Atlantis/Star versus Chavez, holiday lineups, La Hiedra

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 09/09/2024 Arena Puebla [CMLL, El Sol del Puebla, Elineanoticas, Porra Fresa]
1) Prayer & Sombra Diabólika b Asturiano & Blue Shark
2) Inquisidor b Astro [lightning]
3) Espíritu Negro, Pelon Encapuchado, Stigma b Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero
4) Lluvia & Tessa Blanchard © b Persephone & Zeuxis [CMLL WOMEN TAG] 
first defense
5) Atlantis, Flip Gordon, Volador Jr. DQ Ángel de Oro, Averno, Niebla Roja 
Averno unmasked Atlantis for the DQ.
6) Euforia, Soberano Jr., Valiente b Esfinge, Hechicero, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles] 
Valiente pinned Hechicero after a mask pull (and after a series of fouls)

CMLL Twitter’s new favorite bit is to do a blur effect on the video when someone gets unmasked to obscure their face. I wonder if Averno can get a good singles match out of 2024 Atlantis.

CMLL (TUE) 09/10/2024 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan]
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito b Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico  
8:59
2) Astral, El Audaz, Valiente Jr. b Capitán Suicida, Diamond, Eléctrico   
17:36
3) Metálica, Reyna Isis, Sanely b Hera, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi [Relevos Increíbles]   
12:29.
4) Magia Blanca b Difunto [lightning]   
8:28
5) Dragón Rojo Jr., Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. b Atlantis, Blue Panther, Flip Gordon  
14:21
6) Atlantis Jr., Neón, Star Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.   
11:43. Star Jr. and Atlantis Jr. demanded a tag title match and got unmasked.

Match two was the lightweight sort of trying to have a go-go-go match and then seeing why some of them are stuck in second-match purgatory. Capitan Suicida probably takes risks that he should not be he’s still good and a cut ahead of the other five. Diamond had a Diamond moment. Magia Blanca slipped badly on a springboard; otherwise, the lightning match was good. The crowd got into the last couple of matches. I forgot that it was Mascara Dorada, not Atlantis Jr., as a world trios champion, so I missed that they were setting up a tag title match there.

CMLL (TUE) 09/10/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL, Fuego en el RIng, Mas Lucha]
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Cosmos, Último Ángel b Quka, Sangre Azul, Shezmu
Shezmu replaced Funebre (though CMLL still lists Funebre)
2) Draego, Makara, Persa b Cris Skin, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
4) Lluvia, Tabata, Tessa Blanchard b Olympia, Valkiria, Zeuxis
4) Barboza & Zandokan Jr. b Optimus & Trono
Trono was streteched out after a dive
5) Esfinge, Máscara Dorada, Místico, Star Black, Templario b Averno, Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto, Valiente [cibernetico]
Mistico defeated Averno for the win.

CMLL again didn’t tweet out video highlights of this show, which they usually do right off the unlisted CMLL stream. They must not even be streaming it at this point, just only putting it up as (copyright-safe) VOD later on. Arena Coliseo Guadalajara could simply stop doing the things that are causing issues, but the live experience matters more to them than the free stream on YouTube.

I’ve been wondering if Mistico might pop up in AEW tonight, but I haven’t heard any indication of it happening.

Arena Coliseo Guadalajara will host “Al Ring por Ellas y Ellos” on 09/29, a charity show they annually run 09/29. They’ve streamed that on their own YouTube channel in the past, but that’s gone. They did sneak a sponsored show up on the sponsor’s Facebook page this past year, but I wouldn’t count on seeing it again.

CMLL (SAT) 09/14/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Sangre Imperial vs Grako [lightning]
2) Leono, Retro, Robin vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) La Catalina & Tabata vs Amapola & Olympia
4) Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
5) Dark Panther, Fugaz, Star Black vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. vs Flip Gordon, Rocky Romero, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]

Aniversario and the day are a distance apart. Congrats to Rocky for picking up an extra match on his trip. I was going to say that Orange and Jericho have to get back to the US for Collision, but Collision is taped on Thursday this week.

CMLL (MON) 09/16/2024 Arena México
1) Angelito & Fantasy vs Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico
2) Capitán Suicida, El Audaz, Legendario vs Alom, Hunter, Infarto
3) Brillante Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
4) Magnus, Rugido, Vegas vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Difunto, Terrible
5) Hechicero vs Esfinge, Euforia, Valiente [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Místico © vs Máscara Dorada [MLW MIDDLE]

This Sunday show is moving to Monday due to the holiday. CMLL tends to stream major holiday shows, but they’ll unlikely announce it ahead of time. (Matches from the show will air on 09/27 otherwise.)

CMLL (MON) 09/16/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Astoreth & Lady Metal vs Enigmática & Lady Amazona
2) Arkalis, Rayo Metálico, Xelhua vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) La Catalina vs Reyna Isis [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Último Guerrero vs Averno, Hijo de Octagón, Octagón [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Rocky Romero, Templario, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

This is the regular Puebla show, though at the earlier holiday time of 5 pm.

Match five is a 2v2 match, but CMLL will wait for the outcome of the Aniversario match to set teams—it’ll probably be the final two against the two who got eliminated first, and they’re not telling you (or these guys) which is which right now.

CMLL is offering 50 tickets for a meet-and-greet with Chris Jericho and Mistico at 2,500 pesos (about 125 USD) per person. That seems like the most expensive meet-and-greet in Mexican wrestling history, but I really don’t know that area well. CMLL indicated they were almost sold out of tickets by Tuesday afternoon.

Box y Lucha 3260 has the Aniversario top matches.

Octagon says he’s a Shokotkan karate black belt, second dan. I have no understanding of karate; I don’t know if that’s believable or an old wrestler’s tale.

AAA

The viral moment of the week is a slap. Monday, La Hiedra posted a TikTok video of a fan walking to the ring and slapping Hiedra’s backside as she stood on the apron. Hiedra retaliated by kicking at the fan, then dropping off the apron to slap the fan, and eventually got into a short fight with a woman the attacker was with. The rest of Las Toxicas de-escalated the situation. Hiedra explained she posted the clip because someone else had posted a video of the fight between the women, and she wanted to show what had led up to that.

That clip has gone viral because it’s pretty easy to trash the fan, and the fan should be trashed for their actions. I can’t figure out what match the clip is from – reports say it was a match in the US, I can’t find that match, but lucha libre posters for the US are harder to find than the Mexico ones. Las Toxicas are wearing their new gear from TripleMania Tijuana, so it must have been in the last few months.

Other Notes

Kuniaki Kobayashi (68) passed away Monday after a battle with cancer. He would’ve been 24 when he landed in Mexico, and he wrestled in both UWA and EMLL rings from 1980 to 1982. His wins include a triple hair match victory alongside Gran Hamada and Enrique Vera over Los Misionarios del Muerte in 1982, though the Misionarios won a rematch (with Kobayashi now teaming with George Takano and Hiro Saito.) The UWA pushed him as a near-top guy and a small show headliner; he had matches with Canek, Perro Aguayo and Villano III. Dr. Lucha’s column this week talks about meeting Kobayashi in 1981 and the freedom he felt living in Mexico after enduring the rigorous NJPW training.

The Villano V memorial mass took place Monday. Rokambole Jr. talked about his father’s final days with Estadio Deportes. He says Villano V’s health started to decline after his wife’s death, but he also had longer-term illnesses that he didn’t treat or didn’t follow the doctor’s instructions. Villano V suffered from Parkinson’s – his left hand shook a lot – and he believes it started after the Blue Panther match. (One of the moments of that match is Villano V hitting his head on a tope.) Villano V also had diabetes, though he didn’t tell his family. Rokambole Jr. had been living with his father for the last few months – they were both already living alone, and Rokambole suggested they live together in an apartment near the same building where Villano V Jr. lives. Rokambole Jr. remembers his father wore a distinctive cologne, so much so that they could smell him coming before seeing him, and that smell is part of his memories now.

Rey Mysterio Jr. was Latin Lover’s guest on his podcast this week, The much discussed bit from the match was Mysterio talking about the death of Perro Aguayo Jr. Mysterio said he was more depressed about having to tell Aguayo’s family what happened than about being accused as the one who caused it. Mysterio also says he was always planning on going back to WWE and believes he would’ve taken Aguayo with him. It’s a nice thought, though there was little chance WWE would have the vision to sign Perro Aguayo Jr. for a deal that would be worth his while, it was a few years between Aguayo’s death and Mysterio returning to WWE. If I had to guess, I figure Aguayo would’ve first followed Mysterio to Lucha Underground and then got caught in their one-sided contracts for many years.

Mr. Aguila responded to this Latin Lover podcast on Twitter, saying that neither Latin Lover nor Rey Mysterio Jr. knew what Perro Aguayo Jr. was going through before his death, and only his best friends knew the truth of what happened. There have been theories that Aguayo was aware of pre-existing health issues that factored in his in-ring death, but no one’s ever come forward to confirm them. Mr. Aguayo is also notoriously a weird Facebook guy, sometimes lovably so, and could just be saying stuff. He’s been posting videos about how Latin Lover doesn’t understand real hard work for the day or so after.

Promotion Legend (obviously) runs a lot of legend shows and the occasional fan fest. Those convention occasions haven’t ever really taken hold in Mexico as in the US. I think that’s why older wrestlers still keep taking wrestling bookings; there’s not enough of an autograph circuit to make money only that way. Legend seems to do these annually, and they’ll have one billed as a UWA reunion on the afternoon of 09/14, the day after the Aniversario. Canek, Dos Caras, el Halcon, Irma Agular, Super Pinocho, Rmabo, Sismo, and Mano Negra are billed as appearing.

Hidalgo University’s UAHG Gazette September issue is all about lucha libre. The big piece is a solid history of Mexican wrestling. There are also stories about the rise/fall of lucha libre films, the history of lucha libre posters (and the special font those posters used), bisexual luchador Medusa, mask maker/luchadora Casandra, and the lack of luchadors labor’s rights.

ELITE said they drew “nearly 1,000 people” to their shows over the weekend, though it’s unclear if they mean the total over the two shows or each. (500 each night seems more likely.)

An interview with Sangre Azteca & Huitzil.

El Sol de San Luis has an interview with Trebol Negro Jr.