CMLL/AEW, Copa Revolucionarias, AAA 2025 plans

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 11/18/2024 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Enlineadeportiva, Heraldo Deportes, thecubsfan]
1) Black Tiger & Millenium b Hijo del Perverso & Rencor 
18:25
2) Capitán Suicida & Hijo del Pantera b Perverso & Prayer 
17:11
3) Persephone b Tessa Blanchard, India Sioux, La Catalina, Skadi, Kira, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis, Olympia, Hera [Copa Mujeres Revolucionarias] 
India Sioux replaced Lluvia, Olympia replaced Sanely on Monday. Order of elimination: Hera (via Kira, 9:10), Olympia (via Catalina, 11:54), Kira (via Isis, 14:12), Skadi (via Zeuxis, 15:09), Reina Isis (via India Sioux, 16:28), India Sioux (via Persephone, 17:12), Zeuxis (via Tessa, 18:26), Catalina (via Persephone, 20:07), Tessa (via Persephone, 22:16) leaving Persephone as the winner
4) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero b Místico, Stigma, Templario 
18:45. Gran Guerrero beat Mistico with a mask pull, setting up a rematch next week.
5) Averno, Euforia, Mephisto © b Magnus, Rugido, Volador Jr. [CMLL TRIOS] 
13:52. Euforia & Mephisto beat Magnus & Rugido to retain. First defense

This aired as a surprise stream on Monday evening, and it was free for everyone. It had Puebla energy; the opener was long, the segunda was very solid but not particularly flashy. The women’s cibernetico was steadier than a lot of them from October. Match 4 was about the usual main event level. The trios title match was disappointing; the Depredadores could’ve done something fun like tecnicos but just went through the motions.

CMLL (TUE) 11/19/2024 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports, thecubsfan]
1) Astral & Robin b Astro Boy Jr. & Dragón de Fuego 
13:25
2) Amapola, Metálica, Olympia b India Sioux, Skadi, Tabata 
13:03
3) Capitán Suicida b Hijo de Stuka Jr. [lightning] 
9:30
4) Arkalis, Stigma, Xelhua b Guerrero Maya Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Vegas 
13:58. Xelhua beat Maya with a mask pull after Maya did the same to him last week. They set up a match for next week, appears to be a non-title one.
5) Flip Gordon, Star Jr., Titán DQ Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido 
9:44. Straight falls, Magia Blanca got caught unmasking Titan. They’ll have a singles match on Sunday.
6) Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Máscara Dorada b Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero, Valiente 
12:07

The live stream had issues through the first three matches, making them increasingly unwatchable. The Suicida/Stukita looked like it could be fun but you shouldn’t bother with those first three matches until/unless they upload a clean version.

CMLL restarted the stream before match four, the rest of the match was fine and streamed fine. It was good effort for a Tuesday show, though nothing you have to see. Match 4 & 5 made it clear the bigger matches are down the road. Ultimo Guerrero tried to recreate the KeMonito flip spot in the first match with the new guy, but the new guy didn’t really know how to take it.

CMLL (TUE) 11/19/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Astro Oriental, Logan, Último Ángel b Infierno, Mortis, Ponzoña Jr.
2) Gallo Jr., Obek, Rafaga Jr. b Rav, Shezmu, Temerario
3) Calavera Jr. I & Calavera Jr. II b Draego & Persa
4) Atlantis & Blue Panther b Rey Bucanero & Satánico
5) Dark Silueta & Persephone b Kira & La Catalina
6) Barboza, Difunto, Zandokan Jr. b Dulce Gardenia, Esfinge, Star Black

Not much to say. Attendance didn’t look good.

Mistico was an award present at the first ever Victory Prize Mexico sports awards on Tuesday.

Mascara Dorada, Hechicero, and Mistico are scheduled for the AEW event tonight, though not on the show at all. AEW hasn’t officially said they’ll be on Dynamite at this point. AEW is already taping Rampage and maybe Ring of Honor tonight.

Q101’s (and Voices of Wrestling’s) Case Lowe has an interview with Tony Khan that posted this morning. CMLL comes up; Khan continues to be very happy with the relationship and points out Mistico remains undefeated in AEW. That CMLL part of the conversation ends with Khan saying that he “can’t wait to bring AEW to Mexico.”. Lowe follows up on that, asking if he meant that it’s happening, and Khan backs off a bit, saying that “sooner or later, it absolutely has to happen” and that it would happen with CMLL in Arena Mexico. Khan does not put a date and does not say for sure it is happening. It’s also comes off as if he fully expects it to happen in 2025 and this was just not the point to announce it.

(My name comes up in this CMLL discussion. I was not expecting to get praised in a video on Q101’s YouTube this morning; I’m almost willing to figure Q101 for searing the lyrics to Santeria in my brain.)

Another big thing from that interview is Tony Khan saying AEW’s Continental Classic field will not be released “in full” until after Saturday’s Full Gear show. This is AEW’s version of NJPW’s G1. CMLL wrestlers are hardly ever in the G1 and I expect there’s the same chance of them being in this, but I guess you never know.

CMLL (FRI) 11/22/2024 Arena México
1) Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito vs Full Metal, Pequeño Polvora, Rostro De Acero
2) Capitán Suicida, Futuro, Max Star vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
3) Tessa Blanchard vs Persephone
4) Dragón Rojo Jr., Templario, Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Stuka Jr., Terrible
5) Místico vs Soberano Jr., Esfinge, Hechicero, Blue Panther, Euforia, Star Black, Averno, Ángel de Oro, Gran Guerrero [Leyenda de Azul, semifinal]

It would be odd for CMLL to make an extra effort to explain Mistico being in this tournament without him at least making it to the end. Maybe they’re setting up the Mistico/Hechicero match here. Maybe it’s Euforia getting the post-mask loss rebound win.

CMLL (SAT) 11/23/2024 Arena México
1) Leono vs Sangre Imperial
2) Astral, Diamond, Legendario vs Draego, Hunter, Infarto
3) Lluvia & Princesa Sugehit vs Reyna Isis & Zeuxis
4) Brillante Jr., Hijo de Blue Panther, Hijo del Pantera vs Felino Jr., Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III
5) Star Jr. vs Villano III Jr.
6) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Octagón vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Villano III Jr. and Star Jr. have a big match, though I wish it were one fall. Match 4 is full of Juniors of very different excitement levels. I’m happy when I see Villano, Pantera, and Stuka wrestle; I’m not as happy to see Felino or Hijo de Blue Panther, and I feel like I never see Brillante. Draego pops back up here for the first time since January.

CMLL (MON) 11/25/2024 Arena México
1) Grako vs Inquisidor [lightning]
2) Eléctrico, Principe Daniel, Retro vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) Fuego, Valiente Jr., Volcano vs Crixus, Kráneo, Vegas
4) Kira, La Catalina, Princesa Sugehit vs Hera, Sanely, Zeuxis
5) Titán vs Magia Blanca
6) Flip Gordon, Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Hechicero, Soberano Jr.

I hope Titan/Maiga Blanca airs.

MLW announced Magnus versus Titan for their 12/05 show. This appears to be part of the taping to air later (probably 12/19.) MLW also announced Dark Panther and Mascara Dorada for their 01/11 show near Dallas. Dark Panther seems like a guy who is too deep in CMLL’s roster to get noticed but would do well internationally, though he’s probably there just to team with his father. The bigger picture is that MLW keeps announcing CMLL names for this show; it seems to be meant to be like the Cicero shows with a heavy CMLL presence to draw in people who MLW otherwise may not be of interest.

NJPW announced a four-promotion International Women’s Tournament. CMLL, AEW, ROH, and Stardom will each hold four-way qualifiers, and the winners will wrestle on the 01/05 show. The winner will earn a title shot, though that prize is probably immaterial to lucha libre discussion. No participants or dates are announced for any of the qualified. CMLL may announce their participants as soon as tonight’s CMLL Informa.

A dozen in CMLL could logically be in that four-way, and no one person has to be in it. I might as well wait to speculate until CMLL narrows it down to 4 since that portion may happen a few hours after you read this. What level of participation CMLL will truly have on that 01/05 Tokyo Dome has been an open question for months. This is uncharted territory. The only sure thing is that Mistico will somehow be part of it, but I’ve got no feeling that he’ll be joined by one or two more people or ten. It’s rare for NJPW to fly over CMLL wrestlers just to work one show, though I guess some could find their way on NJPW’s New Year’s Dash the same day. CMLL women also tended to tour Japan early in the year, which is why Jarochita & Lluvia ended up on FantasticaMania last year. There’s been no mention of any tour this year, but they may be waiting for this tournament to take place as not to spoil the outcome.

(I think there’s a good chance Tessa is in the four-way qualifier, and people will freak out on social media. I don’t think it’s a great use of energy. I’m sure people who are friendly to her will eventually try to re-introduce her to non-CMLL fans, but not on a show of that magnitude. She’s finishing second place in many ciberneticos and tournaments lately, but she’s not won much outside of the tag titles. CMLL thinks she’s rather good, but they’re not the decision-makers on the winner. And even when they are, she wins much less than people realize.)

Lluvia did an interview talking about her career.

AAA

AAA officially announced the 12/08 Monterrey show on Tuesday. There are no changes from what was announced a couple of weeks ago. The main event is Alberto, Mesias, and Pierroth—essentially the lead rudo group—against Octagon Jr., Cibernetico, and TBA. AAA probably will need another challenger for Alberto after they get through Cibernetico and before they get to Latin Lover. They could go back to Vikingo, or that mystery person could be an introduction to someone else in that role.

El Planchitas latest column for Record reveals AAA has plans on centering 2025 around Alberto el Patron and Latin Lover. Anyone who watches AAA TV or even just the last TripleMania should’ve figured that out. Planchitas’ information is from a luncheon AAA quietly held with sponsors (both current and potential), where they pitched that feud between well-known people as a reason to partner with AAA. The claim in Record is Alberto was originally signed through this December, and AAA and Alberto agreed to another one-year contract for 2025. The reporting says Latin Lover is preparing but is unsure if he’ll wrestle.

Planchitas pushes this as a change in plans. It’s been the plain obvious plan for AAA since TripleMania Mexico City. It’s not hard to work backward to figure out it was likely the plan from the moment Latin Lover agreed to come back to AAA, as the eye angle started right after. There’s been no hint of any other direction. AAA’s post-TripleMania has been Alberto killing off the other AAA tecnicos one by one until Latin Lover has no choice but to get in the ring. Either they’ve had those guys locked in since running the angle in August, or they’ve lost their minds. This just serves as a reminder that 2025 AAA will likely look much like 2024 AAA, however you feel about that.

The real news is buried in the last sentence: AAA told sponsors it plans to run “more 10 times in Mexico City in 2025.” That’s a lot! They’re going to run 7 times in Mexico City this year (5 times at Juan de la Barrera, 1 time at Arena Ciudad de Mexico, and 1 time at the military base), and that’s been a lot. AAA looks to end the year with 21 tapings this year, a bit more than it looked a few months ago. Next year could look like

• 10 tapings in Mexico City (8 Juan de la Barrera shows, 1 military base, 1 TripleMania)
• 2 other TripleManias (Tijuana, Monterrey)
• 4 Showcenters events
• 5 in the few safe cities they go to (Queretaro, Saltillo, Aguascalientes for Verano de Escandalo, Guadalajara for Heroes Inmortales, Juarez for Guerra de Titanes)

That’s 21 shows, and only about 8 cities visited.
In 2019, AAA ran 33 tapings, and went to 28 cities.

2025 will probably end up a little different in reality – replace some of the Showcenters with other tapings, maybe they add one or two instead of doing the filler TV shows, maybe they tape a show in Japan with GLEAT – but that’s the general sketch of things in 10 Mexico City shows. It’s just hard to believe they’ll commit to that. Mexico City has easily been the most potent place for AAA this year, but they’ve tried to run Mexico City very early in their career when they were very hot, and it didn’t appear sustainable. It’s not like running a lot of other cities was working out for AAA in 2022 and 2023, though. It is an abandonment of Antonio Pena’s dream for AAA – they’d be different from EMLL and UWA by taking their A-shows around the country – for a promotion where the legacy of Antonio Pena gets talked about a lot. The business does change.

Mas Lucha posted interviews from the last couple of tapings. Decay and Psycho Circus say what you’d expect. Latin Lover talks about storyline stuff, including signing people—that still hasn’t gone anywhere. He says at different points he’s convinced Marisela to hire people and that he still hasn’t. He also says he told his family he wouldn’t return to having matches but is considering it if no one else can stop Alberto.

Fiscal told Mas Lucha he’s no longer with the Vipers. I got that backward on Monday. Abismo didn’t turn on the Vipers; instead, everyone betrayed Fiscal. It’s a late 90s move; a swerve no one saw it coming because it doesn’t make sense. Fiscal is a tecnico now. Psicosis tried to explain that the group was stronger with Abismo than Fiscal, so he called to go with the guy who cost him his mask (and they all gave up the trios titles in the process.) Maybe next week, Record will break the news that Fiscal and Abismo will have a big feud in 2025.

Progress Wrestling announced that El Hijo del Vikingo is off their 11/24 show due to injury. He did wrestle in Saltillo this past week—or at least he was in the match. The Progress story is that he’s not ready to wrestle at a high level yet, and they’ll bring him in at a later date.

The Lucha X el Barrio competition kicked off on Tuesday. This first stage last year was mostly about weeding out people for fitness, and that seems to be the case again. There’s already a press release saying 160 people have signed up, and 80 people made it to the next round. This confuses me a bit because INJUVE said it’s a 3-day tryout lasting through Thursday, yet they already know how many people are advancing. Maybe they know they’re taking just the top 80 no matter what. That next round, with wrestling matches, will take place on 11/20 and 11/21. The final round of matches will occur on the afternoon of the 12/07 TV taping.

Other News

In his obituary of Coloso Colosetti, Dr. Lucha mentions that his birthday is actually May 19, 1938—about a decade older than we had thought. Both that article and the many others in this week’s Box y Lucha emphasize that Colosetti was a Wolf Rubiniski trainee. Rubinski, a famous 1940s EMLL luchador who went into acting, ended up producing a wrestling show in Argentina in 1962 and discovered Colosetti there. Rubinski later got him started in Mexico.

Club Lucha has a new edition of their podcast.

AIW has Beast Mortos against Matthew Justice. Mortos is totally going to throw Justice off some high thing. AIW is now a YouTube video subscription company.