Death Triangle in CMLL tonight, Leyenda de Plata, CMLL title defense in AEW, women’s tag team tournament, Gran Prix, TxT

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 07/26/2024 Arena México
1) Kira, Náutica, Skadi vs Hera, Olympia, Valkiria
2) Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
3) Esfinge & Euforia vs Hechicero & Valiente
4) Ángel de Oro vs Star Jr. [Leyenda de Plata, final]
5) Templario & Titán vs Rocky Romero & Último Guerrero
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Fénix El Rey, PAC, Penta

The main event should be outstanding. The Lucha Brothers haven’t always turned it to 10 in AEW – Penta famously can be on autopilot a lot -, but they seem a safe bet to work hard on this show. The only worry is they get squeezed a bit on time. There have certainly been teases that this is more than a one-off.

The rest of the CMLL show is really strong. Templario and Ultimo Guerrero will continue their feud with some good partners. Match three is obviously there more for the post-match challenges than what comes before, but they did a good job with it last week. Angel de Oro and Star Jr. did well in their previous title match. It’s probably Oro’s turn to win. Futuro and Max Star have Hombre Bala instead of Neon, yet it should still be a lot of fun against Los Depredadores. The Kira & Skadi versus Hera & Olympia portions of the opener should be fun.

There is some grumpiness among CMLL fans on social media that the Leyenda de Plata tournament is being disrespected by being put in match 4 and that this show is being built around non-CMLL people and is catering more to non-CMLL (or “indie”) fans. It’s hard to get a sense of how serious and widespread this is; my hunch is it’s only a small group of people but I don’t know that for certain. It’s be fair to put the tournament final as match 5 given the importance of that competition. It’d also be fair to put it at three, since the Hechicero/Valiente vs Esfinge/Euforia match is more important for the next six weeks. Anyway, if there really is a significant amount of CMLL diehards unhappy, I hope they show up and root for the home team and boo Death Triangle. It’ll get their voices heard and it’ll make for a great atmosphere.

(Dr. Landru earlier this week brought up an opposite point – an influx indie fans who aren’t fans of the CMLL tecnicos may produce a ‘rudo’ crowd noise. Atlantis Jr. got booed loudly early this year when indie fans were in to see the AEW wrestlers. CMLL also appeared to ignore those reactions and kept Atlantis Jr. a tecnico.)

The floor seats for this show may be sold out by the time you read this; there were around 20 left when I checked Friday afternoon. The balcony seats are all gone and Ticketmaster has a low ticket warning. People on social media – some professionally dumb, some just doing it on an amateur level – have asked what CMLL gets out of the relationship with AEW. CMLL would’ve done OK tonight with an Angel de Oro/Star Jr. main event. CMLL will sell out this show because they got those AEW wrestlers in.

Angel de Oro is looking to join Atlantis as the only person to win both the Leyenda de Plata and the Leyenda de Azul. Angel de Oro won the Azul tournament in 2020. Atlantis won the Leyenda de Azul in 2014 and the Leyenda de Plata in 2005.

Valiente was discussing perhaps switching to the rudo side last week on Informa. This Wednesday, he was discussing fully having switched over to the rudo side (and was mentioned as such on Informa). He’s still technically being booked in tecnico positions, but that’ll probably end soon.

Ring of Honor tonight has Death Before Dishonor. Typically, this show will overlap the first half hour or so of the CMLL show.

• Komander versus the Beast Mortos in a Someone’s Got To Win match (not official stipulation)
• Lee Johnson vs Lio Rush vs Atlantis Jr. (c) vs Shane Taylor vs Johnny TV vs Brian Cage for the ROH TV championship

Komander is still an AAA cruiserweight champion and a very occasional AAA wrestler, as far as I know. He’s only appeared there one time this year, but he hasn’t done any sort of public separation from the promotion. Maybe CMLL has decided they don’t care about streaming shows? Maybe CMLL has whittled down their block list to “every Mexican who doesn’t work for us” to “Rush, and only Rush”?

CMLL (SAT) 07/27/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Angelito & Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal & Pequeño Polvora
2) La Maligna, La Vaquerita, Lluvia vs Amapola, Metálica, Persephone
3) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Volcano vs Dark Magic, Okumura, Rey Bucanero
4) Fugaz vs Espanto Jr. [lightning]
5) Brillante Jr., Dark Panther, Star Black vs Akuma, Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.
6) Flip Gordon, Star Jr., Volador Jr. vs Averno, Dragón Rojo Jr., Stuka Jr.

The semi-main could be good. Maybe the main but less so. That lightning match will likely turn out OK but no one would be surprised by a disaster GIF with those two shaky guys working together.

AEW announced a Deonna Purrazzo versus Willow Nightingale CMLL World Women’s Championship match for their Battle of the Belts show Saturday night. That’s the first time a “CMLL” branded title will have been defended in AEW; Mistico’s defense was one of the “Historic” titles. I have about 24 hours to get to Tony Schiavone and get him to talk about how great champions Marcela and Amapola were during that match. Maybe Dark Angel could help.

Purrazzo is a former AAA Reina de Reinas champion. The only person to win both that title and the CMLL World Women’s championship is Lady Apache. (Apache is also the only person to hold the CMLL title and the Mexican Women’s championship, which was the defacto AAA women’s championship for many years. Apache leaving AAA with that championship is why the Reina de Reinas title became more than an annual tournament.)

CMLL (SUN) 07/28/2024 Arena México
1) Rayo Metálico & Retro vs Grako & Inquisidor
2) Arkalis, Astral, El Audaz vs Disturbio, Enfermero Jr., Nitro
3) Kira, Sanely, Skadi vs Hera, Persephone, Reyna Isis
4) Brillante Jr., Hijo de Octagón, Hombre Bala Jr. vs El Hijo de Stuka Jr., Felino Jr., Zandokan Jr.
5) Titán vs Stuka Jr. [lightning]
6) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Octagón vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible

I so want to see the lightning match and I think they’ll probably air other stuff.

CMLL (MON) 07/29/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger & Meyer vs Centella Roja & Hijo de Centella Roja
2) Millenium & Rayo Metálico vs Espíritu Maligno & Rencor
3) Multy, Perverso, Prayer vs Dr. Karonte I, Enfermero Jr., Grako
4) Flip Gordon, Pegasso, Stigma vs Hijo del Villano III, Sagrado, Villano III Jr.
5) Star Black vs Último Guerrero
6) Hechicero, Místico, Valiente vs Atlantis Jr., Euforia, Magnus [Relevos Increíbles]

Aniversario feuding continued on in the main event. Star Black gets an Ultimo Guerrero match.

CMLL posted the 07/15 Arena Puebla Anniversary show complete late Thursday night for Fan Leyenda members. CMLL did not announce they were doing this, it just showed up randomlly. I checked quickly this morning, and it appeared the YouTube version of Xelhua/Vegas is the same as on TV; they didn’t cut anything out. (I may end up quickly taking down that version from DailyMotion before CMLL gets annoyed enough to strike it.)

CMLL (TUE) 07/30/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Ángel Azteca Jr., Arariel (Laguna), Buffon (Laguna), Kingperio, Shaky (Laguna), Zonik (Laguna) vs Avispón Negro Jr., Fúnebre, Logan, Makara, Mortis, Ponzoña Jr. [cibernetico]
2) Alondra, Lady Shadow, Miss Guerrera vs Adira, Hatanna, Nexy
3) Diosa Roja (Laguna), Emperatriz, Llamarada, Quetzal vs Atenea, Dulce Kitty, Estrella Maldad, Zorah
4) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther vs Gallo Jr., Ráfaga, Rafaga Jr.
5) Brillante Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Magia Blanca vs Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Optimus, Trono
6) Euforia, Hijo del Soberano, Soberano Jr. vs Arlequín, Esfinge, Star Black

CMLL Mexico City advertised the GDL/CDMX show for weeks, CMLL GDL just does a GDL/Torreon show with no notice. High flying prodigy Zonik makes his CMLL debut in the opener.

CMLL Informa announced they’ll fill the vacant CMLL Women’s World Tag Team Championship with a tournament on upcoming Tuesday shows. It’ll be an eight-team tournament, with the first two rounds on 07/30 and a new champion team crowned on 08/06. The eight teams

• Skadi & Kira
• Hera & Olympia
• Reina Isis & Metalica
• Sanely & Nautica
• Dark Silueta & Valkiria
• Zeuxis & Persephone
• Lluvia & Tessa Blanchard
• Princesa Sugehit & La Catalina, both returning from injury.

Sugehit’s been out since May 2023 and underwent neck surgery. Catalina last wrestled in June and was out after getting a cist removed. That team seems like the favorite on paper. CMLL likes to spread the titles around, which means Skadi & Kira (national tag champs) and Lluvia (occidente champ) & Tessa are out. I don’t know if CMLL will give these belts to a new-ish foreigner like Persephone after Vaquer just left. Hera & Olympia would be fun, but I don’t know if CMLL sees them at that level yet.

(CMLL did not mention why the titles were vacant or who held them last, of course.)

CMLL announced the full teams for the 08/23 Gran Prix:

Team Mexico

• Templario
• Ultimo Guerrero
• Atlantis Jr.
• Titan
• Mistico
• Mascara Dorada
• Volador Jr.
• Esfinge
• Euforia
• Valiente

The new Gran Prix tradition is to include the (likely) Aniversario protagonists on the teams. Esfinge, Euforia, and Valiente make the squad (and CMLL made it clear Hechicero could not only because he’s in the UK.) It’s fertile ground for an angle, but they rarely go that far. Templario and Dragon Rojo did not have issues in 2023. It’s the same thing with the guys in the 2022 one.

Team World

• Ikuro Kwon (MLW/South Korea)
• Flip Gordon (CMLL/US)
• Rocky Romero (NJPW US/US)
• Robbie X (RevPro/UK)
• Kyle Fletcher (ROH/Australia)
• Mansoor (AEW/Saudia Arabia)
• Akira (MLW/US)
• Davey Boy Smith Jr. (MLW/Canada)
• YOTA (NJPW/Japan)
• Claudio Castagnoli (AEW/Switzerland)

Castagnoli is the big name, someone who clearly enjoyed his trip in the spring and wanted to come back. He’ll figure to be one of the ones standing in the final minute. YOTA is the old friend returning. Davey Boy Smith Jr. has been wrestling as much in AJPW as in MLW over the last year. His style doesn’t seem a natural fit with CMLL. Mansoor is an ex-WWE wrestler who teamed with (now) Mason Madden as the Maximum Male Models, a lower-card comedy act. They’re starting with a reworked version of that act (MxM) in Ring of Honor this weekend. Prior to that gimmick, Mansoor was WWE’s spotlighted (and only) Saudi Arabian wrestler, seemingly only used in a meaningful way on their bought shows in that country. That happened when I dropped out of watching WWE entirely, but I remember he had positive reviews for his work. AKIRA is a death match wrestler who seems to be an odd fit in CMLL (and maybe hasn’t caught on yet), but there are not a lot of great fits from MLW if you’re insistent on using three of their wrestlers.

It is possible for Castagnoli, Romero, Fletcher, and anyone else to get to AEW’s show in the UK on Sunday. It’s not easy, it probably means losing all of Saturday traveling, but there’s connections that’ll get them there as early as 8:05 AM on Saturday.

Rey Bucanero does the “wrestlers aren’t as tough as they were in my day” interview.

NJPW announced Zack Sabre Jr. versus Titan for their 08/30 Capital Collision show.

AEW set up a Willow Nightingale versus Kris Statlander “CMLL Women’s Title Eliminator” for next Wednesday’s Dynamite. Statlander can earn a title match by defeating the champion. (Statlander lost last time to Nightingale, so she’ll probably get the win to set up the title match.) CMLL would do this setup with a trios match.

AAA

AAA on SPACE has nothing new. They’re out of tapings until next week’s live Verano de Escandalo show. Maybe there are some leftovers I’m forgetting, but it’s probably a recap show. AAA on Unimas starts to air TripleMania Tijuana, a month after it happens.

There’s a 2×1 ticket discount for TripleMania Mexico City in some sections. That deal has been out for a week and might be a SuperBoletos-driven deal, but I didn’t notice it until AAA posted about it Thursday. The tickets seem to be moving fairly decently on the SuperBoletos map.

TripleMania Mexico City is three weeks away and there’s nothing to write about this promotion. It’ll get better once the calendar turns in August; this month with no tapings is unusual but business will pick up with Verano de Escandalo. It would help AAA build more interest if there was just more going on.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 07/25/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Fobia & Pitbull b Cosmic & Titanium 
2) Hijo De Seminarista, Kato Xtreme Jr., Samoa Kid b Ángel Kid, Astral (Estado De México), Ratzinger 
3) Súper Boy b Shura King 
4) Black Dragón Jr., Black Dragón Ng, Willy Banderas b Pinky, Skyler, X-Devil 
5) Gravity, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly b Black Shadow II, Mr. Mike, Ovett Jr. 
6) Águila Guerrera, Arceus, Drákula Ng, Príncipe Centauro, Sacro, Shamila, Sky Man b Auzter, Fauno, Histeriosys, Kali, Rey Astaroth, Tornado, Vudu Max  
GYM Fill vs Tryout 2024

There was a marriage proposal after the semi-main. She said yes. If you have a partner willing to go with you to a mid-week Naucalpan show, it must be true love. IWRG is also doing the Kiss Cam bit now. Attendance looked good.

Mas Lucha streamed a rare Thursday night show from Arena San Juan against this one. Midweek San Juan shows were actually regular things in the 90s. AAA had weekly shows there, but that’s a tradition that was long ago. The mat had a “Mas Lucha” logo, so it appeared like they were trying to fight IWRG on a day they were running with just trainees in some way. Maybe the day selection was part of that, but it appears the reason the show existed was to produce footage for another project. The “promoter” was Arewa Producciones, a media company that creates short films and commercials among other work. This show was for a film being called “Erase Una Vez En Un Ring“, Once Upon A Time In The Ring. It looks like they’re doing it with the INJUVE people based on the logos on the poster.

IWRG (SUN) 07/28/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Sacro & Willy Banderas vs Fauno & Súper Boy
2) Freelance, Gravity, Vudu Max vs Histeriosys, Mr. Mike, Rey Halcón
3) Auzter & Iron Kid vs Águila Roja & Puma de Oro
4) Multifacetico Jr. vs Pequeño Centauro
5) Estrella Divina, Máscara Sagrada, Veneno vs Hijo De Silver King, Hijo del Fishman, Misterioso Jr.
6) Látigo & Toxin © vs Hell Boy & Hijo de Canis Lupus [IWRG IC TAG]
first defense

It’s good to see Gravity working but seeing him go from AEW TV to the second match of an Arena Naucalpan match is harsh.

Other Promotions Of Questionable Merit

Todo x el Todo realized they ought to have social media accounts and launched a Facebook page on Wednesday. They used it and the BoboProduction IG page to announce wrestlers for the 08/22 show.

• Texano Jr.
• Hijo de Fishman
• Lady Apache
• Cinta de Oro
• Hija de Fuerza Guerrera
• Fuerza Guerrera
• Solar
• Dr. Wagner Jr.

Wagner at least gives it another big name. I guess Cinta is supposed to be a big name, but I’m not sure he means much outside of Juarez/El Paso. Otherwise, it’s a typical group of indie people. There seems to be a rush to promote this show, which means someone looked at how tickets were (not) selling.

ELITE’s director, Ernesto Santillan, hyped the August show and insisted the promotion will run more regularly for the rest of the year. (He said the same before the April show.) Santillan is planning a big show for September. Tickets went on sale on Ticketmaster for 122 to 610 pesos.

Lucha Libre Real, an indie that vanished after 2020, says it’s returning on 08/16 with a Felino 40th Anniversary show in Mexico City. The only match announced is a four-way match between Felino Jr., Villano V Jr., Hijo del Pantera, and Ciclon Ramirez Jr.