Atlantis wins Copa Junior, Rush to AEW, AAA in Puebla

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 05/27/2022 Arena México [AS, CMLL, Cronista del RIng, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores]
1) Disturbio, Okumura, Raider b Cachorro, El Audaz, Suicida 
2) Mercurio © b Angelito [CMLL MINI]   
1st defense. Volador invited Mercurio to Los Depredadores (which had been offered once before on Informa) and Mercurio accepted.
3) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Negro Casas b Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Fuerza Guerrera   
Atlantis challenged Fuerza Guerrera to a mask match.
4) Arkalis & Dulce Gardenia b Fugaz, Rugido [MEX TRIOS, seeding battle royal]
5) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black [MEX TRIOS, semifinal] 
6) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma [MEX TRIOS, semifinal]  
7) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido [MEX TRIOS, final]   
8) Atlantis Jr. b Místico [Copa Junior]  
Atlantis defeated Mistico with Atlantida to win.

The CMLL stream failed. Ticketmaster claimed it was a problem at the origin – in other words, it’s CMLL fault for not sending them the video – and canceled the stream after 40 minutes. The tickets should be automatically refused for anyone who purchased by end of the day Monday. CMLL didn’t acknowledge the situation, same as what happened when Ticketmaster had similar problems six weeks ago. Matches from the show will appear on Televisa next Saturday and will be on YouTube the following Sunday.

Mas Lucha’s clip of the Copa Junior final shows fans reacting big to the end. Some jumping and down cheering, others booing him loudly. It comes off like a big moment in that clip and hopefully will also on TV.

Atlantis has previously and repeatedly said he wasn’t going to do another mask match, so him making the mask challenge to Fuerza Guerrera is a big change. It is Fuerza instead in the position of differing on the answer. Fuerza/Atlantis would be a big deal but no one’s been involved in mask match challenges more often without actually having a mask match than Fuerza Guerrera.

Dulce, Cometa. and Espiritu should be popular trios champions and would make for good opponents for Los Cancerberos if they challenge next month. The new champs indicated Los Cancerberos will get the first shot.

Mercurio joining Los Depredadores had come up in interviews prior, so this wasn’t the first time it’s come up even if it was sudden. Diamond was noticeably not with the group, though everyone besides Volador was otherwise booked on that show.

Prior to the show, CMLL and the Mexico Ministry of Culture announced a plan to work together. They already have and nothing specifically was announced.

Copa Junior champion Atlantis is on the cover of Box y Lucha 3507D.

CMLL (SAT) 05/28/2022 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Fantasy, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía b Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora 
2) La Guerrera, La Vaquerita, Skadi b La Metálica, La Seductora, Tiffany 
Tiffany hurt her knee
3) Hombre Bala Jr., Sangre Imperial, Volcano b Akuma, Dark Magic, Raider
tecnicos took 2/3
4) El Hijo del Villano III, Okumura, Pólvora b Cancerbero, Felino, Luciferno 
Okumura beat Cancerbero with a mask pull, setting up a singles match
5) Ángel de Oro b Volador Jr. 

Angel de Oro won clean over Volador, which seemed a little surprising. The semi-main feud was Villano III/Cancerbero last week, but seems to be switched with Okumura hurt Villano III.

CMLL (SUN) 05/29/2022 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Leono & Retro b Apocalipsis & Príncipe Odín Jr.
2) Eléctrico, Panterita del Ring Jr., Valiente Jr. b Cholo, Grako, Inquisidor
tecnicos took 1/3
3) Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma b Akuma, Dark Magic, Kráneo
tecnicos took 2/3
4) Soberano Jr., Star Jr., Stuka Jr. b Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Terrible
tecnicos took 2/3
5) Atlantis, Negro Casas, Volador Jr. b Cavernario, Euforia, Mephisto
tecnicos took 2/3

This is week 10 without a match of any consequence on a CMLL Sunday show; the last one was Felino Jr. & Polvora losing the tag team titles against Esfinge & Fugaz. We haven’t seen a Sunday angle or Felino Jr. since.

Titan has won his last two matches in NJPW’s BOSJ, defeating DOUKI and BUSHI. He’s at 3 wins/6 points, tying his best in this tournament. His final match is early Tuesday morning against Robbie Eagles. Eagles has to win to have a chance to finish first in the block, and wrestlers tend to get upset in that situation for NJPW tournaments.

Okumura posted a photo with a Japanese wrestler trainee on Friday. His name, at least on Instagram, is Arashi and it appears he’s an amateur style wrestler who had limited (or almost no) professional wrestling experience before coming to CMLL to train. Okumura’s post mentions Arashi is in Ultimo Guerrero’s class, which is a good sign for him making it. It may be a long time before we see him if he’s just starting though.

CMLL (TUE) 05/31/2022 Arena México
1) Fantasy, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal, Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico
2) Eléctrico, Oro Jr., Robin vs Disturbio, Grako, Nitro
3) Dark Silueta © vs La Magnifica [MEX WOMEN]
2nd defense
4) Blue Panther, Guerrero Maya Jr., Panterita del Ring vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Pólvora
5) Místico, Negro Casas, Star Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible
6) Templario © vs Soberano Jr. [MEX MIDDLE]
3rd defense; previous match ended in injury stoppage under 3 minutes.

There’s a good chance this is better than the Friday PPV this week. Templario/Soberano wanted to have a MOTYC last time out and might due it. Magnifica’s always seemed to have the talent but hasn’t had a chance like this to prove it. The semi-main is the sort of match that could get great reactions on a Tuesday show, and Blue Panther tends to do well on those. Tuesday looks hectic for me but I’d like to quietly stream this show on Twitch.

AAA

AAA TV (SAT) 05/28/2022 Explanada Malltertainment, Puebla, Puebla
1) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba b Baby Extreme, Drago Kid, Komander
2) Abismo Negro Jr., Arez, Psicosis b Dinámico, Draztick Boy, Emperador Azteca
Poder del Norte advertised but didn’t appear. Arez had the match won, but his partners threw him off the pin and got it themselves, then kicked Arez out of the Vipers.
3) Aerostar, Drago, Myzteziz Jr. b Argenis, Parka Negra, Toxin
Prior to the match, Octagon Jr. came out, thanked the fans, and talked about signing with MLW. Villano III Jr. attacked him, including going after Octagon Jr.’s eye with a car key. Drago made the save. Octagon was taken away in an ambulance. (This may have been a write off for his existing injury.) Argenis/Myzteziz feud continued in this match. Aerostar got the win.
4) Estrellita, Puma King, Sam Adonis b Chessman, Heavy Metal, Sexy Star
Sexy Star replaced Faby Apache, Chessman replaced Octagon Jr., Estrellita replaced DMT Azul. Vipers asked for a AAA TRIOS shot.
5) Taurus © b Aramis, Látigo [AAA LA]
third defense. Aramis replaced Fenix (canceled flight)
6) Flamita, Rey Escorpión, Villano III Jr. b Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Pagano

The threeway was said to be the best match on the show. The main event turned into a weapons spectacular in Pagano fashion.

Fenix didn’t make the show due to travel issues. Dorian Roldan, responding to a Twitter post of mine, said Fenix’s flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles was canceled; he was scheduled to fly to Mexico City and arrive Satuarday afternoon. When I noted this was information only revealed on Twitter and not announced to the fans, Dorian said he only received one complaint about Fenix not being there and Mexican wrestling fans aren’t concerned about other changes on the card.

For Fenix’s sake, the best thing for him was for that flight to get canceled given that answer – it’s a whole lot of traveling to do in 24 hours if only one person cared. At the same time Roldan was sending me messages on Twitter, I was talking to a (very nice) fan who was telling me about their experience at the show and helping me put together these results. As AAA doesn’t post results of their shows any more, I originally found out that Aramis was the sub by a different Twitter user who complained to AAA about it. I don’t know if either were the same one fan Roldan talked to, but that person who helped me with results did also tell me they were disappointed Fenix didn’t show up. They were really hopeful it was going to happen but also unsurprised because they’d followed the situation and it’s AAA. Where Roldan sees their fanbase as being unbothered by card changes, I think it might actually be that the fans price in their lack of trust in AAA and that affects their spending decisions. People may have not come up to the president of the company to personally lodge their complaints, but it’s going to be back in their mind next time AAA comes to town. It may have been in the back of people’s minds of those who weren’t there, because they didn’t believe Fenix would be there and were proven correct (even if it was out of AAA’s control.) All of this is anecdotal evidence that’s completely subject to individual people’s experiences.

AAA feels they’re selling the experience of a major league Mexican wrestling show and they’ve fulfilled their part of their bargain as long as they deliver on that experience even if the details of who’s involved change. Their social media instead heavily leans towards promoting the brand’s individual stars and match ups. It’d be terrible news for me and people like me if AAA stopped promoting matches for shows entirely, but I’m not entirely sure why they bother to put out cards for TV shows as a consumer facing business (outside of people being uncomfortable with the change at first. It seems like it should be “here’s how much fun you’ll have with AAA”, as they’ve started to do with the Showcenter cards, instead of the constant “three days until you can see [wrestler]” at our next live event. If you truly believe the specifics wrestlers don’t matter, there’s a lot of misplaced energy in focusing on them. It’s also why I have trouble believing AAA truly believes their fans don’t care who’s on the cards, their actions haven’t matched their words on this as of yet.

I’m not totally sure when this airs. Space would have room the next two Saturdays, but that first one of those will be the Showcenter card instead. The best crazy theory I can come up with is Space could air two AAA shows on June 18th, the second part of Puebla and a portion of the Tijuana TripleMania show, since the Tijuana show will have a much later than usual start time. AAA’s off from taping until that Tijuana show.

AAA on Space aired the first part of the second Showcenter. It’s a big incoherent on TV; the first Showcenter event only went up on YouTube and was barely mentioned on TV. Still, the tournament doesn’t matter, the thing they were following up on here was Arez’s uncertain status. Fenix invited Arez to team with him and Penta, Psicosis told Arez his only family was the Vipers, and a fight broke out before Arez gave an answer. Arez not participating in the fight was so sort of an answer. I complain (too much?) about AAA angles that are started and never go anywhere, and this one at least seems like it’s moving.  That also has me wondering if it’s being driven from a different source than most AAA storylines; at the very least,t ehy’res more care in stuff that involves the Lucha Brothers than the other Mexican born talent.

Zeuxis/Sussy Love was better than I figured; Zeuxis has been pretty off the radar the last few years but looked like she could still go. Faby Apache let Diosa Quetzal show off all of her offense and beat her; Apache never felt much involved. The opening trios match was not as wild as the last one but held together well.

AAA’s TV show advertised three matches airing next week

• Dragón Lee & Dralistico vs Bestia 666 & Toxin and Antifaz & Flamita
• Willie Mack vs Aramis
• Fénix, Heavy Metal, Laredo Kid vs Abismo Negro Jr., Arez, Psicosis II

Gringo Loco/Rey Horus was taped but wasn’t mentioned in the list. Of course, different matches aired last time they did a preview and they should have more time next week without a Fenix talking segment.

Sussy Love’s AAA debut got written up by her hometown paper. AAA doesn’t announce results of their shows now, so it appears they only found out by seeing her on TV.

Rush/AEW

I could not have been more wrong. Rush has been talking about going to AEW since returning from his knee injury layoff, and I believed he was such a tough fit that it wasn’t going to happen. It’s happening and all credit to Rush for getting the deal. In a pre-taped vignette, Andrade introduced Rush as his new business partner in leading the Andrade Family Office. Andrade teased coming up with a new name for the group previously. It can’t quite be Los Ingobernables because that one’s still trademarked by CMLL, but it did look like they were heading into that general direction. No other Rush family member appeared in the vignette.

People have been hoping for Andrade to bring in Rush to AEW since the moment Andrade showed up in AEW, those two people very much included. Rush is a talented and charismatic performer who has worked for many of the major promotions in the world and has had unhappy deperatures from most of them. You know the history pretty well if you’ve read this site, and you also know the incredible moments Rush has had over the years. Rush has a perfect look for pro-wrestling, but the mental part of his game – to feel out of control, to do things no one else would do – is probably the stronger asset. It’s also the part that causes all those hard feelings. Rush is a guy who also expects to be at the center of everything he does, and makes that happen by believing it. It’s going otb e his biggest challenge yet to do so in AEW and there’s no telling how he’ll react if the road is as bumpy as Andrade’s has been. I don’t know what Rush in AEW will be, but I’m sure it won’t be boring.

A Rush/Park led show in Torreon on Saturday completely bombed and Rush lately has seemed the least relevant in Mexico for a very long time. That doesn’t matter now, getting to AEW is the new start he needed and should help him in Mexico.

IWRG

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

This was a Saturday IWRG trainee show so no Mas Lucha stream. IWRG streamed the tumbling practice before the show but not the event itself. It may turn up later.

IWRG (SUN) 05/29/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Baby Daddy & Garra Mortal b Hijo Del X-Fly & Spider Fly 
2) Lolita & Satania DQ Bengalee & Jessie Jackson 
Match was originally Bengalee & Tormenta vs Jessy Jackson & Lolita. Satania tossed her mask to Jessie Jackson.
3) Big Boy, Big Chico Che, X-Fly b Medico Brujo, Sick Boy, Yorvak and Beretta, Bomba, Granada 
X-Fly a surprise partner, Los 38 added to the match
4) Travis Banks b Accion Jackson, Shaun Moore 
Eli Isom announced but didn’t appear
5) Tonalli b Dr. Cerebro © [IWRG IC MIDDLE] 
Cerebro falls on his 1st defense. Tonalli, 45th champion won after a pin was broken up by Tonalli’s second Medico Brujo and Tonalli took advantage of a resulting distraction. Cerebro angrily demanded a rematch.
6) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba DRAW Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. 
captains went to a double pin, set up an EDM TRIOS match

Tonalli winning a bit of a surprise. He seemed to me to be a big underdog – a bigger underdog than the odds IWRG made up (?!?!) in my view. He’s won a lot as the young guy but it’s his first real title win and a nice moment for him.

IWRG had hyped Dulce Tormenta coming to the promotion, so something must’ve happened there beyond the usual IWRG changes.

Other News

Back in December, Expo Lucha put up information on many of the matches they planned to have on June’s events. One of those teased included a mystery wrestler that was implied to be Hijo del Vikingo; they went as far as tagging Vikingo on a Instagram post but they never said his name. Expo Lucha is a couple of weekends of away and that tease has quietly been removed. My impression is Expo Lucha/Masked Republic sincerely believed they’d have a Hijo del Vikingo work visa by June – by much earlier than June – and it ended up in another failed attempt to bring Vikingo. I know little of the details but it doesn’t appear to be Vikingo or Marked Republic’s fault, just the vagaricies of the US immigration system. I’ve been told there’s already another effort being made to get Vikingo a work visa; people are going to keep trying until it happens.

Meanwhile, Toxin announced he can now travel to the US to take bookings. He’s already announced for shows in July.

Maximo lost his hair to Joe Lider on Friday’s Robles show in Deportivo Ocenea. This is the same location as the AAA Freestyle show last week, but that show ran outside and Robles ran inside the basketball arena. That seems to fit around a thousand people and didn’t have a thousand people in it; this is a far cry from when Maximo was losing his hair in Arena Mexico. The show streamed on Facebook.

Septimo Dragon talked about his GLEAT booking to home town paper El Sol del Salamanca. He said his 07/01 match will take place at the 50,000 seat Tokyo Dome. It appears it will actually take place at the 3,000 seat Tokyo Dome City Hall. Still nice but I hope he’s not disappointed when he finds out more. Septimo Dragon also talked about facing two guys he admires in The Crash, Travis Banks and Marty Scurll. He might have some surprises if he finds out more there too.

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
• Bryon & Kaientai vs Miedo Extremo & Ciclope – NEW

Acapuclo luchador Aquiles (Joel Garcia Labatan) passed Friday according to SuperLuchas.  He was active in Arena Coliseo Acapulco in the 80s and 90s. He had retired in 2011 and SuperLuchas mentions he was having financial and health issues brought on during the pandemic; a benefit show had been planned for June 4th.

Mascara Dorada will face Daga on June 10th in El Paso. Daga, who hasn’t wrestled much the last couple of years until recently, also pushed that he’s taking bookings.

GCW announced Psycho Clown for their 07/15 Los Angeles show.

Argentina’s Titanes en el Ring had a revival show in honor of its 60th Anniversary this past Sunday.

Segunda Caida watches some 2010 Misioners/Cadetes.