CMLL Aniversario cards (mostly) set, Bandido remains champ, The Crash returns

CMLL (FRI) 09/10/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Furia de Titanes, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
1) Diamond, Magia Blanca, Panterita del Ring Jr. b Dark Magic, Okumura, Pólvora  
Tecnicos (including the new Depredadores) took 1/3.
2) Amapola, Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer b La Guerrera, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit      
Rudas took 2/3. Guerrera was hurt in the second fall and left the match.
3) Dragón Rojo Jr. & Templario b Enfermero Jr., El Coyote [MEX MIDDLE, #1 Contenders]    
Temprlario beat Enfermero, Dragon Rojo defeated Coyote. Templario & Dragon Rojo advance to the final next week
4) Gran Guerrero b Ángel de Oro, Stuka Jr., Fugaz, Atlantis Jr., Rey Cometa, Dark Panther, Negro Casas, Euforia, Terrible, Virus, Gemelo Diablo II [Copa Independencia, semifinal]      
Stuka Jr. replaced Titan on Friday. Elimination order: Fugaz (by Negro Casas), Rey Cometa (Euforia), Gemelo Diablo (Angel de Oro), Dark Panther (Atlantis Jr.), Virus (Negro Casas), Stuka Jr. (Terrible), Negro Casas (Angel de Oro), Atlantis Jr. (Euforia), Euforia (Gran Guerrero foul, Terrible pin), Angel de Oro (Gran Guerrero), Terrible (Gran Guerrero)

Gran Guerrrero winning is logical and well done – he beat the last three guys, he’s a younger guy when they desperately need younger rudos – and also entirely boring.

CMLL (SUN) 09/12/2021 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Átomo & El Gallito b Chamuel & Perico Zakarías
2) Grako & Nitro b Oro Jr. & Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 1/3.
3) Amapola, Dalys, Dark Silueta b La Jarochita, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit
Rudas took 2/3. Sugehit & Jarochita replaced Guerrera (injured on Friday) & Vaquerita, Amapola replaced Seductora
4) El Audaz, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Cancerbero, Raziel, Rey Bucanero
Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Atlantis, Panterita del Ring, Volador Jr. b Felino, Último Guerrero, Virus
Tecnicos took 2/3. Atlantis replaced Atlantis Jr. on Friday

Felino did return. CMLL’s recap mentioned he looked totally ready for Friday’s match. Nothing else here.

CMLL (TUE) 09/14/2021 Arena México
1) Bengala & Leono vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Hombre Bala Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Disturbio, Enfermero Jr., Inquisidor
3) La Guerrera, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit vs Dark Silueta, La Comandante, Tiffany
4) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Dulce Gardenia vs Luciferno, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero
5) Atlantis, Fugaz, Valiente vs Gran Guerrero, Terrible, Último Guerrero

Dulce Gardenia hasn’t been around since July. Gran Guerrero is only rudo in the top matches who isn’t 45 or older.

We can also sort of figure out with the Anniversary shows will be

CMLL (FRI) 09/17/2021 Arena México
Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, 2020 (makeup date)
1) Diamond, Magia Blanca, Magnus vs Disturbio, El Coyote, Sangre Imperial [Relevos Increíbles]
2) Dalys, La Jarochita, Lluvia vs Dark Silueta, Princesa Sugehit, Reyna Isis
3) Euforia, Hechicero, Místico vs Atlantis Jr., Negro Casas, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero [Copa Independencia]
5) Bárbaro Cavernario vs Felino [hair]

That’s the card order as CMLL’s listed now, but they’ll probably break up the two singles matches later.

Every trios match is a relevos increibles, which means none of them are really increibles. No one is really a tecnico or rudo anymore, they just change their personality based on the whim of the programming committee that day. I suspect there are a lot of individual decisions that are coming together to paint an unappealing picture. This promotion definitely wants to go back to the past but can’t even come to an agreement on which year: Sangre Imperial & Lluvia will likely end up working ruda to honor Sangre Imperial’s time in the 80s, while Atlantis Jr. is a rudo in his match because someone wants to turn the clock back the Los Guerreros del Atlantida circa 2006. No new ideas are permitted.

Felino not being around has made it near impossible to build excitement for the hair match. I’m not sure there would’ve been much anyone. It’ll be good, they’ll work hard. The same applies for Volador/Gran Guerrero. This card is really not that different from recent Homenaje a Dos Leyendas – an apuesta match, a title/tournament match, and a bunch of random stuff – but there’s no buzz to any of this.

Euforia & Ultimo Guerrero haven’t been in the ring since they broke up as a team. Seemed important at the time.

CMLL (FRI) 09/24/2021 Arena México
CMLL 88th Aniversario
1) La Jarochita & Lluvia © vs ? & ?? [MEX WOMEN TAG]
2) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa © vs Akuma & Espanto Jr. [MEX TAG]
3) Titán & Volador Jr. © vs Gemelo Diablo I & Gemelo Diablo II [CMLL TAG]
Originally a Misico/Caristico defense, vacant after Mistico II left CMLL.
4) Templario vs Dragón Rojo Jr. [MEX MIDDLE]
vacant title, last held by Octagon
5) Hechicero vs Último Guerrero © [CMLL HEAVY]
Originally for MEX HEAVY, 11th defense.

These polls aren’t closed for another day or so, but luchablog’s decision desk could’ve called these over weeks ago. The women’s tag title match will go down to the last moment but every other poll has never been close. It’s slightly more exciting because I don’t know how some of these matches will go, though its novel matches that matter more than any of these title belts.

There’s an intense amount of voting going on for that women’s tag team title match, way more than I’ve seen for any 24 hour period I’ve tracked. Dark Silueta & Reyna Isis led when I checked midday, but I’ve seen screen grabs with Dalys & Stephanie Vaquer leading at other times. Both teams should get title shots and they should go on last, and I’m not sure if either will happen.

The intensity over the poll result may have skewed the other results. There are some people who are going to the CMLL voting page just to vote for the women’s tag title match. I believe there are also those who are only interested in that race but feel (or mistakenly believe) they have to vote for all the titles and are just quickly voting for the first place finisher or the first name on the list (which tends to be first-place finisher.) I think the people who won are the people who would’ve won anyway, but maybe more than they would’ve if the names were always put into a random order.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 09/12/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Perro de Guerra Jr. b Spider Fly
2) Lolita & Satania b Bengalee & Sagitarius
3) Akbal, Caballero de Plata, Mexica b Halloween Jr., Oficial AK47, Tortuga Leo
Leo turned rudo last week and now his evil turtle friends were replaced by AK-47 (moved down?) and Halloween JR.
4) Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli b Halcón Mágico, Noicy Boy, Relámpago
Dick Angelo, Puma de Oro and Tonalli are now La Jauria Jaucan
5) Cíclope & Miedo Extremo DCOR Medico Brujo & Sick Boy
6) Estrella Divina & Jessy Ventura b Hijo del Alebrije & Mafioso
Alebrije replaced AK47, didn’t get along with Mafioso, gave up at the end of the match. Sick Boy & Medico Brujo helped out Mafisio after the match.
7) Gianni Valletta & Hijo del Pirata Morgan b Súpernova & Texano Jr.
Valletta stays undefeated, beating Super Nova. Texano & Pirata made hair match challenges

I had other things going on and didn’t see any of this, but it doesn’t read like I need to go back and see much of it. I did see Perro de Guerra Jr. has actual gear now; he has professional wrestling skills so it’ll help to look like one.

IWRG (THU) 09/16/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Bengalee & Kariel vs Mary Caporal & Satania
2) Legendario, Noicy Boy, Rey Halcón vs Hijo Del Pandemónium, Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr.
3) Halloween Jr., Mafioso, Medico Brujo vs Dick Angelo, Puma de Oro, Tonalli
4) Súper Nova & Texano Jr. vs Hijo del Pirata Morgan & Sick Boy
5) Diva Salvaje, Estrella Divina, Jessy Ventura vs Dr. Wagner Jr., Galeno del Mal, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.
6) Hijo del Espectro vs Gianni Valetta © [IWRG IC HEAVY]
second defense

I’ve got the top three matches as listed on the poster, but they are technically a random draw for order on the day of the show. Many wrestlers are working multiple shows on Mexican Independence Day, so IWRG may be using a ‘random draw’ as cover for not knowing exactly when luchadors need to go or arrive yet. Wagner would be in the main event under normal circumstances.

ROH

Bandido retained the ROH World Championship over Demonic Flamita, EC3, and Brody King on ROH’s Death Before Dishonor show. Earlier on the show, LFI (Dragon Lee, Kenny King, La Bestia del Ring) lost to Shane Taylor Enterprises for the ROH Six-Man Championship. Bandido appeared to have Alex Zayne (who beat Bandido in ROH before Zayne signed with WWE), Vincent (won a title shot from Matt Taven), and Jonathan Gresham as upcoming challengers. The overall show was good, though not as strong as their recent previous outings.

Dragon Lee & Kenny King also surprisingly won the ROH Tag Team Championship on this week’s ROH TV, defeating Homicide & Chris Dickinson. Dragon Lee is now a double champion holding the ROH TV championship. Whatever the future is with ROH and Rush – who was only briefly mentioned on the show – it doesn’t seem to affect ROH’s feelings towards Dragon Lee at the moment. If nothing else, we’ll know what Dragon Lee’s status is with ROH going forward based on how long he holds both those titles.

(There were no hints of Dralistico showing up; this would’ve been the logical time to do it if it was going to happen. It is probably not going to happen.)

The Alex Zayne/Bandido match was specifically said as coming up on ROH TV. I’m not sure if there is anything for Ring of Honor coming up beyond TV. No next live date was announced and PW Insider reported there are no live shows currently scheduled. Even the year-ending Final Battle PPV in December may or may not have fans at this point. ROH is taping TV today and tomorrow and will again in November, expected to have no fans. The PW Insider report says the decision to run no live events is COVID-related. I enjoy a lot of Ring of Honor, but seeing a TV promotion in front of maybe 300 people with no more announced shows would be a terrible sign if there wasn’t the COVID reason. I hope they rebound whenever they can run normally again, but they’ve got to make it there first.

Bandido is bringing in some ROH wrestlers for the Big Lucha show this Thursday. Those shows have streamed live in the past, though I’m not sure if this one will – Mas Lucha has the IWRG show at an overlapping time. The show was supposed to stream on Bandido’s own channel last time, though it didn’t seem to be running live.

The Crash

The Crash (SAT) 09/11/2021 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California [SoCal Uncensored]
1) Kamikaze, Skalibur, Torito Negro b Próximo, Terror Azteca, Toto
2) Black Danger & Dinámico b Baby Xtreme & El Dragón (Chihuahua)
3) Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana II b Black Destiny, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa
4) Hijo Del Vikingo b Black Taurus (Indie) 
reverse 450 splash for the win
5) Bestia 666, Mecha Wolf, Rey Horus b Cuatrero, Forastero (NGD), Sansón 
Poder del Norte & Konnan interfered.
6) Andrade el Idolo b Laredo Kid, Fénix (AAA) 

Konnan was with Bestia & Mecha Wolf on the NWA PPV and then attached himself to NGD on this show; you make sense of it. It was not exactly great to see AAA unable to give a finish to an NGD match on TV and then a few hours later it was OK for NGD to lose in The Crash. Konnan appeared to be publically only introduced as talent, though he’s clear on Twitter that he’s part of the promotion again. Konnan said in that Tweet that they’re working on getting The Crash watchable in the US. I don’t believe that can happen as long as The Crash uses AAA talent and the AAA/FMV lawsuit exists – it’s the same issues as the Aguascalientes show that aired live and then was restricted to Mexico.

Danny Limelight didn’t make it to Tijuana and The Crash changed the top two matches; live report I saw said people were generally OK with it while noticing it as part of the pattern with this group not delivering on promises. Vikingo/Taurus was as great as you’d expect from those two at this point, except for the Code Red spot on the apron not going well. Laredo & Fenix did a lot of the work in the main event but Andrade also looked good, a lot better than his last Laredo Kid match.

Monday, The Crash announced Rich Swann for a Friday 10/08 show, so that’s the next date. That means any AAA talent (Konnan included) will be flying out to Orizaba for Heroes Inmortales the next day.

Other Notes

Nothing much news from AAA TV, though the matches were generally good until the finishes. I guess the transition from doing “just matches” to “angles” is both the Poder del Norte and NGD matches ended with no finish, just the opposing team running in to brawl and the referee waving his hands indecipherably. That may have been a DQ in normal promotions but people run-in in front of the referees all the time in AAA and the match still goes on, so perhaps those matches will go on forever. AAA didn’t officially announce the Heroes Inmortales NGD/Poder del Norte match; the start of the show actually showed a clip of an NGD promo that wasn’t included on the show, so maybe they meant to announce it. Goya Kong joined Poder del Norte, with Psycho Clown more or less deciding not to go for revenge on his sister because he figured God would handle it down the line.

The Orizaba local promoter is revealing Heroes Inmrotales matches on social media; they revealed the Copa Antonio Pena with Pimpinela Escarlata, Mamba, Keyra, Sexy Star, Aerostar, Argenis, Dave the Clown, Villano III Jr., and Arez. That’s nine names, a little less than usual for an AAA match of this type. Maybe more will be added.

Robles Promotions did run in Arena Neza and Arena Lopez Mateos. I heard the idea was for these shows not to be taped, so Mas Lucha didn’t go, but the usual fancam places have video anyway. Neither building seemed to be more half full despite the loaded lineups, but the promotion seems to exist to make the promoter happy anyway. Sexy Dulce suffered a facial injury Saturday when a dive to the floor on Saturday night wasn’t well caught and she hit the floor hard. Vampiro, doing interviews at the show, is now claiming his brain issues have made it impossible for him to remember the 80s. It’s also possible Vampiro is tired of talking about that time period and would prefer people ask him about things he’s doing now.

2A3Caidas was one of a few outlets interviewing with Vangellys this past week. His general CMLL complaint is they were booking him in early matches and he feels he’s a top wrestler. He’ll be booked in top spots on indie groups just as long as he’s booked with the Munoz family.

“Mini Rey del Guaguanco” and “Apestoso Mayor Jr.” will reportedly be introduced at a press conference at the Mexican wrestling commission on Tuesday. Those are the deceased Mr. Niebla’s old nicknames and those wrestlers were first reported as using the names “Mini Mr. Niebla” and “Mr. Niebla Jr.”. They’ve changed to the nicknames but there’s still apparently Mr. Niebla family members upset about it and saying the wrestlers don’t have the permission to do use those names. I’m not really sure you can claim nicknames, but also fake Mr. Nieblas seem lame. (There’s still no word when that list of heavyweight title challengers is coming from the commission.)

Canek, in an interview with DigitalMex, says slamming Andre el Gigante caused all the knee problems he’s had later in life. Canek also says he’s one of the few wrestlers who never used or injected drugs to maintain his muscles. I’m not sure which of those two statements is less believable. Those statements are remarkably similar to Hulk Hogan, who’s claimed massive back issues after slamming Andre and was equally untrue. Canek also slammed Andre in a leadup match, something that was mentioned in magazines but has forgotten in the mist of time, so maybe it was just that additional slam that broke him for years to come.

Rayman has been added to the Torneo Supremo 2021.

NVI Noticias interviews Rey Apocalipsis, who also works as a butcher.

LuchaWorld had a Lucha Report on Friday.