Persephone Universal Champ, Catalina defeats Storm, AAA taping schedule

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 10/18/2024 Arena México [AS, CMLL, El Grafico, Excelsior, Fuego en el Ring, Kaiser Sports, PubliMetro, Telediaro, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Futuro, Max Star, Pelon Encapuchado b Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
9:59.
2) Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Viva Van b Amapola, Metálica, Olympia, Sanely
10:22
3) Lluvia & Tessa Blanchard b Sayaka Unagi & Sumika Yanagawa © [CMLL WOMEN TAG]
14:55
4) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Neón b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
16:04. Neon was stretchered out after slipping on his dive
5) La Catalina b Toni Storm
11:48. Toni Storm, upset about the loss, declared she’d return to CMLL later this year.
6) Persephone b Zeuxis [CMLL Universal de Amazonas, final]
12:23. Catalina appeared before the match to hand over the belt. Persephone is the winner, Zeuxis fails in the final match for the second straight year.

If you’re going to go with someone, you might as well go with someone. Persephone getting to the final of the Universal tournament would’ve been a nice footnote, a small step up on the ladder, but ultimately a trivia note if that’s as far as she went. (Only total nutcases remember Texano Jr. was the runner-up in the first Universal tournament.) Persephone winning puts her firmly among the top of the division.

I’m just still surprised it was Perse who is getting that shove. I still think I would’ve gone with Kira or Olympia for that moment first, and I’d hear arguments for Skadi or Hera. Persephone is definitely in that mix, and there’s an argument she’s the better choice, but it’s not a clear-cut one. I feel like we’d learn about how CMLL thinks and evaluates their options if we ever heard the story behind this decision because it sure is an interesting one.

The match itself was good, better than Zeuxis/Willow on Aniversario. It suffered from some of the same issues as Rayo Metalico/Futuro – a lot of the crowd didn’t see them as main event players. Neither came off as the strong rooting favorite either – maybe Persephone by default of being the underdog – and this was put in a position where they had to battle uphill. The match was not booed, but it took a lot for the fans to get into it. They got a lot of time and told a unique for CMLL story of Persephone getting the win on her third try at the frog splash; your finish hardly ever works more than once in CMLL’s match style. Zeuxis was not as stiff as last year with Catlina, though she still hit pretty hard.

Catalina defeating Toni Storm wasn’t as big a surprise – Storm similarly lost the big singles match in her Stardom appearance – but it still felt like it meant something for Catalina to win. She still really could use something more impactful than her top rope splash. (She’s a Trish Stratus fan; can she just use Stratus’ Stratusfaction’s bulldog?) I still didn’t get the feeling the average CMLL fan knew or understood Toni Storm’s act, but she put forth a strong effort, and the match was good. CMLL seemed pretty aware of Storm’s character, and touches like the Instagram photos got very positive reactions.

Toni Storm announcing she’d return this year was eyebrow-raising. Storm did well enough as a one-off match, but she also lost, so there’s no obvious reason to bring her back soon for another show built around a Toni Storm match. (If/when Storm wins the AEW title back, it certainly would fit to run Catalina/Storm back as a title match, but I don’t get that sense AEW is getting to that moment before the end of year.) There isn’t much left on CMLL calendar – the Dia del Muertos shows, the Leyenda de Azul, and the various holiday events. None of those require any international wrestlers. If we are to take Toni Storm’s comments seriously about returning this year (a danger), the only context that works is she’s coming back for an event that CMLL has yet to announce. Perhaps it’s another international tournament, or maybe it’s something specifically AEW-related. I have no idea, do not start asking me about an AEW/CMLL show, but something is up.

The trios match was good, but it could’ve been better. Neon crashing and burning did put a pale on things. (He seems to be fine.) The tag title match was just right. The women’s 4v4 was one of those matches that felt very planned out and better for it. Amapola and Metalica looked better than usual, the foreigners all fit in, and the match moved in well. The ending set up Red Velvet as the big star of those coming in. Ola Negra seemed overextended in the opener.

CMLL (SAT) 10/19/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Grako & Sangre Imperial b Astral & Astro Boy Jr.
12:14
2) El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora b Rayo Metálico, Stigma, Xelhua
14:05.
3) Villano III Jr. TLDRAW Zandokan Jr. [lightning]
the two were brawling outside as the time ran out
4) Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van b Dark Silueta, Lluvia, Zeuxis
16:37
5) Alex Windsor, La Catalina, Red Velvet b India Sioux, Princesa Sugehit, Tessa Blanchard
13:03
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Esfinge, Místico DQ Bárbaro Cavernario, Difunto, Terrible
12:23. Straight falls, Cavernario fouled Rojo. Dragon tried to challenge for a singles match next week but kept getting beat up.

No one cares less about the Dragon Rojo versus Los Barbaros feud than Mistico did on this night. He took his time entering as Dragon Rojo got beat up by his former allies, he ignored that Rojo pinned captain Cavernario to end the first fall to get his pinfall, and he blew off the Cavernario/Dragon Rojo post-match fight to try for a third fall with him and Difunto.

Villano versus Zandokan was the one thing worth watching.

CMLL (SUN) 10/20/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Último Dragóncito b Mercurio [lightning]
2) Cancerbero & Virus b Brillante Jr. & Dark Panther
3) Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa b Amapola, Dark Silueta, Princesa Sugehit
4) Akuma, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II b Fugaz, Star Black, Star Jr.
Gemelos pulled a switch to beat Akuma
5) Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Viva Van b India Sioux, Skadi, Tessa Blanchard
6) Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Flip Gordon b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente
Dragon Rojo declared he was officially a tecnico going forward

Dragon Rojo is good for a tecnico turn once a decade. He tried being a tecnico in 2014, but it didn’t work well, and he was back to being a rudo in 2015. It’s hard to believe this will go any better.

The foreign women are generally beating the Mexican women, as typical for Grand Prix week.

CMLL (TUE) 10/22/2024 Arena México
1) Diamond & Eléctrico vs Grako & Inquisidor
2) Futuro, Max Star, Volcano vs Hunter, Infarto, Kráneo
3) Princesa Sugehit vs Amapola [lightning]
4) Magia Blanca & Vegas vs Barboza & Zandokan Jr.
5) La Catalina, Lluvia, Tessa Blanchard vs Persephone, Reyna Isis, Sanely
6) Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Match 4 are the oddballs who may over-deliver on a Thursday.

CMLL (TUE) 10/22/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Magia Azul & Universys vs Atenea & Quetzal
2) Hatanna & Zorah vs Lady Puma & Miss Panther
3) Candela & Metálica vs Alondra & Emperatriz
4) Adira & Nexy vs Lady Shadow & Miss Guerrera
5) Dark Silueta, India Sioux, Maligna, Olympia, Tabata, Valkiria vs Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van

This is an all women’s show and – in an effort to run a different match here than the Grand Prix – one with almost none of the star CMLL women’s names. Dark Silueta is here because it’s Guadalajara, and she’s the big CMLL women’s Guadalajara star. Still, the choices they’ve made to keep the other Grand Prix women away will make this a more challenging draw than even past all women’s shows. It’s a great opportunity for some of the other women, though.

Fightful Select posted something rather anodyne about Stephanie Vaquer and her sudden departure from CMLL to AEW following Forbidden Door. Almost no one discussing it cares all that much about CMLL. It’s just a chance to relitigate her departure in an AEW/WWE scope again. I will not be doing that. The Fightful Select report was AEW people vaguely saying, “yea, we’re going to try to do something so anyone we build up on Forbidden Door sticks around for a bit,” a news bit which sure is worth reporting but also could’ve been reported by “Duh Magazine.” There’s no guarantee anything AEW, CMLL, and the others will try will have any meaningful effect, but of course they’re going to attempt to fix an obvious problem.

AAA

AAA on Unimas aired one hour early. AAA did get the word out. It turns out the baseball game did disrupt the schedule – or more, that Unimas didn’t want to disrupt its usual block of movies, so all the other shows had to move up an hour that day, and AAA just happened to be the first in line.

I tried four times recording AAA this week, and all I got was the opening match and part of the in-ring promo. On Sunday, I got two recordings of The Rundown, the 2003 film starring the Rock, so I guess that’s as good as watching AAA. It’s fine. I’ve got the Unimas version of this taping to watch if I’m in a hurry. I’m not. I need to circle to some of this later this week because I’ve realized there’s something I want to explain in more detail, and it’s better if I have a bit more time.

The one match I got was the Exoticos versus the Guapos. It was okay. About a few minutes in, they stopped shooting the match to show Mesias at the announce desk complaining about Octagon Jr. from an incident they had in June. Octagon, with excellent hearing and speed, came out and brawled with Mesias. The Exoticos were kind enough to wait to return until Mesias and Octagon were done. They went for longer after the ‘break’; the Guapos did well in that portion, and Pimpinela lost after being tripped off to the top rope.

The part of AAA TV I did included an upcoming show video for the first time in nearly a month. The previous one listed TV tapings in Mexico City on 10/26 and 12/07. Those are missing from the latest listings, with an 11/17 Saltillo taping added. The Saltillo promoters are the same ones promoting the canceled Torreon show, so maybe there’s a make-good there. That lineup should roll out this week through AAA’s usual efforts. It’ll take care of TV through December 14th, and AAA usually runs repeat/Best of programming through the holidays. AAA will often tape a show in December and hold it over to air in January, so maybe later, Mexico City taping will show back up, or maybe they’ll go back to Acapulco. It is strange and not exactly confidence building that AAA’s shifting tapings around so close to them taking place.

For TV-watching purposes, this schedule means another “preview” episode is coming up on Space on 11/02. Unimas will get the 11/03 Showcenter tapings before they air in Mexico. Space and Unimas will start airing the same episode on the same day, with the Saltillo taping airing on December 7th, though that may not last long. There is no telling what AAA will do with Unimas when they go into their typical Best of programming on Space during the holidays.

That 11/17 Saltillo date is notable because AAA’s old partners BARBA is running a CMLL spot show in that city two weeks later. It’s also notable because Vampiro is already retired in Saltillo. he had his last match back in March. In theory, if Vampiro is truly retiring this year, that means his last TV appearance and his probable last match is the November 10th show in Ciudad Juarez. AAA hasn’t indicated that’s his final date by any means, so it probably isn’t the end.

There’s an AAA spot show tonight in Leon. The big draw is the Vampiro retirement tour, but it’s also notable as the show Sexy Star 2 previously said would be her final date with this promotion.

Other News

Mas Lucha steamed the 10/13 Todo x el Todo show (as if it was live) for paid subscribers on Sunday night. The next Hijo del Santo retirement shows are the 11/01 and 11/02 shows in London, being done by a local promoter. The following Mexico shows are the 11/09 show in Puebla and 11/10 in Veracruz. The Puebla show has never had a lineup, never had ticket information, and has never seemed like it’s happening. The other shows may be in question as well; there’s been a persistent rumor this week that the rest of this tour has been postponed or canceled. There’s not much to back it up beyond a screen grab of an LA Park comment on another post, and who knows if LA Park is ever serious. There doesn’t seem to be recent advertising for this Veracruz show as of yet, though tickets remain on sale, and most of the Todo x el Todo work seems to be done the week of the show. I thought there might be some big promotion following Mas Lucha’s stream of the show, but it doesn’t seem to have happened or at least it didn’t make it out their socials. I wouldn’t say the rest of the tour is off at this point, but it’s a suspicious situation. I’d still buy a ticket to the shows if I wanted to see Santo one last time, but I’d be checking the language on the ticket website about refunds.

Flammer won Mas Lucha’s Torneo Surprema on Saturday. She beat Faby Apache in the final, which meant it was a replay of the TripleMania women’s match. That match memorable was in front of a fraction of the audience because AAA told people the show wouldn’t start until a half hour later (and Mexican fans tend to be a late-arriving crowd anyway.) This rematch was in front of another disappointing crowd; Arena Lopez Mateos looked less than a quarter full for this annual tournament. Mas Lucha will try again in that building with the men’s version, Torneo Supremo, on November 16th. with Aerostar, Bestia 666, Chris Stone Jr., Imposible, Ozz, Rey Escorpion, Sanson and Solar. That’s a good field, but I’d also expect it to be another tournament with lots of interference to “set up matches in other promotions” (or to make sure no one has to really lose.)

This is as good as any since Imposible just came up to mention that Imposible and Trauma I made mask versus mask challenges on the AVE/TC show last weekend, with the idea of it happening in 2025. I’m not 100% sure that a match will happen, but they took it a bit more seriously than usual. This group put together the Wotan/Trauma I match earlier this year. Imposible is a guy who had an indie name, was a prospect for a while, never got a shot in CMLL or AAA, tried to be Fuerza Guerrera NG but never really got anywhere with that gimmick and seems to be fading out of wrestling towards other pursuits – it’s fairly plausible he’d wager his mask at this point in his career. Both Trauma I and Imposible are scheduled to be part of a five team tag match on the 11/09 AVE/TC show.

I was very skeptical Sabu would make it to Cancun for an indie show. In fact, here are photos of Sabu at the wrestling show in Cancun. All credit to Sabu.

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