Adrian and Bernardo, reuniting their AAA Twitch team. It also appeared Mas Lucha was doing Spanish commentary, so it’ll probably turn up their own channel at some point. The show itself felt different, more theatrical, than a normal indie show. It was also a Juventud Guerrera vanity project to the maximum; the introduction to the show included four wrestlers dressed as four different eras of Juventud showing off his moves while the actual Guerrara DJ’d in a Purge (or MAD) mask. All the big name – Guerrera, Blue Demon, Dr. Wagner Jr., The Beast Mortos – didn’t add up to a draw. The building seemed at best 1/3rd full. The three watch match between El Iluxionsita vesus Super Xtar versus El Mexkal (all indie wrestlers doing Super X specific gimmicks, and they seem to change over between shows) seemed interesting but the rest of the show was not much. The bulk of the show was a tournament for Super X’s GPCW Monster Championship, with Halcon Suriano Jr., Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Jack Evans and Guerrera himself advancing. Super X rarely runs (outside sold shows with car dealerships, who even knows what’s happening there), so I would not better on a resolution to that tournament.
I also had some glimpses of the Lucha Time show on Saturday, which streamed for free on obscure service ShowyTV. It seemed worth the price I paid for it, just a random Texas indie show that happened to have Cinta de Oro and Alberto el Patron involved. They were advertised as facing Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Sam Adonis, it ended up being Super Beast and someone else, with everyone involved on the show getting involved. There were maybe 200 people there. The building was called “Buyers 2 Arena”, but Arena overstates it. 200 people looked good enough, though no one came off as a big star. Alberto has graduated to wrestling without a shirt though.