CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 02/10/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Kasier Sports, Quadrtin, The Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Halcón Suriano Jr. b Inquisidor [lightning] 
7:27
2) Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis b Marcela & Princesa Sugehit 
13:35. Vaquero pinned Sugehit in the deciding pin. Zeuxis’ return to the promotion after five years.
3) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. b Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma
13:05.
4) Niebla Roja b Guerrero Maya Jr. [lightning]
8:22
5) Kráneo & Templario b Averno, Dragón Rojo Jr., Gran Guerrero, Oráculo, Rocky Romero, Último Guerrero [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, battle royal]
6) Averno & Místico b Atlantis & Último Guerrero [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, quarterfinal]
3:46
7) Rocky Romero & Volador Jr. DQ Ángel de Oro & Oráculo [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, quarterfinal]
4:18. Oro fouled Volador blatantly for the DQ. Neither team got along.
8) Soberano Jr. & Templario b Atlantis Jr. & Gran Guerrero [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, quarterfinal]
Atlantis Jr. & Gran Guerrero had problems
9) Dragón Rojo Jr. & Titán b Kráneo & Volcano [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, quarterfinal]
3:53
10) Averno & Místico b Rocky Romero & Volador Jr. [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, semifinal]
5:42. Romero & Volador issues, then Averno pushed Mistico to finish off Romero himself.
11) Soberano Jr. & Templario b Dragón Rojo Jr. & Titán [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, semifinal]
7:51. Soberano and Templario got along until Titan was eliminated, then both men fought over who would beat Dragon Rojo.
This was a good top to the bottom show. The tournament wasn’t much in terms of match quality but had a fair bit of drama and surprises. (Especially for me.) I don’t think anyone had an Averno/Mistico vs Soberano/Templario final. It was a lot of people who don’t get along not getting along, in more realistic fashion than past years. The trios match was a lot of fun, with the Suicida side doing really well. It was Fuego’s best match since his return and maybe Bala’s in quite a while. Both lightning matches had something to them. Zeuxis seemed very happy to be back in CMLL and those four women had a really solid match. I wasn’t thinking too highly of this show and it came together much better.
The on screen story is Dragon Rojo and Templario are going to have a mask match and then the winner will face Soberano. It increasingly seems like it’ll instead turn out to be one three-way match with all the feuding people. It could be the Aniversario main, though it comes off as it’ll happen much sooner. (The counter point is the Atlantis Jr./Stuka Jr. feud started even earlier last year.)
Zeuxis mentioned she’d been working on this return for a year and implied she’d be back full time. There was no Vaquer/Sugehit challenge in the ring but Vaquer and Zeuxis did bring it up in post-match interviews. (They need matches in Arena Mexico during Fantastica Mania and that’s one.)
CMLL (SAT) 02/11/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Acero, Aéreo, Fantasy b Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora
2) Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio b Astral, Diamond, Halcón Suriano Jr.
Rudos took 1/3.
3) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
Los Cancerberos took 2/3.
4) Kráneo b Volcano [lightning]
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
Fuerza Tapatia took 2/3.
6) Bárbaro Cavernario, Oráculo, Rocky Romero b Ángel de Oro, Místico, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Rudos took 1/3, Cavernario using the ropes to pin Mistico in the third. The two agreed to a singles match next week.
Cavernario versus Mistico is usually pretty good.
CMLL (SUN) 02/12/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Átomo, Chamuel, Micro Ángel b Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Sagrado, Mije
Mije replaced Micro Gemelo Diablo II
2) Disturbio, Dr. Karonte II, Nitro b Halcón Suriano Jr., Retro, Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 2/3.
3) Espanto Jr. b Rey Cometa [lightning]
win via Canadian Destroyer
4) La Jarochita, La Magnifica, Lluvia b Hera, Metálica, Reyna Isis
Tecnicas took 1/3.
5) Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto b Oráculo, Rey Bucanero, Rocky Romero
Infernales took 1/3. Rocky and Orcaulo had issues.
6) Místico, Soberano Jr., Templario DQ Dragón Rojo Jr., Stuka Jr., Titán [Relevos Increíbles]
Dragon Rojo fouled Templario, who also had problems with Soberano
Oraculo’s post match promo demonstrates an important strategy: you can get away with swearing as long as it’s English. Maybe. I wouldn’t suggest Akuma try that out.
CMLL (TUE) 02/14/2023 Arena México
1) Angelito & Shockercito vs Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) Cachorro, Halcón Suriano Jr., Oro Jr. vs Cholo, Dr. Karonte I, Nitro
3) Capitán Suicida vs Astral [lightning]
4) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Marcela vs Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer, Tiffany
5) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs El Felino Jr., Felino, Hijo del Villano III
6) Euforia, Místico, Stuka Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Niebla Roja, Titán [Relevos Increíbles]
Suicida/Astral should be fun. Not sure why the main event is mixed teams. Villano III and Dulce Gardenia could’ve been setting something up, but those guys are off to Japan before next Tuesday.
CMLL (TUE) 02/14/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan, Eclipse Jr. vs Canalla, Demonio Maya, Demonio Rojo
2) Micro Ángel, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Sagrado vs Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas
3) Maligna, Náutica, Sexy Sol vs Nexy, Valkiria, Zeuxis
4) Optimus, Satánico, Trono vs Asturiano, Black Tiger (Puebla), Siky Ozama
5) Arlequín, Guerrero Maya Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Zandokan Jr.
6) Dark Panther, Oráculo, Rocky Romero vs Ángel de Oro, Atlantis Jr., Volador Jr.
Black Tiger travels to Puebla with a couple of the older regulars. Kid Panterita works a lot of Guadalajara.
CMLL (FRI) 02/17/2023 Arena México
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Átomo & Chamuel
2) Diamond, Sangre Imperial, Valiente Jr. vs Disturbio, Enfermero Jr., Inquisidor
3) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Marcela vs Zeuxis [lightinng]
5) Gran Guerrero, Oráculo, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Rocky Romero, Titán
6) Averno & Místico vs Soberano Jr. & Templario [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, final]
That main event could be great. Dragon Rojo needs to be barred from the building. The semimain mixes up the feuding teams a bit. Zeuxis is getting thrown right into the fire.
CMLL ran a pre-show video package mentioning upcoming events. It only aired once and not when I expected news; I didn’t see dates but I may have missed them. (It’ll probably air frequently.) Events mentioned:
- Torneo de Escuelas
- Campeonato Universal (unclear dates; was April last year)
- Arena Coliseo Anniversary (probably 04/01)
- Arena Mexico Aniversario (probably 04/28)
- Kid’s Day shows (probably 04/30 in Arena Mexico and 05/01 in Arena Puebla)
- Copa Bobby Bonales (could be any time)
El Grafico has a Astral & Olympia article as a Valentine’s Day piece.
AAA
AAA , EMW (FRI) 02/10/2023 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California [TJ Sports]
1) Alex Kane b Delirious
Anton Carrillo seconded Alex Kane
2) Cíclope & Miedo Extremo b Ángel Divino & Último Maldito and Fantastik & Rayo Star and Anton Carrillo & Extasiss [street]
Dinamico, Genio del Aire and Skalibur attacked Fantastik & Rayo Star
3) Taya b Sexy Star, Dalys, La Hiedra [AAA REINAS]
4) Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf b Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus
5) Juicy Finau b Crazy Frank, Damián 666
Anton Carrillo helped Juicy Finau win. Los Macizos helped Crazy Frank
6) Alex Hammerstone b Danny Rivera [MLW CHAMP]
7) Jack Cartwheel, Myzteziz Jr., Willie Mack b Dinámico, Genio del Aire, Skalibur
Fantastik & Rayo Star distracted the losing team
8) Hijo Del Vikingo, Psycho Clown, Rey Horus b Gringo Loco, Johnny Caballero, Sam Adonis
Nothing too notable from the AAA side – or the MLW side, either. This may be a different taping then what is airing on Reelz, but MLW is not really explaining what they’re doing. (The local report has this as airing on BeinSports, but it looked like MLW was done on BeinSports.)
While we’re on MLW, when the MLW story about them wanting an alliance with CMLL first came up a few weeks ago, Dr. Landru of The Gladiatores asked CMLL about it. CMLL told him MLW hadn’t approached them about any agreement. It’s always possible CMLL could be keeping it secret, but it seems unlikely there’s much going on if MLW is still running shows in Tijuana with AAA wrestlers. Maybe it’s a situation where Mucha Lucha Atlanta or another US based lucha libre group might bring in CMLL wrestlers for a show that turns out to also be an MLW taping, if this is to make sense at all.
AAA promoted they’d be back in Tijuana for a TV taping on 04/22. That is the third AAA taping announced for April (San Luis Potosi on 04/08, Monterrey’s TripleMania on 04/16), and the Tijuana show may not air until late May.
Nothing was said about Triplemania Tijuana. To recap, it was originally announced as taking place on June 17th in Estadio Caliente and there’s now a concert on that date. The show has either moved locations or moved dates. Dates seem more likely since the stadium’s owners themselves were meant to be sponsors. AAA hasn’t said anything either way. The deadline on announcing something seems like TripleMania Monterrey on 04/16 at the very latest – you’d want to have the announcers push the next date on that show – but AAA works on their own schedule.
AAA TV (SAT) 02/11/2023 Campo Militar 1, Miguel Hidalgo, Distrito Federal
1) Centinela (Military), Drago Kid, Fulgor b Chessman, Emperador Azteca, Reina Dorada
This Centinela is said to be a member of Mexico’s Armed Forces (and was seconded by army mascot Sargento Bravo). Fuglor replaced Drago.
2) Dave The Clown & Murder Clown DQ Kuukai & Nishikawa
Rudos fouled the opposition.
3) Aerostar & Aramis b Antifaz del Norte & Parka Negra
Laredo Kid appeared before the match and thanked everyone for their support. Antifaz attacked him and sent Laredo out on a stretcher. Aerostar still with AAA.
4) Flammer b Dalys, Maravilla, Taya, Estrellita
Estrellita was added to what was billed as a 2v2 match; she took the pin. Flammer won, then declared she still wanted a title match.
5) Puma King & Toscano b Vampiro & Willie Mack
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón NC La Bestia Del Ring, Rey Escorpión, Rush [AAA TRIOS]
6th defense, was not originally a title match. No result after both Tirantes and Piero were taken out.
This was a free show for military families, set up in what looked like the base’s parking lot with temporary bleachers on a few of the sides. Maybe 3,000 to 4,000 fans? It looked good. This will air on TV on March 4th and March 11th.
Unusual to end a charity show with a non-finish. Maybe it’ll play better on TV but it reads more like AAA booked a match where neither side could or would lose. Estrellita being added to the women’s match seems like the same thing, but maybe it’ll look different on TV. (With Taya, Dalys and a Toxica in a match on Tijuana, it was Sexy Star II who took the loss.) Aerostar is still with AAA for now. Laredo Kid must be doing better if he’s taking bumps. I think we’re meant to think of Vampiro, Willie Mack and Aramis as a regular unit; it came off as one week random trio on TV.
This was a generally busy weekend for AAA wrestlers with people all over the place. Cibernetico and Mr. Iguana were part of a crew wrestling on AAA spot show in Sinaloa. Taurus, Vikingo, Gringo Loco, and Rey Horus went from that MLW show to the Chicago area to wrestle for Dreamwave wrestling. Arez and Komander were in New Jersey for the GCW J Cup; Komander beat Arez and then lost to Speedball Mike Bailey in the second round.
The second week of TV from Queretaro was by far the better of the two. The AAA TV opener was a better version of a match they’ve had a lot on those, with Mini Vikingo, Brazo de Oro Jr. and Drago Kid getting a spectacular win over Iron Kid, Demus and Dinamico. Those openers always feature a lot of spots and they were pulling them off on this night. That, and the Komander/Jack Carthweel match were the two to watch. Those two probably overestimated the crowd’s knowledge of them as individual performers early on (they were doing a lot of countering usual stuff to fans unfamiliar with their usual stuff), but it built well. Teasing the Komander rope walk repeatedly until finally pulling off to the finish got a big reaction, as did Cartwheel’s rally right prior. The Toxicas match was about the usual for the women’s division, not bad but no direction in months means they all blend together. The sole vignette on the show establishes La Hiedra may like Mr. Iguana, but she likes his money far more and is using him to get expensive gifts for himself.
There were still a lot of “new year, new me” bits to this show. The opener ended in a DQ as an education that AAA was now enforcing DQs for weapon usage. The next match included La Hiedra using a cookie sheet, and the announcers hurriedly explained this match had been no disqualification all along. (It came of like either La Hiedra didn’t know the new rules or decided they didn’t apply to this instance, and the announcers had to cover.) The Komander/Cartwheel match was presented as part of doing more “dream” singles matches. AAA’s announced 3 tapings since then and has not booked a singles match between AAA wrestlers. It’s interesting to know what AAA believes are the problems in its style and what they’d like to change, but there’s little reason to believe they’ll stick to any change – something else will always take priority. Rey de Reyes begins airing this Saturday.
AAA announced their combo show with the NWA for 03/04 on Friday. This is part of Billy Corgan’s The World is a Vampire festival; the wrestling is part of the draw but the concerts are the bigger of the attract to the large Foro Sol.
AAA , NWA (SAT) 03/04/2023 Foro Sol, Iztacalco, Distrito Federal
1) Cyon & Homicide vs Komander & Octagón Jr.
2) Aron Stevens & Natalia Marakova vs Arez & La Hiedra
3) Sal The Pal vs Jack Cartwheel
4) Kamille © vs Flammer [NWA WOMEN]
5) Chris Masters, Kratos, Thom Latimer vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © [AAA TRIOS]
6) Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf vs Blue Demon Jr. & Vampiro [NWA TAG]
7) Trevor Murdoch vs Psycho Clown
8) Tyrus © vs Daga [NWA HEAVY]
AAA’s poster doesn’t list this as a TV taping and these concert shows usually aren’t taped, yet this fits perfectly in a spot where AAA will need TV. They need to tape something by March 10th, so either another card gets announced this week or this is two weeks of AAA TV.
(If this is TV, then the Military base show was AAA’s last normal TV taping before TripleMania Monterrey if things go normally. That TripleMania show is 9 weeks away: 2 weeks of Rey de Reyes, 2 weeks of Military, 2 weeks of NWA and 3 weeks of World Cup adds up to 9. Maybe something will change.)
For the type of people who read this blog, this is a card to skip. I don’t keep up with the NWA, but I’m well aware of the negative reactions to Tyrus’ in-ring work. I think Murdoch is better but people in my replies were down on that one. Blue Demon Jr. and Vampiro both need a partner to help them out or a total garbage match, and I expect it’ll be a garbage match. Kamille/Flammer could end up being the best match on the show; the NWA roster is just not that interesting to me. Maybe it’s better for you.
It’s worth noting NWA did have a PPV on Saturday. AAA announcing this card on Friday gave away the results to the three NWA titles defended that will be defended on the show. (I guess it gave away the results of the AAA trios title match, but no one knew it was a trios title match.) There’s no obvious reason why AAA needed to announce this card before the NWA PPV; this show is part of a larger concert and the exact matches weren’t going to be ticket sellers. There’s little awareness of this NWA in Mexico right now, what AAA is selling here is “AAA versus a foreign promotion.” The names involved don’t matter to most, and neither do the matches.
Only I care: if Blue Demon Jr. is challenging for a NWA title, does that mean his NWA Mexico is part of this new NWA? This NWA has been dissolved and reformed a few times since Demon first launched NWA Mexico a decade and a half ago, and the NWA Tag Team Super Nova & Texano Jr. are carrying around are meant to be part of that promotion. (It’s also a bit irrelevant.)
Laredo Kid is listed as returning to wrestling on March 5th in Laredo, Texas. He may make it onto a show before then. I have no inside info but I keep thinking him showing up on the AEW taping in Laredo on Wednesday is a layup. I don’t believe Laredo Kid under any deal with Impact that would prevent him from showing up on for a random AEW appearance. It’s really great Rush has been in AEW for some of his matches and for having a Mexican star in these cities that draw a lot of fans of Mexican wrestling, because they haven’t had Bandido and the Lucha Brothers on screen. (Penta was limited to an off air promo. Thunder Rosa was also back, but didn’t appear in front of the fans.) If Laredo’s OK appearing, throwing something out there like Top Flight, AR Fox, and Laredo Kid in a 4v4 match seems like an easy way to get a good reaction. I’m spending too much time talking myself into something that’s not going to happen, let’s move on.
AEW’s Tony Khan appeared on the Dan LeBatarad show this past week; he pops up on that show a few times a year, and this time was part of Super Bowl chat. There’s nothing specific to AAA in the quotes Post Wrestling pulled together, but those quotes seem relevant to the larger AAA/AEW issue. Khan says “there’s a real war between AEW and WWE”, then later goes on to talk about a time where WWE contracted NJPW. NJPW insisted at that time to Khan that they didn’t trust WWE and were with AEW. In that context, you can see what happened at Noche de Campeones (WWE-bound Dragon Lee beating FTR) as AEW feeling that AAA had sold them out to the other side of the war.
One other AEW/AAA thing to consider. We know AAA wants Kenny Omega because it comes up seemingly every two weeks. They probably would prefer to have him for the Mexico City TripleMania, which is scheduled for August 12th and is usually the biggest TripleMania. August 12th, 2022 was in the middle of NJPW’s G1 tournament. The 2023 schedule isn’t out yet – it may not be out for a while – but it’ll probably be around the same dates. It’s unclear if Omega’s return to NJPW will include him working the G1, but he can’t do both that and TripleMania in Mexico City. Monterrey or Tijuana seem more open (though I won’t believe this is happening until Omega’s face pops up on AAA content again.)
IWRG
IWRG (SUN) 02/12/2023 Arena Naucalpan [Zona Ruda]
1) Baby Star Jr. b Súper Boy
2) Kenji b Águila Roja [IWRG IC Light, #1 Contenders] 
Kenji wins a title match at a future date
3) Jhon Tito, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly b Legendario, Rey Halcón, Shocko
4) Hip Hop Man & Karaoui b Puma de Oro & Travis Banks
Shocko helped out the winners. Hip Hop Man offered Travis Banks a spot in his international squad, though Banks seemed to reject it.
5) Pig Decapitador, Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool DRAW Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan Jr., The Monsther
Pig Destroyer wrote a message of love to Morgan family member Morgana, which annoyed the Piratas. Challenges followed the draw.
6) Hijo de Canis Lupus & Rey León © b Hijo del Fishman & Rey Espectro [IWRG IC TAG]
second defense
Next show here is Thursday’s Lucha Libre Boom show, with Atlantis Jr. & Mistico against Hijo del Villano III & Volador Jr. That’s a Mas Lucha stream; I believe it’s a free show but don’t know that for a fact.
Other
LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.
Dralistico won his debut match in NOAH. Like Daga the night before, Dralistico talked about wanting to be in NOAH more but nothing has been announced. I assume he’ll back.
Galeno del Mal also won his debut in GLEAT. Komander will return to the promotion 03/21.
Luchadora Black Fury told Milenio that if she could go back in time, she’d tell her 13 year old self to stay away from wrestling due to the things she’s seen and the bad experiences she’s had
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