Atlantis Jr./Mistico set for Copa Junior final, Showcenter 2 notes

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 05/20/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del RIng, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, Mas Lucha (videeo), R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
1) Angelito, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito b Mercurio, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
13:59. Angelito beat Mercurio, challenged him for a title match
2) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit b Dark Silueta, Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer
14:50
3) Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Fuerza Guerrera b Atlantis, Blue Panther, Negro Casas
14:08. Fuerza Guerrera pulled Atlantis’ mask and pinned him. Atlantis demanded a rematch
4) Mephisto & Místico b Volador Jr., Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Atlantis Jr., Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja [Copa Junior, semifinal]
Soberano Jr. was the last one thrown out, came back in after the other two had been eliminated to pose and shadow box Mephisto
5) Volador Jr. b Ángel de Oro [Copa Junior, quarterfinal]
3:13
6) Atlantis Jr. DQ Stuka Jr. [Copa Junior, quarterfinal]
4:49. Lots of mask ripping. Atlantis, a rudo all night, tossed his mask to the ref to draw the DQ.
7) Soberano Jr. b Niebla Roja [Copa Junior, quarterfinal]
8:08. Best first round match.
8) Místico b Mephisto [Copa Junior, quarterfinal]
6:58
9) Atlantis Jr. b Volador Jr. [Copa Junior, semifinal]
5:42. 1st time ever singles match. Clean win via Atlantida.
10) Místico b Soberano Jr. [Copa Junior, semifinal]
10:13, best match of the night. 1st time ever singles match. Clean win via Mistica. Atlantis Jr. and Mistico fought back and forth for a few minutes to build towards next week’s final.

I’ve been noting how CMLL has avoided doing angles on some days of week. It’s like they added all the missing feuds to this show. Matches set up for next week

an Angeltico/Mercurio title match
an Atlantis/Fuerza rematch
Mistico vs Atlantis Jr. in Copa Junior
a Mexican trios tournament

That’s eight matches. Maybe one more gets added, but it’s an exceptional busy card for an unnoteworthy date in the middle of May. There’s no price hike like a major show – both in person and streaming tickets are the same as the following week – and I’m not sure what motivated CMLL to set up all of that for one show.

Mistico/Soberano was formualtic but good. Mistico and Atlantis did a two minute back and forth to build up next week afterward. Atlantis seems like the favorite for next week since Mistico just won a tournament but Mistico is the one of the few guys in CMLL who might just win back to back tournaments.

Fuerza Guerrera/Atlantis was played up big. It also came off similar to some of the lesser old men fights on TripleMania Monterrey; a singles match between the two may not be pretty. I don’t think it’s happening, but a Atlantis/Atlanits Jr. versus Stuka/Fuerza would be a big deal . Fuerza seems to be talking like he expects to be masked next year (and may never actually put his mask), so this is probably just an attempt to capture the attention of older fans and won’t go beyond that.

CMLL (SAT) 05/21/2022 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha, CMLL]
1) Fantasy & Kaligua b Full Metal & Pequeño Olímpico
Tecnicos took 2/3
2) Grako, Inquisidor, Raider b Astral, Eléctrico, Leono
Rudos took 2/3. Raider landed on top of Electrico on a dive to close the match and Electrico suffered a minor head/neck injury, leaving on his own power.
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Arkalis, Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr.
Depredaores took 1/3.
4) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus b El Hijo del Villano III, Okumura, Pólvora
Cancerberos took 1/3, Cancerbero pulling off Villano III’s mask and cradling him to win. Villano III wanted a rematch.
5) Atlantis, Fugaz, Volador Jr. DQ Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible
Tecnicos took 1/3. Angel de Oro fouled Volador, who challenged him to a hair match

CMLL is not doing a Volador/Angel de Oro hair match. Not in Arena Coliseo, maybe not ever. Semi-main is an unusual rematch.

CMLL (SUN) 05/22/2022 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Bengala & Valiente Jr. b Cholo & Príncipe Odín Jr.
2) La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Metálica b La Guerrera, La Maligna, Tiffany [Relevos Increíbles]
Magnifica wore a feather headdress like her father Gran Cochisse. Team Metalica took 1/3.
3) Diamond, Stigma, Volcano b Disturbio, Kráneo, Okumura
Tecnicos took 2/3. Diamond again wore the Santo colored gear and won using his famous hold.
4) Dulce Gardenia, Esfinge, Star Black b El Coyote, Felino, Rey Bucanero
Tecnicos took 2/3
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
Team Atlantis took 2/3.

It’s a little strange that it was Diamante who CMLL had dress up as Santo for a while and now it’s Diamond. It’s not like Santo means “diamond’, they’re just stuck on that concept. Maybe I’m stuck on pointing it out.

Puebla has Soberano & Euforia vs Atlantis Sr. & Ultimo Guerrero tonight.

CMLL (TUE) 05/24/2022 Arena México
1) Aéreo, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Minos, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
2) Astral, Diamond, Oro Jr. vs Enfermero Jr., Grako, Nitro
3) La Magnifica, La Maligna, Marcela vs Amapola, Dalys, Dark Silueta
4) Dark Panther, Flyer, Panterita del Ring vs El Coyote, Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado

I will not be clandestinely streaming this.

CMLL (TUE) 05/24/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Bello Antuan, Capitán Cobra, Cosmos vs Destructor, Relámpago Azul, Tigre Blanco
2) Estrella Oriental Jr., Minotauro, Último Ángel vs Joker, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr.
3) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico vs Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel, Zandokan
4) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sexy Sol vs Náutica, Stephanie Vaquer, Valkiria
5) Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero vs Averno & Mephisto
6) Satánico © vs Atlantis [FLLM MASTER]
3rd defense

Atlantis has been wrestling a lot, and now he’s getting singles matches.

Titan slipped to 0-3 in NJPW’s BOSJ, his most recent loss to El Phantasmo when Phanatasmo got away with a mask pull and finished Titan off. He does have a softer stretch coming, with matches against Master Wato, BUSHI and DOUKI in the next five. On the other hand, people who are fans of those guys are also probably looking at Titan matches as a possible win for them. Titan’s next match is against TJP on Tuesday morning, the first show that’ll be strictly tournament matches. It’ll also be a free show.

Titan hasn’t won any matches but did get a twitter post of support from the Mexico Embassy in Japan.

Sangre Imperial and Lluvia are representing CMLL as a tourism expo in Acapulco.

Olimpico teamed with his son on a Rey Bucanero promoter show this Saturday. He also talked about his transition to being a referee in Box y Lucha. Terror Chino & Bestia Chino were told to say home due to COVID. That left just Tigre Infante (Metalico) and Guero Noriega, Noriega tested positive for COVID, so they needed someone. CMLL asked Olimpico if he’d consider switching and he said OK. He still hopes to have a retirement match in Arena Mexico.

Okumura was originally selected to a three-year term as a Osaka goodwill ambassador in 2019. They’ve recently extended it for another three years.

AAA

AAA TV (SAT) 05/21/2022 Showcenter Complex, San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo Leon [@thekoko666]
1) Baby Extreme, Dulce Canela, Komander ?? Dinámico, Emperador Azteca, Látigo
match happened, result unclear
2) Zeuxis b Sussy Love [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
Sussy Love (debut) replaced Natalia Marakova.
3) Rey Horus ?? Gringo Loco [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
match happened, result unclear
4) Faby Apache b Diosa Quetzal [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
5) Dragón Lee & Dralistico b Bestia 666 & Toxin and Antifaz & Flamita
Toxin replaced Mecha Wolf (worked in Puerto Rico instead), Flamita replaced Antifaz
6) Willie Mack b Aramis [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
Toscano attacked Willie Mack after the match to set up a singles match
7) Fénix, Heavy Metal, Laredo Kid b Abismo Negro Jr., Arez, Psicosis II
Laredo pinned Abismo. Toxin & Latigo ran out post match to help the Vipers beat up the tecnicos, but Arez refused. Vipers attacked Arez, apparently kicking him out of the group. Tecnicos offered a handshake but Arez walked out on them.

This show was taped, with Jose Manuel Guillen and Jesus Zuniga doing commentary in person as on the first show. The commentary was played over the speakers for the live fans, which always sounds terrible on TV – but if it’s not airing on TV and it’s just a free offering on YouTube, then it doesn’t seem worth complaining about. AAA does have an open week of TV this week, but I presume it’ll be the fifth week of airing TripleMania Monterrey. The previous Showcenter didn’t air on TV and wasn’t mentioned on TV, which makes it an atypical place to run a big angle like they did in the main event.

There was a mid-show promo segment with Fenix, Arez, and Los Vipers to set up the turn and it was set on TV a week or so ago, so it didn’t completely come out of nowhere. The split seems fast but that’s OK right now. AAA might as well do fast angles; slow angles or normal speed ones don’t usually get around to finishing.

I presume the Flamita/Willie Mack switch is someone belatedly recalling Flamita lost in the tournament on the last show. This tournament seems more a product for the venue (“hey, we’re going to make these shows important, we’re going to give it’s own tournament”) knowing they’re not going to care beyond having their name on it. It’s good they made a minimal effort to make it sense.

There was actually a video on Instagram with about an hour of this show, including the Gringo Loco/Rey Horus finish, and I procrastinated on grabbing it before it got disappeared. I’m slipping.

Natalia Markova didn’t post anything on social media explaining why she didn’t appear on this show. I don’t know what happened there. Usually, if someone being flown in isn’t getting brought in, either it’s an issue on their side or they’ve been told they’ll be flown in on some other show. (Wrestlers tend to really not like it when they find out late they’re not booked for a show and have an unplanned weekend where they’re not getting paid.) I presume we’ll see her eventually.

AAA had a meet and greet before the show, though it strangely seem to have included local guys who weren’t actually wrestling on the show, including La Momia and Delta and others from Lucha Time. No sign of the RIOT guys; the promotion obliquely confirmed they wouldn’t be present.

AAA posted a photo of the crowd and announced they’d be back on June 26th with Taya and Johnny Caballero. That’s the weekend after TripleMania Tijuana. I didn’t get an attendance total but I suspect they got over that mythical 1,00o barrier. It does seem like a good idea to wait until late to buy tickets for these shows if you don’t need to sit in a specific spot, just in case they heavily discount them again.

AAA , Freestyle (SAT) 05/21/2022 Deportivo Oceanía, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal [El Universal, ESPN, R de Rudo]
1) Estrella Divina b Futuro, Galio, Sol, Alfa, Estrella Del Ring, Carrillo, Amazona, Daimo, X-Devil, Andresa, Amon
Divina beat X-Devil
2) Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana b La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla, Lady Shani
3) Chessman & Mr. Iguana b Hijo Del Vikingo & Niño Hamburguesa
4) Psycho Clown b Cibernético, Pagano

Psycho Clown won the in-ring competition, Lobo Estepario won the freestyle rapping competition. Also, here’s Nino Hamburguesa freestyle rapping.

AAA’s next big show is Saturday in Puebla. Fenix is still listed on that show, Fenix is now definitely wrestling Sunday in Las Vegas for AEW, it remains unlikely he’ll do both.

This is approx of nothing, but Milenio’s weekly lucha libre column praises for his performance against LA Park this week, likely because the writer just saw that match when it finally aired on AAA TV this past week. (And people who write newspaper columns about lucha libre generally don’t seem to pay to watch lucha libre.)

Hijo del Alebrije & Relampago beat Mr. Iguana & Hijo del Vikingo in Arena Neza on Saturday as part of a build to a Negocio Traumado versus Poder del Norte/Iguana/Vikingo cage match on a future. Iguana had his foot on the ropes when he got pinned by Relampago. Vikingo may have an arm on or under the ropes when Alebrije pinned him – it didn’t seem so on the video I saw, but it was an obscured angle. It seems to be a fineable offense for Vikingo to take the sort of pins Myzteziz or Octagon Jr. would take but so it goes.

La Maravilla did a post-match interview where she was asked about the TripleMania 30 cage match, and explained she doesn’t think a member of Las Toxicas, Chik Tormenta, Sexy Star or Lady Shani would lose their mask in that match. The eighth woman in that match is Reina Dorada, who has never appeared on AAA TV and indeed is the obvious loser all things being equal. It’s a little bit more of a toss-up because luchadoras are involved, and social media provides incentives for being an unmasked women’s wrestlers. It’s mostly just amusing for Maravilla just to say out loud the thing everything is thinking.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 05/22/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Baby Star b Rey Eclipse
2) Beretta, Bomba, Granada b Genex, Jhon Tito, Leyenda Negra
3) Hell Boy & Limbo b Caballero de Plata & Noisy Boy
4) Fly Warrior, Fulgor, Yorvak b Diva Salvaje, La Momia, Luka
5) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. b Accion Jackson, Shaun Moore, Travis Banks
1st match in five months for La Pandemia
6) Blue Demon Jr. & Hijo del Fishman b Canek Jr. & Hijo del Pirata Morgan
Fishman wants a title match with Pirata

There was a marriage proposal after the fourth match with two fans. It must be true love if you agree upon marriage at an IWRG show. Fishman & Pirata were partners, suddenly they’re not as soon as it came time to set up a title match.

IWRG (THU) 05/26/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) Baby Star & Nativo vs Rey Eclipse & Wagner Kid
2) Artemiz & Therius vs Gamboa & Satania
3) Alas de Oro & Alas De Plata vs Medico Brujo & Sick Boy
4) Imposible vs Dr. Cerebro
5) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. © vs Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli [EdM Trios]
second defense

That main event could be pretty good.

NOAH announced Junta Miyawaki will be heading to Mexico following their 05/30 show. Miyawaki is a 24-year-old wrestler who’s been with IWRG since 2016, and this appears to be a learning excursion of unknown length. I think the assumption is he’s going to IWRG given the past NOAH relationship, but that relationship is definitely of the past; I’m sure IWRG would be happy to use him but I’m not sure if that’s NOAH’s plan. It’s hard to tell with NOAH at the moment.

OTHER

Makabre beat Eclipse in a hair match in Arena GDL.

06/04 RIOT

GLEAT announced Septimo Dragon was coming to their 07/01 show in Tokyo. I’m not following GLEAT. My impression from others is it is a group with a lot more money to spend on wrestling but perhaps not a greatly coherent plan to make money off that wrestling, in a fashion similar to a few promotions in Mexico. Septimo Dragon has gotten a few high-profile bookings since returning to the ring this year. Septimo Dragon wrestled CIMA, who seems to have some say in GLEAT, back in January 2021 (though that match is far more remembered for Dragon Bane & Hijo de Canis Lupus being out of their minds.)

Guadalajara indie promotion NGLL said they’re bringing in Matt & Jeff Hardy in August. That group does draw decently for an indie show, a few hundred people for shows, but they don’t bring in foreign names, and it’s hard to believe the Hardy Boys would be working in a Mexican indie promotion of that level. I thought it was just a joke I didn’t get when it was announced last week and I’m still not sure I believe it, but Box y Lucha did report on it as if it was happening.

Irapuato luchadors held a march Sunday to demand answers and justice for Juventud Rebelde’s death. There’s been no explanation of why he was shot to death nor arrests according to his father, luchador Black Star. The article mentions Rebelde was on of the people running local promotion Sangre Nueva, along with Dr. Polux Jr.

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