CMLL
CMLL (MON) 07/22/2024 Arena Puebla [CMLL, El Sol de Puebla, Grada]
1) Astoreth & Lady Metal b Diablita Roja & Lady Amazona
2) Periquito Sacaryas & Tengu b Kemalito & Mije
KeMalito was hurt after a dive and Mije lost on his own.
3) Meyer & Rey Samuray b Multy & Rey Apocalipsis
4) Pegasso, Stigma, Xelhua b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora 
5) Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero, Valiente b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black [Relevos Increíbles]
Ultimo Guerrero snuck in a foul on Star Black
6) Atlantis Jr., Hechicero, Místico DQ Euforia, Magnus, Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Euforia pulled Hechicero’s mask
Star Black versus Ultimo Guerrero is a new feud, both in Puebla and in general. Porra Fresa claimed Arena Puebla was fuller this week than last, implying that many of those scalper tickets last week didn’t get bought.
Xelhua/Vegas did end up airing Tuesday, was pretty good.
CMLL (TUE) 07/23/2024 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, thecubsfan]
1) Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito b Galaxy, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito 
8:02
2) Dragón de Fuego & Legendario b Hunter & Infarto
3) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa
4) Neón © b Bárbaro Cavernario [REVPRO CRUISER]
16:15, though seemed to end early – Cavernario kicked out of Neon’s reverse 270 splash but Edgar counted three. Second defense.
5) Templario b Averno, Flip Gordon, Stuka Jr., Esfinge, Rugido, Valiente, Zandokan Jr. [AEW INTERNACIONAL, #1 Contenders]
23:35. Elimination order: Rugido (by Stuka Jr.), Zandokan (Averno), Flip Gordon (Valiente), Stuka Jr. (Esfinge), Valiente (Avenro), Esfinge (Templario), Averno (Templario) leaving Templario as the winner – he’ll challenge MJF on 08/02.
Templario will give MJF the best match, though it’s a little strange to see him take this detour while also feuding with Ultimo Guerrero. That match should put Templario in a bigger spotlight (great for him, not sure if it’s as good for the rest of us after the last month.) The cibernetico was run of the mill for most of the way. The extended Averno/Templario segment to close was really good. KeMalito is still hanging out with new tecnico Templario, and Averno beat up the mascot to pull some extra energy into the fight. MJF surely will do the same if KeMalito is there for the title match.
(Templario seemed like he was trying to get around having no idea who MJF is in a post match interview, though he says he’ll catch up a bit before they wrestle. Might be the same the other way.)
The show ended earlier than usual for a Tuesday show. Neon and Cavernario may have had plans to go 3-4 minute longer. Neon’s singles matches have been good but a little underwhelming, though this time it doesn’t seem like it was his fault. Edgar just saw him do his usual finish and thought that was the end. If a wrestler messed up as often as Edgar does, they would be sitting out Arena Mexico shows for a few weeks. (CMLL having only four referees for six shows a week makes it hard to sit anyone out.)
CMLL (TUE) 07/23/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Draego, Persa, Rey Diablo b Maximus, Minotaruo, Rey Urano
debut of Rey Diablo
2) Crixus, Difunto, Raider b Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico
straight falls (second fall was short, seemed to be prematurely ended)
3) Satánico b Virus
4) Adira, Kira, Náutica, Tessa Blanchard b Hatanna, Persephone, Valkiria, Zeuxis
5) Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero b Dark Panther, Furia Roja, Panterita del Ring
6) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Místico b Magnus, Mephisto, Soberano Jr.
Virus/Satanico was said to have gone well. Something definitely went wrong in match 2. The CDMX rudos took fall 1, Difunto did his rope walk dropkick about a minute into a fall two, and his opponent just didn’t kick out. He didn’t look hurt or concussed. The referee couldn’t really have done anything about it. Both teams brawled a little bit to make up for the missing time but it was very clear that wasn’t the planned finish.
Satanico, in talking about how his Guadalajara charges did on Saturday, said, “I thought they did good, they could’ve done a little more, but I’m happy and satisfied with their performance.” That is a typical coach speech from Satanico. CMLL ran the ad for the Guadalajara versus Mexico City on every show for weeks – I don’t think they meant to hit it that hard, but they just ended up doing it by announcing the card a month ahead of time – and it made it feel like it was going to be a much more meaningful show than it was.
CMLL Informa guests list
- Templario (MJF)
- Mascara Dorada (Death Triangle)
- Angel de Oro & Star Jr. (Leyenda de Plata)
- Kira & Skadi (Friday match? A title defense on Saturday or Sunday?)
- Neon (RevPro)
The rest of the Gran Prix names will be revealed. The closing words of the show are worth watching; it’s possible they may end the show by saying when the Aniversario main event will be announced.
Atlantis Jr. teams with Lio Rush to face Johnny TV and Shane Taylor on Thursday’s Ring of Honor show. Wrestling Observer Radio mentioned that those four, along with Kyle Fletcher, will be in a five-way for Atlantis Jr.’s ROH TV Championship on Friday’s PPV. ROH has not announced this; I guess they’re waiting until Thursday night to announce the Friday card. (And we think Monday night is far too late to announce a Friday card!)
That same show has a ten-man tag, mostly getting noticed for Fuego del Sol’s return to the AEW/ROH universe. Among Fuego del Sol’s partners is Komander; AEW has a current CMLL wrestler and AAA champion on the same show. I’m unsure if that means the rules are relaxed or if ROH’s tapings are so far underneath anyone’s radar that CMLL will notice. I’d lean towards the latter.
Vanilla Vargas accusations
Vanilla Vargas said she was the victim of an attempted sexual assault while working for AAA. Vargas worked for AAA from 2017 up until the 2020 pandemic shutdown. She moved back to Mexico full-time this month and worked on the Cosas de Vestidor show this past Friday. She made comments on the YouTube podcast associated with the promotion; they posted a clip of it on Instagram and TikTok (and that’s when her story really got noticed). El Grafico has a summary; the story got some pickup on news sites on Tuesday.
Vanilla Vargas says the incident happened when she stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun for an AAA show. She had a bag of sweets, says she was the only one who had them, and she was sharing them with many of the wrestlers. One of the male wrestlers asked for a sweet, Vanilla took the bag in and gave it to him, the wrestler suggested they drink at the bar in that room, and she declined. She turned to grab the sweets bag and leave, but he blocked the door and “tried to abuse” her. A male family member of the wrestler – implied to be another wrestler – then arrived in the room. Vanilla believed at first he’d help diffuse the situation, but the other male also started to mess with her. Vanilla felt she couldn’t overpower the men to escape, so she pretended to go along with it long enough for them to let their guard down and then fled the room. The attackers called after her and threatened to ruin her name, but she didn’t care and was in shock besides. Vargas later confronted and got into a fight with at least one of the attackers when they showed up for a party in her hotel room (one her roommate Scarlett had put together without Vanilla knowing what had happened.)
This story is traumatic for Vanilla, but she also tells it in a way where she’s proud of her bravery to escape a horrible situation. It’s unclear if she told AAA about the situation. It’s possible Vanilla was saying she was sharing “sweets” as a replacement word for some other less friendly substance she was sharing with her fellow wrestlers. That’s the vibe I got from how she told the portion of that story, but I can’t be certain.
AAA held many Hard Rock shows over the 2010s, Scarlett and Vanilla only appeared on the Saturday September 8th, 2018 card. It was a non-TV show, which was unusual for Hard Rock shows. The reason AAA didn’t tape at the Hard Rock was because it was a unique AAA weekend; they taped on Friday in Cancun and Sunday in Merida instead of the usual multiday stay at the Hard Rock. Not all the wrestlers worked all three events. The Hard Rock show has the fewest wrestlers booked, but anyone working both the Friday show and the Sunday probably stayed at the hotel on Saturday. (Vargas mentions Lady Shani as being there, and she did not wrestle on the Saturday show.) There is no obvious pair of male family members booked on the Saturday show. However, three members of the same family are booked on the Friday Cancun lineup. It’s also worth considering there could’ve been other family members of wrestlers hanging around that weekend who weren’t on the shows. The lineups are what they are, but they’re not definite proof of who all was present. Vargas never names her attackers, and I want to respect her decision by not going any further.
AAA
AAA announced a new taping on Tuesday.
AAA TV (SAT) 09/07/2024 Auditorio Municipal, Torreón, Coahuila
1) Emperador Azteca, Mini Vikingo, Noisy vs Belcegor, Kamik-C, Skalibur
2) Faby Apache & Sexy Star vs Dalys & Flammer
3) Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa, Octagón Jr. vs Kento, Nobu San, Takuma
4) Dinámico, Drago, Laredo Kid vs ?, Forastero, Sansón
5) Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown vs Abismo Negro, El Fiscal, Psicosis
6) Dr. Wagner Jr., Pagano, Vampiro vs ?, El Mesías, Taurus
This is the first official TV taping post-TripleMania, though AAA also announced a Showcenter event on September 1st and hasn’t declared whether it will also be taped. (Depending on that Monterrey show, this taping will start airing on 09/14 or 09/21.)
AAA ran this location around the same date back in 2022. The Takuma/KENTO versus Iguana/Hamburgesa feud was just starting. The only thing that’s changed in two years is that Crazy Boy was involved in the angle back in 2022, and he’s quietly disappeared along the way. The rest of the show looks like to continue the pre-TripleMania feuds. Vipers/Psychos continues on, as does Dalys/Faby. The mystery people may be Fresero Jr., or it may be other people coming in over the next couple of shows. AAA has not used the new Taurus as a main eventer (nor is he ready for that sort of position,) but the old Taurus is from Torreon, and perhaps this is a message of a kind. The old Taurus may be elsewhere this Saturday. His role is the same as the old guy for this night: try to shine up a tecnico team that’s probably not great.
Emperador Azteca quit AAA in May 2023 when Big Lucha had a big tie-up with CMLL. That tie-up lasted one show (all the Big Lucha guys lost), and Emperador Azteca has found his way back to AAA. He wasn’t doing anything more than opener work prior, so fans who are just in AAA may assume he’s another name that gets cycled in and out. What happened to the Money Machine guys?
Latin Lover appeared at the press conference to announce this card, just as he did last week in Aguascalientes to promote that show. Figuring out the behind-the-scenes mechanics is murky – and intentionally so – but the biggest camera facing advantage of Latin Lover is he’s good at these sort of press conferences, he seems to like them, and the press loves him as a former star.
Los Traumas said they haven’t been called by AAA to come in alongside Fresero Jr., but would listen if they were called.
This is probably not AAA, but there’s no good place to put it. A sequence of events:
- Konnan ends a podcast segment threatening, “What comes around goes around“
- WWE signs Stephanie Vaquer, which seemed to be what Konnan was hinting at.
- Konnan posts “what comes around goes around 2”
Konnan’s seemingly been told another person is jumping from the NJPW/AEW/CMLL promotions group to WWE. It could be because AAA and WWE are secretly working together. It could be because there are very few sources people in the US trust to know about Mexican wrestling, and Konnan is one of them, so he’s unofficially talked to whenever WWE has an interest in the area. It could just be that someone told him something. As much as Konnan is currently loathed by fans on social media (check the quote tweets and responses), he seems to have a very high approval rating among people actually inside the wrestling business. Konnan’s comments are too vague to tell us what he knows; he just wants it known that he knew it was happening and that it is seen as revenge on his enemies.
(Stating the obvious: Konnan’s not a news organization. He’s not double-sourcing his stories or holding himself to some news standards – that’s not the deal. He’s hearing gossip from friends and passing along the stuff he feels like passing along. Sometimes it is true stuff, and it’s out first because he’s not waiting to confirm it. Sometimes, it’s false because the story got messed up in the gossip chain. Sometimes, he may just make stuff up, but that’s probably less than the other two. Konnan is making too big of a public point to get this story wrong, but random podcast bits may not get the same personal investment. Konnan’s not the only one doing this.)
IWRG
IWRG (THU) 07/25/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Cosmic & Titanium vs Fobia & Pitbull
2) Ángel Kid, Astral (Estado De México), Ratzinger vs Hijo De Seminarista, Kato Xtreme Jr., Samoa Kid
3) Súper Boy vs Shura King
4) Black Dragón Jr., Black Dragón Ng, Willy Banderas vs Pinky, Skyler, X-Devil
5) Gravity, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Black Shadow II, Mr. Mike, Ovett Jr.
6) Auzter, Fauno, Histeriosys, Kali, Rey Astaroth, Tornado, Vudu Max vs Águila Guerrera, Arceus, Drákula Ng, Príncipe Centauro, Sacro, Shamila, Sky Man
GYM Fill vs Tryout 2024
Same FILL vs Tryout bit as previous shows. Gravity is working the trainee show (though so is Mr. Mike.)
IWRG , LLB (THU) 08/01/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Argus, Fobia, Máscara De Herrio vs Águila Dorada, Ángel Kid, Mr. Koi
2) Wisin El Dog vs Príncipe Centauro, Hijo De Sparta, Pinochito, X-Devil, New Level, Hijo De Brazo De Platino, Águila Oriental, Gravedad Cero
3) Fandango, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Skayler, Sol, Visionario
4) Lunatik Extreme, Súper Boy, Toto vs El Bendito, Fly Star, Lunatik Fly
5) Hell Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Puma de Oro vs Carta Brava Jr. (LLB), Cíclope, Miedo Extremo [super libre]
6) Canek & Canek Jr. vs Hijo de Octagón & Octagón and Fuerza Guerrera & Juventud Guerrera and ? & ??
Defintiely a Lucha Libre Boom show.
Other News
El Hijo del Santo says he wants to write two books about his life, one about his personal life and one about his professional life. He also wants to make two films and open a store in Japan. It’s so strange to me that they sent Santo on this media tour to promote his shows with nothing more than the same dates and locations that were announced two months ago.
Fresero and a bunch of CMLL stories are on the cover of Box y Lucha 3613.
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