Atlantis/Mistico Copa Junior and new trios champs tonight, AAA (and maybe Fenix) in Puebla Saturday

CMLL

CMLL tonight has the Atlantis Jr/Mistico Copa Junior final, Angelito/Mercurio for the minis title, and the tournament for the national trios title. It’s a Ticketmaster Live show, as always. It’s one of a recent run of shows that seem great on paper, though those shows have ended being ‘only’ good.  Maybe this will be the one wherever everything clicks.

Atlantis Jr. is the favorite in the main event, just because CMLL prefers giving as many people as possible tournament wins and Mistico just got him. Still, Atlantis Jr. beating Mistico in a singles main event feels like a very big deal, and I’m not totally sure they’ll pull the trigger. Maybe Stuka gets involved somehow. The OneAtos trios is my pick for the trios title tournament, but there’s nothing there beyond guessing. Fuerza and Atlantis rematch will be telling to see if it’s just something to do for a couple of weeks or more to it. Mercurio is surely keeping the minis championships, it’ll be more about if he and Angeltio can pull in the fans to care about it.

Los Cancerberos are out of the tournament because Virus fractured a tibia on Saturday’s Arena Coliseo show. He’ll be out one month, which isn’t bad for that sort of injury.

CMLL hasn’t announced the full lineup yet, but they have revealed the Templario/Soberano make up match will take place next Tuesday. That show will also have the Silueta/Magnifica match. I’ll try to stream that one.

CMLL (TUE) 05/31/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Atilius, Rey Urano, Trono vs Aurelius, Destructor, Maximus
2) Huitzil, Sangre Imperial, Suicida, Valiente Jr. vs Cachorro, Misterio Blanco (Laguna), Misterio Negro (Laguna), Panterita del Ring Jr. and Ángel Rebelde, Espíritu Negro Jr. (Queretaro), Halcón Negro Jr., Samuray Azteca (Queretaro) and Obelisk, Persa, Raven, Temerario [torneo]
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sexy Sol vs Náutica, Stephanie Vaquer, Valkiria

A weird show. Sexy Sol betrayed her partners last week and is teaming with them this week. The schools tournament ends with everyone in a single elimination tournament after all.

Hot Topic inexplicably has 18 CMLL t-shirts for sale on their website. I suspect these are being sold without CMLL being aware of it: the license is listed as “CMLL Luche Libre” with that extra e and the designs are very out of date. They’ve got masked Angel de Oro, Mistico II as Mistico, Super Porky and Ultimo Guerrero masked designs. Those designs are half bad though. A long feeling time ago, it was a big part of the AEW origin story that broke through to got Bullet Club merchandise in Hot Topic, so seeing bootleg-looking CMLL shirts there with no fan fare feels like something’s changed. They appear online only, so maybe that’s an easier door to get in.

The June tournament will be Copa Dinastias, the family tag team tournament. It’ll be two weeks of four team blocks and a final.

June 10th block

• Atlantis & Atlantis Jr.
• Euforia & Soberano Jr.
• Volador Jr. & Flyer
• Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro

June 17th

• Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero
• Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja
• Los Gemelo Diablos
• Blue Panther & Dark Panther

The final will be on June 24th. Those blocks suggest this is all setting up another Soberanos/Guerreros match.

Titan took another loss early Thursday morning in the NJPW’s BOSJ tournament, this time to Master Wato. He is firmly in last place with 1 win. Wato is the only wrestler with 2 wins. He has three matches left: BUSHI on Saturday, DOUKI on Sunday and Robbie Eagles on Tuesday to wrap up. I’m not sure if Titan will escape last, but he’s got a decent chance for at least one more win. BUSHI & DOUKI aren’t going to compete for a top spot either and either victory could be sent Titan’s way to make his final numbers look a little better. Eagles would normally be expected to beat Titan but that outcome is entirely dependent on where they need Eagles to finish (which might mean an upset.)

I generally think CMLL would be better to send to NJPW mid-level guys if they’re going to be booked like this in tournaments; if Magia Blanca or Hijo del Villano III Jr. went 1-8 it’s fine and good experience. 2022 CMLL (and Titan) is so far off the international radar that it’s still a net benefit to have one of their guys have good performance, even if the results aren’t to be found

AAA

AAA tapes Saturday night in Puebla. I’m not sure how this is going to air because AAA’s changed their order, but that seems unimportant given it’s more filler. They’re generally good-looking matches, but also matches that could air at any time and in any order, so there’s no rush to air them soon anyway.

The biggest match of interest is the semimain, scheduled to be Fenix vs Latigo vs Taurus for Taurus’s Latin American championship. That should be a great match. It may still be a great match if it’s just Latigo versus Taurus. Fenix is in Las Vegas Friday and Sunday for AEW. It’s physically possible to fly from Las Vegas to Puebla (probably with a connection and an automobile ride from Mexico City to Puebla) and then back the other way to make everything, but it’s not something I would recommend. It’s also something AEW may not prefer not take the risk, since a plane delay could mess up everything. There’s an AEW Fan Fest on Saturday, so we’ll probably either see Fenix there or Fenix posting a series of Instagram stories from airports and know what’s going on.

So far, there’s been four AAA tapings where they’ve announced Fenix will wrestle. He missed wrestling on Rey de Reyes (though he did appear) and Merida, he did wrestle in Monterrey and the 2nd Showcenter event.

The rest of the show has some promise but nothing vital, as noted before. Flamita, Escorpion & Villano take on Pagano, Murder and Dave in something that will probably be out of control. La Empresa face Faby Apache, Heavy Metal and in theory Octagon Jr. (though I think he’s still out). Aerostar, Drago, Myzteziz vs Argenis, Parka Negra and Toxin could be fun. Baby Extreme, Drago Kid, and Komander are a great team of flyers and an odd match against El Imperio. And the three way Poder del Norte, Dinamico/Mago/Emperador, Los Vipers match will move along the Arez storyline. That may be the actual reason AAA wants Fenix in Puebla; it’s tough for him to join a Taya/Penta/Fenix unit if none of those people are there. It doesn’t seem like any of them are going to be their regularly and that may be an issue with this concept.

PWInsider reports Jeff Jarrett is returning to WWE to run their live event division. I guess it’s not totally impossible Jeff Jarrett could return to AAA for a match to actually pay off the Latin Lover stuff, but more likely that was a whole lot of noise for nothing. Jarrett will absolutely be back for another big angle once this WWE stint ends and it will also likely go nowhere. AAA seems to love Karen & Jeff on a personal level, and also very much appreciate they’re willing to go farther into xenophobia on a shared belief that it’s the more effective way to draw fans.

AAA will air the first part of last Saturday’s Showcenter event this Saturday on Space. WON’s brief report on the show seems to include a conversation with AAA sources since ASF (Antonio San Francisco) is mentioned as being in the men’s tournament among other positive details about the show. His name has not come up publically from AAA so far.

As it turns out, I was totally confused as to when I had plans, and I actually have nothing better to do than to stream AAA on a Saturday night. Good news for (almost) everyone. Space has the AAA show starting a little earlier than usual (6:45 CT), but that’s not always right. I’ll keep an eye on it and start the stream whenever.

It seems notable that AAA remains on the channel itself, while AEW programming has been moved to Space’s YouTube channel but I don’t know what conclusion to draw from that.

That WON report seems to imply AAA booked Fenix on the June 26th show before finding out if Fenix would be needed on Forbidden Door, and so it shouldn’t be read as anything definitive about his status for that AEW show.

Popular YouTube wrestling host Denise Salcedo announced she’d be doing more AAA coverage and talent interviews going forward. That’s a good step for AAA. Getting solid English commentary for AAA shows gives those potential fans a destination, the next step is to keep people thinking about AAA in between those big shows. Salcedo has a big audience of wrestling fans who probably don’t pay much more attention to AAA outside of once or twice a year and this’ll help keep them in mind more often

Thursday, AAA put up a vignette teasing a Pagano & Lady Shani vs Cibernetico & Chik Tormenta extreme match. Friday, they put up one talking about a Lady Shani versus Hijo del Tirantes match. AAA sure taped a lot in Monterrey that they didn’t put on TV and are just putting up on social media at random intervals.  I should make a list of every match AAA’s teased this year just so we can accurately check the hit rate (and/or celebrate when one finally happens.)

AAA has brought many names from the past back this year. Others who have not gotten the call have said they’d be interested if contacted. Los Diabolicas told Mas Lucha they’d been contacted but had no interest in going back to AAA (and appeared to have a negative opinion of AAA.) They talked about wanting more independent dates instead.

Black Taurus faced Laredo Kid on last night’s Impact BTI; I’d have their match at last year’s Martinez/Lucha Memes a little ahead for insanity, but this was very good too.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 05/26/2022 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha]
1) Rey Eclipse & Wagner Kid b Baby Star & Nativo   
2) Gamboa & Satania b Artemiz & Therius   
3) Medico Brujo & Sick Boy b Alas de Oro & Alas De Plata   
4) Imposible b Dr. Cerebro   
Dr. Cerebro submitted Impossible (in a finish that looked like Imposible suffered an injury and ended the match early.) Tonalli challenged Dr. Cerebro following the match and the two fought.
5) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. © b Hell Boy, Puma de Oro, Tonalli [EdM Trios]    
second defense. Dick Angelo 3G suffered a knee injury in training, and Hell Boy was a surprise replacement. Dr. Cerebro got involved in the end, causing Los Pandemonium to win.

There were not a lot of people there for a Thursday night, but all the people who were there were very excited to see Hell Boy run-in as the surprise partner. They may have something there. That, and the Impossible injury bit looking very strange, were the two things I got out of searching this video for some missing results.

IWRG (SAT) 05/28/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) Rosel & Último Caballero vs Milagro & Rey Fuego
2) Nativo, Rey Minos, Steven Manson vs Águila Oriental, Súper Boy, Súper Cometa
3) Estrella de Oro, Genex, Jhon Tito vs Heredero Maya, Ministro De La Muerte, Rey Eclipse
4) Kenji, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Garra Mortal, Rey Aztaroth, Rey Halcón
5) Ajolotl, Baby Star, Caballero de Plata, Cerebro Negro Jr., Hell Boy, Limbo, Puma de Oro, Tonalli vs Atomic Star, Chicanito, Comando Delta Jr., Comando Negro Jr., Comando Stone, Flyman, Gato Eveready, Neza Kid [Copa High Power]
Gym FILL vs Gym Freelance

A Saturday trainee show. These haven’t been airing on Mas Lucha, wasn’t on their live schedule and there’s no Mas Lucha logo so maybe check the IWRG channel.

IWRG (SUN) 05/29/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) Spider Fly & X-Fly vs Baby Daddy & Rey Halcón
2) Bengalee & Dulce Tormenta vs Jessy Jackson & Lolita
3) ?, Big Boy, Big Chico Che vs Medico Brujo, Sick Boy, Yorvak
4) Travis Banks vs Accion Jackson vs  Eli Isom vs Shaun Moore
5) Dr. Cerebro © vs Tonalli [IWRG IC MIDDLE]
1st defense
6) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba vs Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr.

Cerebro/Tonalli could be good. Main event will get some strong reactions

Eli Isom was a young ROH turned wrestler, a guy who got attention early for having a lot of promise but was kinda stuck in the role of “future star” for a couple of years and hadn’t cracked into “actual current star” by the time of ROH’s December 2021 shutdown. He had a great match with Bandido last summer on ROH TV and appears to be training at Bandido’s Gym based on Instagram; maybe he’ll be a surprise on the Big Lucha show tonight. Isom was used in an enhancement role on the AEW-run ROH Supercard of Honor show in March, then brought back for some AEW Dark work the following weeks. There’s a chance he’ll be part of the AEW-run ROH promotion if/when those shows happen, and probably doesn’t want to spoil that chance with something else happening. The story I was told is Isom agreed to work IWRG, found out he was booked with Travis Banks after the poster came out, and then told IWRG he would no longer be working the show. (This remains not a concern for anyone full time in Mexico; there are people who are upset about Travis Banks being on these shows, but not enough fans and definitely not enough wrestlers for anyone to fear consequences for using him.) We’ll see what happens with all this on Sunday.

Other

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

MLW this week aired Aerostar, Dragon, Microman vs Arez, Mini Abismo Negro and TJP. I haven’t rewatched it but this was fun live. Bandido versus Flamita will air next week. Surprisingly, the LA Park family was referenced as if they were still on the show, though it may have been a set up to write them off next week.

Progress Wrestling announced Jack Evans for their June 3-5 Super Strong Style tournament. Aramis has earlier been announced.

06/04 RIOT

• Arez vs Blake Christian
• Erik Ortiz vs Tromba
• Demonio del Aire vs Gringo Loco vs Iron Kid vs Spider Fly vs King Rex vs Noisy Boy
• Damian 666 & Bestia 666 vs Kratoz vs Prometeo
• Jimmy vs Willy Banderas – new

Jersey Championship Wrestling, a GCW affiliate promotion, announced Volador Jr. and Negro Casas for their July 10th show. CMLL previously pulled Casas off a GCW show because AAA  and AAA associated wrestlers were also booked, and I presume they won’t mix those two this time. Those shows stream for free on YouTube.

Psycho Clown and Bandido will appear on the July 29th GCW show in Nashville.

Super Crazy says he’s heading back to Japan on June 25th for an eight-month stint. I presume that’s NOAH, though it’s not specifically said.

 

Mexico City’s lucha libre commission will hold a licensing exam for luchadors, referees, and announcers on June 25th. I’m not sure why they license ring announcers.

The Orizaba Boxing and Lucha Libre commission expect local shows to resume in June. AAA’s run there occasionally, but it sounds like the local promoters tried to run during the worst of the pandemic, did very badly, and have been slow in returning.

La Orquesta has a list of the eight most important luchadors from San Luis Potosi (excluding the Mascaras family since everyone knows them already.)