Volador wins successful CMLL Gran Prix, Aniversario lineup revealed, AAA in Saltillo

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 08/19/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Cronistas del Ring, Excelsior, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, Record, SuperLuchas, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan, Yahoo! Deportes]
1) Black Panther, Fugaz, Star Black b Hijo del Villano III, Okumura, Pólvora  
13:33. Dark Panther replaced Esfinge (hand injury) on Tuesday
2) Dark Silueta, La Jarochita, Lluvia b Metálica, Princesa Sugheit, Reyna Isis [Relevos Increíbles]   
16:09.
3) Hechicero b Euforia [CMLL HEAVY]    
18:45. second defense
4) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Templario, Titán, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. b El Mesías, Kenny King, Lince Dorado, Matt Taven, Oráculo, Robbie Eagles, Rocky Romero, Tiger Mask IV [Gran Prix]     
56:33. Elimination order: Oraculo (Stuka, 23:28), Titan (Lince Dorado, 28:12), Robbie Eagles (Soberano, 35:06), Templario (Matt Taven, 35:33), Stuka (Kenny King, 37:19), Soberano Jr. (Rocky Romero, 42:42), Lince Dorado (Atlantis Jr., 44:10), Kenny King (Mistico, 45:19), Atlantis Jr. (Tiger Mask, 46:28), Matt Taven (Ultimo Guerrero, 48;22), Ultimo Guerrero (Mesias via foul, 49:13), Mesias (Mistico, 50:01), Mistico (Tiger Mask, 50:39), Rocky Romero (53:15, Volador Jr.), Tiger Mask IV (56:33, Volador Jr.) leaving Volador Jr. as the winner for the third time.

Arena Mexico fans sang Cielito Lindo unprompted after the match, a song typically sung after big Mexican sports victories. That kind of tells you about the crowd excitement tonight. It was the loudest I’ve heard Arena Mexico in a long time and stayed that way for the entire main event. They were very into the other matches too, treating the cold Hechicero/Euforia match like some hotly anticipated match. The Gran Prix is probably just a ‘great’ match with the sound off – there was a pretty bad Mistica flub, Tiger Mask IV wasn’t the most dynamic finalists – but it felt like one of the biggest matches of the year. Hechicero/Euforia aren’t far behind.

There’s no way both of them will end up airing complete; the Gran Prix itself might fill up an entire TV episode depending on how much of the ceremony they show. People wanted to see this whole show – there was definite interest in watching this the day after – and CMLL’s just offering no way to do so. Maybe that encourages people to buy PPVs in advance but for now it’s money left on the table.

Attendance looked over 10K, though short of a sell-out. They were completely full in the top section, and the middle-level fenced-off sections don’t appear to be sold. Capacity isn’t 16K or whatever the last number we had the way they’re sitting people.

Tempalrio must’ve picked up an injury; he appeared but didn’t wrestle on Saturday on an indie show.

Volador’s triumph is the cover of this week’s Box y Lucha. A theme of the build up to this Gran Prix was Rocky Romero trashing Mexican wrestling and Volador in particular, and Volador refusing to take the bait. Until after the match, where Volador pointed out Rocky couldn’t back up the talk. Volador referenced Romero “biting the hand of the company” (jumping from CMLL to AAA as Grey Shadow in 2006) and talked about like beating him more than even Tiger Mask. He also challenged Romero to bring him and Los Depereadores to NJPW Strong to continue this.

Hechierco and Euforia said they’re on the same page after their title match, happy to have proven the strength of Los Infernales.

CMLL (SAT) 08/20/2022 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Neón & Valiente Jr. b Apocalipsis & Cholo
Tecnicos took 2/3
2) Amapola, Hera, La Seductora b La Vaquerita, Maligna, Marcela
Rudas took 2/3.
3) Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma b Cancerbero, Disturbio, Luciferno
Tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible b Kenny King, Matt Taven, Oráculo
Ingobernables took 2/3.
5) Lince Dorado, Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask IV b Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
Foreigners took 2/3.

There was also a sponsored (DHL) show on Saturday in Arena Mexico, which have been rare the last couple of years. It’s another sign their business is coming back a bit.

CMLL (SUN) 08/21/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring]
1) Angelito, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito b Minos, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
Angelito was strechered out after missing Violencia on a dive
2) Enfermero Jr., Inquisidor, Nitro b Astral, Leono, Oro Jr.
Rudos took 2/3.
3) El Coyote, Felino, Kráneo b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
Rudost ook 1/3.
4) Euforia & Hechicero b Kenny King & Oráculo
Hechicero replaced Cavernario quickly after the lineup was announced. Infernales took 1/3.
5) Gran Guerrero, Tiger Mask, Titán b Lince Dorado, Matt Taven, Volador Jr.
Team Tiger Mask took 2/3.

That finishes up the foreigners for now. Lots of them talked on social media about wanting to come back, so it seems like they have a positive experience. No idea if CMLL will actually bring outsiders back. Tiger Mask was pushed the hardest (won every match but the Gran Prix) but logically is unlikely to make the long trip back. Robbie Eagles already took his singles lost. Rocky Romero did a lot of promo work but was in for the least days (he was in Coast Rica winning a title on Saturday.) Everyone else did fine but CMLL didn’t spotlight them in a way where we’re meant to expect more from them.

A fun idea might be to combine that with the night of champions polling; they’d get a lot of Twitter notice if Hechicero’s challenger was a choice between three outsiders.

CMLL (TUE) 08/23/2022 Arena México
1) Fantasy & Kaligua vs Full Metal & Pequeño Polvora
2) Diamond, Sangre Imperial, Suicida vs Disturbio, Nitro, Raider
3) La Guerrera, La Vaquerita, Princesa Sugehit vs La Seductora, Metálica, Reyna Isis
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Cancerbero, El Coyote, Luciferno
5) Dark Panther, Guerrero Maya Jr. Star Black, Star Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible

That’s a good looking main event. Virus has now been out for three months; his tibia injury was said originally to keep him out just for one month. Coyote is on fill in duty for this show.

CMLL (TUE) 08/23/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Persa, Raven, Temerario vs Estrella de Jalisco I, Estrella de Jalisco II, Último Ángel
2) Cris Skin, Optimus, Trono vs Omar Brunetti, Ráfaga, Vaquero Jr.
Cris Skin replaced Angel Rebelde (moved up)
3) Ángel Rebelde, Hombre Bala Jr., Robin vs Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico
Star Black was announced and thne immediately replaced by Angel Rebelde
4) Crixus vs Halcón Negro Jr. [QRO MIDDLE]
5) Difunto, Euforia, Hijo del Soberano vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Furia Roja, Misterioso Jr.
6) Místico, Panterita del Ring Jr., Volador Jr. vs Averno, Hechicero, Zandokan Jr.

Zandokan Jr. getting a big spot opposite Panterita del Ring Jr; that has a chance to be a title match to come. Hijo del Soberano returns. Misterioso too; he last appeared here in April and hasn’t appeared in Arnea Mexico since March. The local advertisement pushed the idea of Hombre Bala Jr. and Robin as tag team champions, so that could be a title program too. The second match follows up on run-ins from last week.

Star Black was pulled very quickly. He wasn’t booked on Arena Mexico originally, then showed up in the lineup a day later. Seems like some miscommunication there.

CMLL put their tickets on sale for the 09/16 CMLL 89th Aniversario show and simultaneously released the complete lineup Saturday afternoon. There a couple of surprises:

CMLL (FRI) 09/16/2022 Arena México
1) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa © vs Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma [MEX TRIOS]
third defense
2) Negro Casas, Star Jr., Titán vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
3) ? vs ?? [COPA INDEPENDENCIA]
winner of 09/02 vs winner of 09/09
4) La Jarochita vs Reyna Isis [mask]
5) Atlantis & Fuerza Guerrera vs Averno & Último Guerrero and Atlantis Jr. & Stuka Jr. and Soberano Jr. & Templario
6) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [relevos suicidas, semifinal]
7) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [relevos suicidas, semifinal]
8) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [relevos suicidas, final]
9) ? vs ?? [mask]

It’s a little bit of a surprise to see Los Inferanles make the cut. Star Jr. has had a good year to make it here. Fuerza Poblana is a bigger surprise; maybe winning the Puebla versus Mexico City cibernetico paid off for them. (Or maybe the stronger pushed OneAtos Team still won’t have a healthy trio by this time.) That should be a fun opener. Everyone – Volador and Mistico most notably – have to win their way to the final of Copa Independencia or sit this one out. Nine matches is going to make for a long show, though this has the early 5 pm start time.

The lower section and the restaurant tickets are the only ones on sale. (CMLL’s sold the upper level tickets only at their box office this year.) Those lower bowl tickets run from 360 to 2160 pesos (about $18-106 USD). Those are the lowest prices since 2017, when Niebla Roja & Gran Guerrero and Zeuxis & Princesa Sugehit were the two big matches. Those prices are low enough that it Averno losing his hair seems slightly more likely. They’re much lower than the 3724 pesos record high price for the Ultimo Guerrero & La Sombra mask matches.

The Anniversary tickets appeared to be about 80% scooped up within a day according to Ticketmaster’s map. It’s never always sales to fans, but that’s a lot of tickets for an opening day. CMLL may have underpriced this show. It seems incredibly unlikely Fuerza Guerrera or Atlantis are losing their masks, especially at those prices, but I wonder if even the slight threat that they might (and the fear of missing out) may have driven some of those sales. CMLL does feel hotter at the moment and putting these tickets out after a very well received show is great timing, but it’s hard to imagine tickets moving this quick if it was just the Atlantis Jr/Stuka match or Averno/Ultimo Guerrero one with no mystery.

Most of you reading this are not going to Aniversario. Quick ticket sales are still good news for you. CMLL’s played strange games with the broadcast of the Aniversario in pre-pandemic times, often not explaining if or how the show would be available to watch until as late as the day of the show. It wasn’t confirmed, but my assumption was CMLL didn’t want people to stay home and watch the show when there were still tickets to be bought. That might not be an issue this year with tickets moving so fast, and so maybe CMLL will be more timely with the streaming information. The last two Aniversario have aired on TicketmasterLive, though those were a no-fan show and a limited-occupancy show.

El Universal has a regular column written by a collection of urban planners, and they happened to write about Arena Mexico today. They consider it a historic site, but a deteriorating one. The restrooms, concession stands, parking lots, lighting, and seats need fixing. They consider it a historical site and want it to be preserved in great condition for future generations, the same way a monument that’s owned by the public. They also believe Arena Mexico should hold more boxing and concerts in addition to the wrestling, so more people visit. The urban planner doesn’t want to see Arena Mexico torn down and feels it’s headed that way if they don’t make improvements. CMLL’s pushback here would probably be “we just had two very hard years, we’re just trying to dig out of a hole right now”, though it’s not like those improvements were noticeably happening before the pandemic.

My guess is the Lutteroths would be happy to rent out the building for more activities, and it’s not their choice it’s going elsewhere. It may have something to do with that lacking maintenance and improvement though. Arena Mexico is better maintained than most buildings (or outdoor venues) I’ve gone to see lucha libre in. Just having a 100% working public restroom puts it ahead of most. The owners of a lot of lucha libre buildings don’t seem like they’ve put a lot of money into the sort of amenities you’d expect for a fan venue in 2022.

AAA

AAA on Space was a filler episode of TV, but it turned out to be a good thing this time. About a third of the show was dedicated to promos for TripleMania. Cibernetico & Pagano’s press conference confrontation aired, as did extended sit-down interviews with Villano IV and Pentagon about their mask match. 2022 is a year where only TripleManias matter to AAA, but those TripleManias have often felt completely disconnected from the rest of the TV product. This presentation turned the TV show into a vehicle to hype those matches, which is a better use of it than running in place trios matches they normally air. It still had it’s flaws. Video packages hyped the Showcenter events and the AAA art exhibit without giving any actionable information about those events; you’d have no idea that there was a Showcenter event this weekend. A lot of AAA video content seems primarily intended to enhance the image of the promotion without giving viewers any direction on what to do if they actually do want to go to AAA, so at least those TripleMania video features did have a direction. AAA has no taping lined up to cover the October 8th show and that should also be TripleMania hype in a similar fashion.

The matches were fine/good. They were all from previous tapings that had been skipped over. Rey Horus versus Gringo Loco from the May Showcenter aired; they just had too many matches to air from that show. AAA had too many matches in Madero there, though Iguana/Hamburguesa vs Carta Brava/Parka Negra match might have bumped because it got changed; La Rebelion were meant to be the rudos and had flight issues that night. Arkangel Divino vs Ultimo Maldito in Aguascalientes actually might have been a last-minute addition once AAA realized they needed one more match for this episode. All the matches were about what you’d expect for the names involved; I liked Horus/Loco the best.

Next week’s TV show will be from this taping:

AAA TV (SAT) 08/20/2022 Lienzo Charro Professor Enrique Gonzalez, Saltillo, Coahuila [Lucha Libre Around the world (FB), Lucha Libre CD. Victoria, Saltillo Al Raz de Lona (FB), Zocalo]
1) Kratoz & Prometeo b Baby Xtreme & Iron Kid [IR TAG]
2) Epydemius b Latino ©, Cabula [IR HEAVY]
3) Chik Tormenta b Sussy Love, Maravilla 
Scheduled as a mixed tag w/Komander, Latigo and Toxin
4) Látigo & Toxin b Antifaz del Norte & Pierroth Jr.
5) Aerostar, Baby Xtreme, Komander b Argenis, La Parka Negra, Villano III Jr.
Komander & Baby Xtreme replaced Drago & Myzteziz. Money thrown in.
6) Bestia 666, Gringo Loco, Mecha Wolf b Crazy Boy, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa
Earlier, Crazy Boy (again) proposed reforming the Mexican Powers with Iguana, Hamburguesa and Microman. They declined. He betrayed them in the match.
7) Abismo Negro Jr., Cibernético, Rey Escorpión b Charly Manson, Pagano, Zorro
Vampiro appeared to announce he’d referee this Pagano/Cibernetico match. Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf attacked Vampiro after this match for unclear reasons (though they had interacted at TripleMania)
8) Aramis & Hijo Del Vikingo b Dragón Lee & Fénix 
said to be a MOTYC. Vikingo pinned Fenix.

There’s a slightly edited version of the main event on YouTube. It’s a great match, though I wouldn’t go as far as MOTYC. They worked extremely hard, and fans were into the near fall, there was just some emotion missing. It’s hard to put that in these cold matches. Vikingo pinned Fenix totally clean, which is a weird way to build up a title match. I suspect the idea is everyone (AAA included) sees Fenix as the actual higher-ranked guy and Vikingo needs the win to prove he might be able to win at TripleMania, even though he’s the actual mega champion.

Multiple reports I saw had Vampiro announcing he was referring at TripleMania, which is false. I don’t know if something got lost in the promo or if people just weren’t paying attention. AAA seem to be booking in the direction of something with La Rebellion and Vampiro for this show, but it’s tough to tell if AAA is going the same way with this.

Maybe keep the same caution here, but –  you know how most people were concerned CMLL was headed to a cage match to combine the different feuds? This has been a year of AAA doing things we’d hope CMLL wouldn’t do, and I’m wondering if all these midcard feuds are headed to their own cage match at the end of the year. It’s hard to believe AAA would book a Parka Negra/Aerostar apuesta match or the Argenis/Myzteziz match that came up a fe days ago as a solo apuesta match. They hardly book singles matches this year. Combine them all in a cage (or the dome, which hasn’t been used yet this year), and it fits AAA well. The Crazy Boy angle here fits that too, though I’m not sure asking Crazy Boy and his knees to climb a cage is a reasonable request.

The “Pierroth Jr.” here is the one that debuted in KAOZ and has most often appeared in The Crash. It’s believed to be Monterrey/IWRG luchador El Divo under the mask; it was an open discussion on Facebook in recent weeks and I had been told that was likely the person previously. He does seem like a logical person for this sort of regimmicking, someone promoter seemed to like but wasn’t really getting over (or was already typecast as a midlevel guy.) Lucha libre facebook sites are writing this up as “AAA is going to make the new Pierroth an international star”, though it look more they just needed an extra body to hit six matches for TV purposes.

AAA (SUN) 08/21/2022 Showcenter Complex, San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo Leon [@thekoko666]
1) Artemiz b Zuzu Divine [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
Zuzu Divine replaced Dulce Canela (moved up)
2) Aramis, Charro Negro, Niño Hamburguesa b Argenis, Látigo, Parka Negra
Charro Megro replaced Komander (GALLI) and was hurt hitting the apron on a dive. Aerostar attacked Parka Negra after the match
3) Puma King b Dinámico [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
Puma King returned to being a tecnico (at least for this show)
4) Chik Tormenta b Maravilla [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
5) Bestia 666, Mecha Wolf, Toscano b Aerostar, Drago, Dulce Kanela
Dulce Kanela (moved up) and Toscnao added to the match. V3 Jr. attacked Drago and Aerostar attacked Parka Negra.
6) Myzteziz Jr. & Pagano b Rey Escorpión & Villano III Jr.
Drago attacked V3 Jr. and Argenis attacked Myzteziz after the match. Show ended with a Vikingo appearance, who wanted to defend the Mega championship against the winner of the tournament.

No one knows what’s going on in this tournament but Vikingo was actually a part of it last we knew. Maybe he’s not now if he’s challenging the winner. Big assumption that he’s still going to be champ whenever this ends. AAA has a cool belt for the men’s Showcenter winner. You will see this belt if you travel to the Monterrey area and maybe twice on TV with the winner based on past history. The September show is on the 25th and Vamprio is scheduled to wrestle.

I’m curious to who else is actually booking these. I’m sure Konnan is part of these, but the guy who blunty said “we have 12 women, how many more do you want?” doesn’t seem like the same guy who’s calling in Hidalgo luchadora Zuzu Divine to fill in on a women’s tournament.

Next month’s taping has Vampiro wrestling in the main event.

AAA’s next taping is September 3rd in Torreon.

PWInsider announced Jeff Jarrett left WWE on Friday. Jarrett set up a tag match with himself and Rey Escorpion against Latin Lover & Vampiro back at TripleMania Monterrey. I don’t know if that match will actually happen, but I expect Jarrett will be on TripleMania in some form. Jeff Jarrett’s podcast happens to be talking about TripleMania on tomorrow’s show.

AAA will unveil airplanes with Pentagon Jr. and Villano IV paint schemes tonight at 10:30 pm. It’ll stream on YouTube.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 08/21/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha, Zona Ruda]
1) Mini Canis Lupus & Mini Spirit b Mini Raider & Relampgauito 
2) Noisy Boy © b Yorvak, Sol, Spider Fly, Baby Star [IWRG REY DEL AIRE] 
1st defense
3) Fulgor I b Paymon 
scheduled as Paymon/Jessy Ventura, but Ventura is hurt. Fulgor would get an IWRG WELTER title match with Ventura while Paymon would get a hair match with Ventura depending on who won.
4) Hijo del Pirata Morgan © DRAW Hijo del Fishman [IWRG Rey del Ring] 
1st defense
5) Puma de Oro © b Tonalli [IWRG MEXICO] 
1st defense. Scheduled as Aster Boy challenging but he had an injury and appointed Puma de Oro’s partner Tonalli as an opponent, which caused him to be kicked out of La Jacuan and become a tecnico.
6) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. © b Dick Angelo 3G, Legendario, Tonalli [EdM Trios] 
6th defense
7) Galeno del Mal b Oficial AK47 [IWRG IC HEAVY]
vacant title (Rey Espectro injury). Run-ins by La Pandemina and Los Oficiales.

The second match (part of the free show) has a bunch of spots for GIFs and a bunch of spots that should be deleted from the internet.  Jessy Ventura is out with a second-degree finger strain. This tweet was entertaining.

Galeno del Mal, in celebrating the win on Facebook, noted he’s the youngest ever IWRG Heavyweight champion at 21.

Big Lucha

Full lineup for Wednesday:

Big Lucha World (WED) 08/24/2022 Bandidos Gym, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Carito vs El Potro de Oro
2) Mexicano & Viajero vs Elipse & Orbita
3) Gravity vs El Bandido [BL CHAMP, Block B, quarterfinal]
4) Ricky Marvin vs Radioactivo [BL CHAMP, Block B, quarterfinal]

I wonder if the late night start is going to make Ricky Marvin even more grumpy than usual. Bandido is obviously going to try to make his brother look great.

This past week’s Big Lucha World announced a slight schedule change. This title tournament was originally scheduled to end on September 16. Big Lucha is now running a spot show in Amecameca on the 16th and the title tournament ends on 09/23. I expect that’ll be the biggest show yet as far as international interest in this promotion.

GALLI & Big Lucha have their press conference tonight to talk about talent sharing.

Other News

In a viral video clip from Argentina, a rock band improvised a song “Eduardo, come here to find Juan Cruz” for a boy who had been separated from his children. The fans started singing along until the father appeared and reunited with the child. The lost boy was originally found by former Titanes en el Ring luchador El Caballero Rojo, who does odd jobs in the area and brought it to the band’s attention.

RIOT is doing a pre-sale for their 10/08 tickets today.