Hechicero unmasks Euforia, Jericho/Mistico, El Hijo del Santo sets his retirement date

Aniversario

CMLL (FRI) 09/13/2024 Arena México [CMLL, El GraficoEl UniversalExcelsiorGamavisionKaiser SportsMilenioPost WrestlngRecordTelediaroThe GladiatoresThe Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan, Voices of Wrestling]
***CMLL 91st Aniversario***
1) Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido  (posted by mluchatv) 91 Aniversario CMLL: Hombre Bala Jr, Max Star y Futuro derrotan a Magia Blanca, Rugido y Magnus (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - MAGNUS - RUGIDO - MAGIA BLANCA VS MAX STAR - HOMBRE BALA JR. - FUTURO/ARENA MÉXICO/13-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL PRESENTA TOTALMENTE EN VIVO FUNCION DE 91 ANIVERSARIO VIERNES 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
8:37
2) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. b Neón, Star Jr., Templario  (posted by mluchatv) 91 Aniversario CMLL: Soberano Jr, Ángel de Oro y Niebla Roja vencen a Neón, Star Jr y Templario (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - SOBERANO JR.- ÁNGEL DE ORO - NIEBLA ROJA VS NEÓN - STAR JR. - TEMPLARIO/ARENA MÉXICO/13-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL PRESENTA TOTALMENTE EN VIVO FUNCION DE 91 ANIVERSARIO VIERNES 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
17:11.
3) Titán b Máscara Dorada [Copa Independencia]  (posted by ) 91 Aniversario CMLL: ¡La Copa Independencia es del Inmortal! Titán logra rendir a Máscara Dorada (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) 91 Aniversario CMLL: Titán recibe la Copa Independencia de M. Lutteroth, Fantasma y JL Feliciano (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL | Titán gana la Copa Independencia 2024 tras derrotar a Máscara Dorada (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA TOTALMENTE EN VIVO FUNCION DE 91 ANIVERSARIO VIERNES 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
14:40.
4) Zeuxis b Willow Nightingale © [CMLL WOMEN91 Aniversario CMLL: Zeuxis y un poderoso suplex dan cuenta de la importada Willow Nightingale (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL PRESENTA TOTALMENTE EN VIVO FUNCION DE 91 ANIVERSARIO VIERNES 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
11:07. Willow falls on first defense. Zeuxis becomes 23rd champion.
5) Atlantis Jr., Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. b Kojima, Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero 91 Aniversario CMLL: Ú.Guerrero, Volador Jr y Atlantis Jr vencen a Kojima, Orange Cassidy y R.Romero (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL PRESENTA TOTALMENTE EN VIVO FUNCION DE 91 ANIVERSARIO VIERNES 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Flip Gordon, who earlier did an anti-Rocky Romero interview, got into a shoving match with Romero from the crowd, then tried to jump the rail and attack him. He was ejected, but rooted for the home twm to win (which they did.)
6) Euforia L HechiceroEsfingeValiente [mask91 Aniversario CMLL: Euforia reconoce la derrota y a su rival Hechicero (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL PRESENTA TOTALMENTE EN VIVO FUNCION DE 91 ANIVERSARIO VIERNES 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Euforia submitted Esfinge at 10:32, Hechicero submitted Magia Negra at the 14:14 mark, and Hechicero submitted Euforia at 36:06. Soberano Jr. and Mephisto consoled Euforia after his loss. He gave credit to Hechicero for the win, and unmasked him as Jose Leobardo Moreno Leon, 49 years old, from Torreon. Hechicero suffered a left bicep injury early in the match.
7) Místico b Chris Jericho 91 Aniversario CMLL: Místico derrota a Chris Jericho en el mano a mano del CMLL y AEW (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL PRESENTA TOTALMENTE EN VIVO FUNCION DE 91 ANIVERSARIO VIERNES 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
22:11. A three fall match. Big Bill seconded Chris Jericho and interfered on his behalf. Mistico won via La Mistica after an earlier attempt was reversed into the Wall of Jericho. Bill and Jericho attacked Mistico after the match until Orange Cassidy made the save. Cassidy put his sunglasses on Mistico (and immediately fled.)

The four-way match was incredible. The action from the start was fast and intense; they went for some tough spots, and they pulled off everything they needed. Three people catching a big man life Euforia as he’s flying at them is tough to coordinate, and they made it look easy. Both Valiente and Esfinge hit the spots they needed to hit, with Valiente wrestling like his old self for the first time in years. They even did the little things correctly; matches like that typically use pinfall breakups for drama, but everyone correctly realizes that breaking up pins under those rules would’ve been counter-productive, and they didn’t do them. It’s one of those things only noticed when it’s done wrong, but they did it very right. Both eliminations were genuinely stunning; Esfinge and Valiente were the most logical finalists and ended up being the two on the outside. Hechicero/Euforia was the best match on paper and the one with the most history, but it took vision and some trust to put those two guys in that spot. It worked out beautifully. CMLL’s typical match structure – best of three matches means everyone’s finish is seen often and well established – played into the drama of the final two. Everyone following CMLL has seen Euforia use the Euforia Special hundreds of times in the last couple of decades to put away opponents instantly and understood it was certain doom for Hechicero if he got caught in it. Even for fans who didn’t know the finishing moves, Hechicero & Euforia sold them so big and so important that the meaning of that offense became obvious. Hechicero & Euforia milked every bit of drama out of their moment, sold the moves big, sold the exhaustion and desperation bigger. There was no logical way someone getting an international rise like Hechicero was going to lose his mask, but he and Euforia absolutely made fans believe it was going to happen. The emotion after the result was super compelling. Nothing in any other form of wrestling can compare to the feelings after a big mask match; wrestling, people elsewhere barely seem to even understand or grasp it. It would be outstanding if this leads to a bigger role for Hechicero in CMLL, but it doesn’t need to lead to anything else to be still remembered as one of the great Aniversario apuesta matches of all time. I can not say enough good things about this match.

Mexico is a country that still covers important wrestling results as news and sports, and most of those outlets considered the mask match the main event of this show: RecordExcelsiorMilenioEl UniversalEl GraficoTelediario, and Publimetro all went with that match on top. ESTO and Marca went with Jericho & Mistico. The more wrestling-focused sites like Kaiser Sports and The Gladiatores went with the mask match, and it’s the entire cover of this week’s Box y Lucha. Wrestling sites that don’t cover CMLL as frequently tended to go with Jericho & Mistico. The record book will list Mistico & Chris Jericho as the final match of Aniversario, and Jericho has claimed his goal of being the trivia answer to various “who has headlined [X], [Y] and CMLL’s Aniversario show” answers. The mask match will be remembered as the main event.

That Chris Jericho/Mistico match was a disaster. It was hurt by the show going unusually long. It still would’ve been bad on an average show. It was hurt by following the mask match, and it still would’ve been bad in the semi-main. It would’ve been bad in front of an all-AEW crowd, it would’ve been bad in front of an all-CMLL crowd, it would’ve been bad on any other Friday night, and it would’ve been bad on a random match in another arena. Everyone was at fault. Most of the blame goes to Chris Jericho, who earned a lot of it. Mistico was at fault, too. Big Bill, unable to catch a telegraphed dive, was at fault. Referee Edgar was at fault. CMLL and AEW themselves were at fault. It was a group effort, and the whole team lost Friday.

That match shouldn’t have been twenty minutes and three falls long, not after how long that show had gone and not with those two wrestlers. It likely would’ve been bad at 12 minutes and one fall. When the story of the match is La Mistica versus Walls of Jericho and then Mistico jogs into applying the worst La Mistica in a very long time, the issue isn’t the factors around the match. It was the match. (And then they did the spot again, just as bad.) The rest of the match was clunky and ill-designed. Jericho wrestled Titan and Atlantis Jr., working in their big spots while generally wrestling his style of match. Those matches were generally well received. The idea didn’t work with Mistico this night, wouldn’t work with Mistico on a good night, and certainly didn’t work at all here. It wasn’t all Mistico either, there were Jericho issues that were Jericho issues. He nearly took a header on the Lionsault, and he was gassed by the end of the match. He didn’t have the fitness for a twenty minute match in Mexico City altitude and paid for it by the end. I’m not sure the Mistica’s would’ve looked good in minute 1, but he didn’t show up in condition for the match he wanted to do. Jericho seems desperate to prove the ‘haters’ wrong – he’s still vital, he still can go, he’s still capable of headlining big shows. A Jericho who was more accepting of his limitations, Mistico’s abilities and the expectations of this match might have put together less ambitious. He did it his way, did it to make a point, and the point he made was that his detractors were right.

Mistico’s got to take his share of the blame. This is his building, his show, his promotion – if anyone has earned the way to say “this is what we’re going to do it”, it is Mistico. And he influenced how the match went; the missed tornillo dive is his trademark when he’s teasing losing a big singles match. He knew the importance of the match, he deferred, and now he’s going to hope the stars will align to give him another chance at a Aniversario main event. CMLL is at fault for talking themselves into the main event, and not putting bigger limits on it. I do not believe “Jericho forced CMLL to put him in the main event” or “Mistico demanded the main event for not getting a mask match with Magnus.” Unless someone provides hard proof, those guys headlined the show because CMLL thought they were the biggest stars by far and worthy of the spot. The people who run CMLL are not children; they’re not people who bend to their will to wrestlers, for better or worse. AEW’s at fault, too. People who claim to be as big as worldwide wrestling fans should’ve known Jericho going after a mask match would’ve been a hard sell at best and convinced him and CMLL Jericho to just bill it as a double main event and wrestle in the semi-main. There are a lot of people who could’ve thrown themselves against this match in the best interest of the show, and no one stepped up enough to do it.

AEW’s biggest crime was treating the finale of CMLL’s biggest show of the year as a good playground for a heat-up angle for an Orange Cassidy versus Chris Jericho. It was worthless, because it was always only going to be a blink and you missed it clip on AEW’s b-show – that’s how AEW uses all their international footage. It was worthless because Jericho and Cassidy had already taped an entirely separate, stronger heat-up angle for those two on that same Collision show, one that was obviously going to overshadow whatever AEW showed from CMLL. It was worthless because it was the exact kind of low-impact angle that adds no value and exists just to say you’ve done something, but no one watching the show from Arena Mexico needs anything to build up a match. Most of them aren’t even going to see. (For a thousand time, I will remind you that AEW has no TV in Mexico. There are hardcore AEW fans who find a way to watch, and they did make noise. They were the minority, bitterly disappointed that the entire crowd wasn’t singing along with Judas, or that CMLL didn’t play it longer.) The Orange Cassidy/Chris Jericho bit is the typical midcard feud that’s going to draw or not draw based on whatever it does because of pre-existing affinity for the character, not because they did a post-match run-in in Arena Mexico or because they did a choking angle no one took seriously on Collision. It was intensely disrespectful to end a CMLL show with a meaningless attack and run-in for another promotion (a promotion which may not draw as many people this month as CMLL drew for this one show), entirely out of tune with the rest of the show. CMLL’s not a promotion where people run out to make a save while their music plays and their entrance video is shown, and there was no reason to make the last few minutes of CMLL’s biggest show of the year an AEW production. There’s not a chance AEW would ever allow CMLL or someone else to end All In with an angle for one of their matches; AEW didn’t even go as far as mentioning the existence of this show until after it happened, they’re not going to let CMLL (or anyone else) run their heat up angles on AEW TV.

The very specific bit with Orange Cassidy endorsing Mistico just showed how out of touch the idea was. That is Mistico’s house, Mistico is the star. I like Orange Cassidy, Orange isn’t close to the star Mistico is. Orange also was a complete rudo three matches earlier, and there was no reason for anyone to react to him as a good guy, except that’s what AEW needed for their story, so forget what happened the rest of the show. The angle died a death because it followed a disaster of a match, but it would’ve died a death even in better circumstances. None of this was what anyone watching CMLL wanted, it existed for AEW purposes and for the minority of AEW fans who came to Aniversario. And you could tell both the match and the post match angle wasn’t for the CMLL fans, because every wide angle showed a bunch of empty seats where CMLL fans were a match earlier. I didn’t like it,

This ending is a CMLL problem at the core, not an AEW one. AEW will ask for as much as possible until they’re told no. That’s what AEW did with AAA, and what we all expect WWE will do with AAA should that deal ever happen. AEW should have the common sense to know ending CMLL’s biggest show of the year with their own angle is as smart as jumping out of a plane without a parachute, but CMLL’s show is CMLL’s responsibility. They went crazy for the idea of Chris Jericho, they approved the show ending with Orange Cassidy putting his glasses on Mistico’s head, the buck stops with them. They’ve been pretty fortunate that big stuff with AEW this year has worked out well, probably even better than they hoped. There’s a limit to everything; everyone has gone far past it here, and you can only hope they learn from it. CMLL’s popular phrase is “no one is indispensable,” and that’s just as true for ideas or alliances that don’t work for CMLL. That bit didn’t work for CMLL.

There were other matches on this show! I think I’m the only person who liked Mascara Dorada/Titan as much as I did; it didn’t seem to be what anyone else wanted out of that match. Likewise, I thought Zeuxis/Willow was fine, but the consensus seems much lower. There was a spark that was missing. I’m having trouble making sense of Zeuxis’ post-match reaction; my (very wild) guess is they got cut on time since that was shorter than all the big matches, and she was unhappy about it. The all star trios was exactly what it should be. I was surprised Orange’s “you’re going to see different from me than in AEW” meant he was going to work rudo, but it worked very well for that match. Orange seemed as upset as everyone else at the main event, and I don’t know what he thinks about the experience, but he’s a guy who would work again in another match. The Flip/Rocky stuff was also very “not CMLL”, but Rocky has earned a lot more leeway (and there’s a fair case the element CMLL has been missing this year is the out-of-the-box stuff Romero did in 2023.) The Viajeros/Deperdadores was good for how long it lasted, but obviously not the match they’d have on any other show. The Chavez/Soberano vs Neon/Templario/Star match was superb, with everything hitting you want on a big show. I don’t want to dog AAA anymore here, but that match showed the difference between AAA and CMLL in 2024. CMLL can just throw six guys out there that they have no particular plans for on that show and have a great match, AAA has to specificy engineer circumstances to have a great match (and even that doesn’t always work for them.)

Hechicero’s left arm has a bicep tear – the one that was wrapped. The Gladaitores reported the other way, but it was late and it was the right arm from the way they were looking at him. I thought I had missed the injury, but it happened during the match and was dealt with quietly. He’s told people it happened on the Valiente armdrag. Hechicero showed the injury to Alexis Salazar at ringside before both the CMLL and the commission doctor checked on Hechicero off-camera and wrapped the arm. Hechicero said there was a hole in the muscle, and they’d have to do an MRI to figure out how bad it was. (The holiday weekend probably means that’s going to take longer than normal to schedule.) Hechicero is scheduled to wrestle Monday in Arena Mexico, but that seems unlikely.

In CMLL post-match promos

  • Euforia said he dreamed of having Hechicero’s mask in his hands, but it didn’t work out. He says his mask in good hands, but Euforia will continue.
  • Hechicero thanked everyone for their support, feel he proved he was meant for great things.
  • Chris Jericho really wanted to do his in Spanish, but he struggled a bit with remembering the words. He said he wanted to come back and now remembered how thin the air was in Mexico City.
  • Zeuxis said she lived up to her promise of bringing the belt back home and is ready to defend it anywhere in the world.

In the longer media interviews

  • Hechicero noted he hadn’t wrestled in Arena Mexico since August 11th, and on a Friday show since August 2nd, so he was a bit nervous and at a disadvantage. Hechicero noted that some people don’t like his style, and some of his fellow wrestlers don’t like it (think it is outdated), but the same style opened doors for him internationally this year. It’s been a great year for him internationally and he felt a need to do the same in his home arena. He was very happy with the fan reaction; the fans got into the match, and it didn’t matter their position. Hechicero explained that he had to think about a hold that would work against a wrestler Euforia’s size and strength. Hechicero says he tore his left bicep early in the match. There’s a hole in it, and he’s started crying a bit out of despair about his big chance ruined by injury. He just kept going. He notes the ring is one place where you’re free to express your emotions and everyone supports you for showing them. Hechicero says there were a lot of factors in making this match happen and believes the fan reaction to the Zack Sabre Jr. versus Hechicero, the crowd support he got on the day, was an essential factor. Hechicero noted that the object of matches and nights like this is to build loyalty to lucha libre, from new fans and from returning fans, and he feels they accomplished that goal. Hechicero praised Euforia. To move forward and advance, everyone has to have great rivals who will push them. Hechiero’s set on continuing the momentum from this win; he feels he didn’t do that with the heavyweight title but won’t let it again. Hopefully, the bicep injury won’t leave him out long.
  • Euforia says someone had to lose, he respects Hechicero, but this is not the outcome he wanted and not one he ever thought would happen. He’s hopeful he can turn being unmasked into a rebirth for him, and he’ll keep trying to get stronger. He’d been under that mask for 18 years, and a masked in general for 32 or 34 years. He doesn’t regret being in the match or staying in the match; Euforia said he was pretty sure that it would Hechicero would beat Valiente when those two were left in the ring and that was the match he wanted – he wanted to face Hechicero at the end because that was the personal issue and Hechicero was one he dreamed he was going to beat. Euforia is going to look for revenge and if he can’t get it against Hechiero, he’ll look for it against Esfinge or Valiente, he won’t forgot those issues. Euforia said that Soberano told him “tu un chingon, papa” when he consoled him after. Euforia did not want to cause controversy but believed main event wrestlers prove they’re main event wrestlers in whatever spot they’re booked, and the four in that mask match did that.

I barely check in on the Televisa airing of CMLL, but I can’t wait to check in next week on commentary Hechicero breaking down luchador Hechicero’s mask victory. I’d love to know how many viewers that show gets, though it’d be hard to know what it means without context.

I don’t think this bad night affects the entire AEW/CMLL relationship much. CMLL sold tickets to people who appeared there just to see the AEW people, and any wrestling promotion will keep going with a ticket selling ideas until the moment it stops selling tickets (and probably three moments beyond, just to be sure.) If you follow CMLL enough to be reading this blog regularly, you already know CMLL will imminently announce between 3-5 AEW wrestlers coming in for the Women’s Gran Prix at the end of October. (There’s a hint of one person already if you know where to look.) Will Ospreay probably turn up at some point, and likely others will.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Orange Cassidy again. This was a bad experience, but it doesn’t outweigh the very good experiences both sides had earlier this year, with matches like Bryan Danielson versus Chris Jericho. The Aniversario main event will instead directly affect the wrestlers involved. Chris Jericho talked a lot about wanting to have matches against a lot of CMLL’s top wrestlers, and that’s going to be a much harder sell after that match. This match will also fall on Mistico’s reputation, typecasting him further as a guy who can have really good matches with specific people in specific places. I’m sure both would like another chance to prove it was just a bad night, but I also doubt they’ll get it.

A relatively minor subplot was AEW’s Collision show airing a video package covering the CMLL Aniversario, showing the first fall finish and a voiceover talking about Chris Jericho defeating Mistico. The often ridiculed AEW social media team got blamed for making this mistake but appeared innocent – “Chris Jericho beat Mistico” was exactly how it appeared on TV, and the social media was just following that lead. That team reacted first, changing their social media posts. AEW posted on social media out a new video package on Sunday morning, instead noting that Jericho won the first fall and Mistico won the final two. AEW’s actions in this don’t affect CMLL at all – everyone who CMLL cares about knowing the results knows Mistico won. It is just AEW who is harmed and looks like goofs to the parts of their audience who know better. AEW also bills Mistico as forever undefeated, so they’re killing their own gimmick there. I know the leading theory is AEW was confused as to who won, but it is hard for me to accept that a half dozen people edited, produced and put that on the air without someone raising their hand and questioning the basic premise of Jericho beating Mistico. (But maybe that’s how we get to people thinking ending the biggest CMLL of the show with an AEW angle is a good idea, just living in an AEW-centric world.)

The CMLL YouTube stream played well. There were a couple of graphics issues and the audio always can be better, but the stream worked and there’s no reason to take that granted. I’m told the big illegal Facebook stream that peaked at 13K viewers (and then went down during the main event) also worked well.

Dralistico took advantage of the poor reaction to Jericho/Mistico to pitch a Mistico/Dralistico match on social media. I think that match would draw, I’m not sure if it would be good given the egos of the people involved, and I’m sure it ain’t happening. Dralistico is way out of the news in Mexico (and the US), so it was smart of him to find a way to get some attention.

Satanico praised Hechicero and Euforia for their performance.

Everything Else CMLL

CMLL (SAT) 09/14/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Grako b Sangre Imperial [lightningCMLL - ARENA COLISEO 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
8:13
2) Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio b Leono, Retro, Robin CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
15:20
3) La Catalina & Tabata b Amapola & Olympia CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
15:11
4) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus b Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
13:06
5) Dark Panther, Fugaz, Star Black b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
12:38
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. b Flip Gordon, Rocky Romero, Terrible [Relevos IncreíblesCMLL - ARENA COLISEO 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
11:54. Flip and Rocky had issues, cost each other the match, and teased a singles match afterwards.

Grako and Sangre Imperial are among the least impressive CMLL wrestlers, and they were surprised by a perfectly accepting lightning match. Everyone on this show was OK.

The Sunday show is a Monday show for this week only, with a 5 pm local start time. CMLL is intentionally obtuse about these holiday shows airing. It comes off as antagonistic to the people who are subscribing to their subscription service, though I believe the intention is to make sure everyone who might buy a ticket does that by making no promises of it airing. CMLL likely will not reveal the show airing until shortly before it starts. My guess is it’ll stream, but I also wouldn’t recommend you build your Monday around expecting to see it. If it doesn’t stream, matches will air on AMX on 09/20. The Mistico/Mascara Dorada match will likely air on the next MLW stream (09/28) as well.

Mistico won the MLW Opera Cup on Saturdays with wins over Bad Dude Tito and KENTA. Both were fun matches, nothing you have to see, but a breath of a fresh air after the show before. The Mistico/KENTA battle happened because the people who run MLW love 00s wrestling and those were the two big international junior heavyweight stars of the 00s. 2024 KENTA is nothing close to the KENTA of that era most nights, and this match was no different – but that was fine. It might have even been better that way. Mistico works best against someone playing a conventional rudo, and a lot of KENTA’s tricks and shortcuts boil down to typical rudo actions. (2024 KENTA is not Averno but their playbooks overlap a bit.) The fans seemed completely satisfied with both matches.

MLW will run Ultimo Guerrero versus Kojima for the MLW Championship on their 10/04 show in St. Petersburg, Flordia.  Kojima suggested the idea on the Friday press conference, Ultimo Guerrero (watching the stream) accepted, and UG won on Friday. This show will air on YouTube.

CMLL (TUE) 09/17/2024 Arena México
1) Acero vs Full Metal [lightning]
2) Eléctrico, Retro, Valiente Jr. vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) Hijo del Pantera, Pelon Encapuchado, Volcano vs Crixus, Magia Blanca, Okumura
4) Kira, Persephone, Tessa Blanchard vs Amapola, Sanely, Zeuxis [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Máscara Dorada, Neón, Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Rocky Romero, Zandokan Jr.
6) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs Atlantis Jr. & Star Jr. [CMLL TAG]
15th defense

That main should be great, and the semi-main might be pretty good as well if they’re up for it.

The 09/18 Lucha contra Hambre show appears to have been quietly canceled. Tickets are no longer available and people were told the show was off when asking why. I do not believe they’ve solved the hunger issues in Mexico so it must be another issue.

Televisa Puebla aired matches from 09/07

I was late at hitting the buttons to record MVS this weekend, so I don’t know what aired as the opener. It reads like the other person in the comments watching this show also didn’t get it; it was off on Sunday for holiday programming.

AAA

I didn’t get to watch AAA on Space this week. My recording of the Saturday night show failed (which happens a lot) and I wasn’t actively monitoring it to find an alternate source. Space repeats AAA on Sunday mornings and did again this week, but strangely repeated the last two TripleMania episodes rather than this week’s new episode. That Showcenter episode should air next Sunday and go up on YouTube later that night. I’ll catch it then. The matches that appeared to air, based on AAA’s social media, were all from the 09/01 taping:

  • Brillante RB vs Reykco vs Black Raven
  • Estrellato & Lider vs Epydemius & Sayrus
  • Dinamico, Drago, Laredo Kid vs Antifaz, El Mesias, Pierroth Jr.
  • A video aired with Cibernetico pledging his support to Latin Lover. This one looked like it was taped at the press conference to announce the next Monterrey show, rather than at Showcenter itself.

Can you imagine how bad an Alberto/Cibernetico title match would be? If it happens, Cuervo and Ozz will be the only ones taking bumps. Pierroth Jr. being officially added to Mesias’ group and Mesias adding another member on the next taping likely means Dark Espiritu also won’t be around much going forward, in addition to Dark Spiritu’s departure. That Secta split was just a colossal failure of an angle, everyone was less over than when it started, no good matches were had, no one drew any money, just a whiff when they would’ve been better off doing nothing. But, if they did nothing, the important people wouldn’t get to say ‘here, look at what I did’, so something had to be done.

El Lindaman, Octagon Jr., and Faby Apache take on Michiko, Chris Ridgeway and Sam Adonis on the 10/06 GLEAT show. Octagon Jr. talked to AS about working the recent ELITE shows, in part because they were so helpful in getting him to his current AAA spot.

The 09/14 EMW show, built around freelance AAA wrestlers but no longer AAA affiliated, drew what looks to be their worst crowd in a very long time.

Laredo Kid wrestled Jonathan Gresham on the Impact tapings this Saturday. I have not heard if it was an actual match or if it ended in two minutes.

IWRG

No show here Sunday for the same Independence Day reason. They’re running this evening.

IWRG (MON) 09/16/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Fauno, Kali, Rey Astaroth, Rey Halcón, Súper Boy, Tornado vs Drakula Ng, Felino Boy, Príncipe Centauro, Sacro, Shamila, Sky Man [Copa High Power]
2) Multifacetico Jr. © vs Cerebro Negro Jr. [IWRG IC WELTER]
3) Aquila, Luka, Spider Fly vs Abigor, Hysteriosis, Rock Power
4) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba vs Arez, Látigo, Toxin
5) Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool vs Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. and Medico Brujo, Ovett Jr., Sick Boy
6) DMT Azul, Hell Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Hijo del Fishman, Vangellys, Vengador

Lucha Libre Boom has also announced a show for the end of the month.

CMLL , LLB , IWRG (SUN) 09/29/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Fobia & Pitbull vs Ángel Kid & Titanium
2) Arashi, Argus, Máscara De Hierro vs Águila Dorada, Argus Fly, Gaius
3) Karma I, Príncipe Centauro, Willy Banderas vs Águila Oriental, Águila Roja, Multifacético
4) Carta Brava Jr. (LLB), Fandango, Fantasma de la Ópera vs Cíclope, El Mago, Miedo Extremo and Gallego, Rocky Santana, Romano García
5) La Catalina & Mary Caporal vs Persephone & Sagitarius
6) Hijo de Octagón & Octagón vs Blue Panther & Blue Panther Jr.

Other News

Zacatecas luchador Tormenta Roja (Santiago Cervantez) passed away Saturday night. He was stabbed twice at a residence during an argument. He looks to have wrestling since the 2010s, though lineups from Zacatecas are sparse. Big Bear Promotions mentioned he was working behind the scenes for them recently.

With TripleManias and Aniversarios passed, the next big show is El Hijo del Santo’s Mexico City retirement show, next Sunday in Arena Ciudad de Mexico. There’s a “buy 3, get 1” ticket sale going on for that show through tonight. El Hijo del Santo continued on a national media out to promote show; El Manana caught up with him in Monterrey to promote the show there on 10/13. He continues to hint heavily that his son will wrestle on that show. The article’s last section mentions El Hijo del Santo’s last match will take place on July 26, 2025. He’s done many of these interviews, so maybe I’ve missed it, but I haven’t seen him put a firm date on the end prior. The gimmick is that the July 26 date was the first El Santo match, and it’ll be the last El Hijo del Santo match (and seemingly the final match for anyone wearing the mask.)

Hijo del Fishman hypes up his feud with Mascara Sagrada to promote the Todo x el Todo.

El Paso Inc. has interviews with Cinta de Oro, Manny Hernandez of 915-616, and Michelle Delgado of “God fo the Ring” about the business of promoting shows in the city. All of them say the market is cooled, and they’re greatly supplemented by sponsors; Hernandez said he spends $15,000 per show of sponsor money to pay for talent, equipment, and logistics.

Segunda Caida reviews some 1993 Arena Coliseo Monterrey.

Aniversario 91, CMLL booking, Dark Scoria out of AAA, Sexy Star out of AAA?, Catalina

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 09/13/2024 Arena México
***CMLL 91st Aniversario***
1) Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
2) Neón, Star Jr., Templario vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.
3) Máscara Dorada vs Titán [Copa Independencia]
4) Willow Nightingale © vs Zeuxis [CMLL WOMEN]
first defense
5) Atlantis Jr., Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. vs Kojima, Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero
6) Hechicero vs EsfingeValienteEuforia [mask]
7) Chris Jericho vs Místico

I wrote a preview for this on Voices of Wrestling, and I’m talking more on their Flagship podcast this week. I wanted to try not to repeat myself but I think I could’ve done better at that. I’m also doing a recap of this show for Post Wrestling, which should go up on Saturday morning if I do my part. I’ll be back here Monday and turn into a puddle the rest of the week.

Jericho/Mistico should have a lot of crowd emotion, but those two working together in 2024 seem a bit of a challenge. Jericho’s coming off a run where most of his singles matches came in weapons matches, and that’ll be something different. Valiente remains the favorite to be unmasked tonight, though not as big a favorite as Dragon Rojo or Stuka in past years. If he is the final two, I’m hopeful he can pull out one big performance on the night. (Will we get one last Valiente Special?) Esfinge is the most likely winner, but the Hechicero and Euforia fit better with Valiente for a long singles match. Euforia versus Valiente would be the final with the most suspense on the outcome. How Orange Cassidy does in CMLL is the biggest question; he’s a guy who could end up getting very over and becoming a recurring character if it goes well enough (and if that’s what he wants to do.) Willow and Zeuxis seem motivated to have a great match, and the same can be said for Dorada & Titan. Time and a little bit of luck are the only questions there. The openers have all interesting people, and probably not enough space to go all out. The AEW fans are expecting something with Orange & Jericho here based on them feuding there, but I don’t know that it would mean much to CMLL fans. I’m more curious if CMLL does anything to build to upcoming tag title match coming of the match 2.

The two important reminders:

  • You must subscribe to Fan Leyenda tier to watch this show. You are out of luck on the other tiers, they never get this show.
  • The mask match doesn’t work like normal Mexican four ways. The first two beat are out of the match entirely, and it’s the two remaining (the two winners) who will face off to decide the mask match. The person unmasked will be the 2nd place finisher, not the 4th place.

CMLL held their now traditional Friday press conference with those in the top matches. It was effective if not revelatory. Zeuxis and Willow took a respectful tact. Rocky Romero did Rocky Romero things, and Orange Cassidy wants to do some lucha. Big Bill is seconding Mistico, so he’ll likely interfere in the match. Jericho seemed enthusiastic about doing more matches in CMLL, though I would guess CMLL’s getting this one a little cheaper than they might get the future ones – Jericho really just wants to main event this show. He and Mistico did some pushing and shoving, Mistico acknowledged the fan sentiment that the mask match should be last in saying that he has a responsibility to make sure people go home happy with the decision to end with himself and Jericho instead.

CMLL wrestlers appeared at the opening of new lucha libre art exhibit on Thursday. This came on Informa this week. The CMLL woman who handles outside relations for all sorts of projects seems like an intensely busy person with all the stuff she’s set up lately. There wasn’t much news on Informa beyond that – it was a lot of final interviews with Aniversario participants. They did an update on the voting for the Noche de Campeones, though voting is still open. I haven’t been keeping up with it, so I was surprised that Rayo Metalico was winning in his effort to face Futuro for the lightweight championship. CMLL hasn’t outright said when voting will end, but it’ll probably be next Wednesday.

Next Tuesday’s Arena Mexico lineup isn’t out yet (or I forgot to put it here.) CMLL did confirm the Hermano Chavez vs Atlatnis/Star tag title match is on.

CMLL (TUE) 09/17/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico vs Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
2) KeMalito, Micro Sagrado, Tengu vs Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas
3) Dark Magic, El Elemental, Yutani vs Arlequín, Leo, Omar Brunetti
4) La Catalina, Lluvia, Náutica vs Hera, Olympia, Valkiria
5) Fantástico, Fugaz, Star Black vs Espíritu Negro, Gallero, Halcón Negro Jr.
6) Brillante Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Titán vs Averno, Euforia, Mephisto

Nothing extraordinary beyond Elemental and Yutani’s monthly appearance.

The Queretaro foursome of Halcon Negro Jr, Angel Rebelde, Optimo and Trono are quietely split up. Optimo and Trono are going as Los Colosos del Ring.

CMLL AMX matches airing last night (taped 09/01)

La Catalina 

La Catalina was on the CMLL podcast. There’s typically a match announcement alongside these; Alexis Salazar told La Catalina she was in this year’s Gran Prix. Most of the podcast was on Catalina’s journey to CMLL, some stories she’s told in other outlets, all presented together here. Catalina adorded Barbie growing up, played some Barbie game a lot, it stopped working, and so she decided she’d play with her father’s Playstation 2 and try out the Smackdown vs Raw 2 game he had. She loaded up the character screen, saw a girl who was blond like Barbie and wore pink like Barbie (Trish Stratus), and then saw highlights of her slapping people around, and decided that’s what she wanted to do with her life. Catalina got into wrestling barely a teenager, and says it wasn’t a good scene at that time – barely any women, those who were there were mostly just valets, and the crowds were rough. (Catalina cites Alison Evans as one Chilean woman who was doing wrestling the way she wanted it to be; Evans did a tour of Mexico in 2011-12.) Her original trainer was a good wrestler who was terrible at teaching, and mostly just took her money. Catalina did enough to get on WWE’s radar when they were scouting through Latin America, and got invited to that 2017 tryout. She figured she was going up against some tough competition and needed to train hard for it, but her original trainer blew her off, telling Catalina would have no chance against the models they’d bring in. She ditched him, found other trainers, who really helped her. Catalina’s parents had always showed her the good parts of the world, and she learned about the bad parts of it through those wrestling experiences. Catalina was also going to university during this time, and her finals happened to fall on the same day as her finals. She talked to her teachers about cramming them in, barely slept that week, and did well at both school and the tryout. She nd did well enough at the tryout that William Regal told her they’d be signing her, even though she wasn’t quite 18. She signed when she was 18, and believes she’s the youngest signing in WWE history. Catalina says she’s tried to help the Chilean scene from afar and it’s better than when she was there. Her father got into wrestling to support her and stayed helped some of the Chilean promotions. It hasn’t always worked out – he brought them lights and audio equipment and it all got stolen. The wrestlers in the promotion were crushed, so Catalina returned to Chile, catered a show with seafood for all of them, then ran a training seminar and donated the proceeds back to the promotion. She talks with some of the trainers there now, passing along stuff she’s learned to help them, and she flet really great about a recent tournament for a national women’s title that had 15 women participating; that was unthinkable when she was there.

Getting a WWE deal was the dream, but it quickly turned bad. They had her spend the first month adapting to the US, but were frustrated with her by month two. She was in training class with a Mexican and two Brazilians, all of them kind of knew English but weren’t doing the drills right because they didn’t totally understand what the teachers were telling them. Catalina remembers getting called in on the weekend, which was very unusual, and told by Matt Bloom that her career was changing quick – she was going up to the main roster to accompany Sin Cara. Catalina felt she was unprepared; they had her practice with Zelina Vega a bunch before she wrestled, but she didn’t really know how to work towards the cameras, had little promo experience, and had no practice doing a live promo before they threw her out there. She had no real idea what she was supposed to say, just going with the idea it was supposed to be a more Mexican character. Catalina credits her great friend Raul Mendoza/Cruz del Toro for supporting her, calling her to calm her down and building her confidence before that match.

The biggest issue for Catalina was her weight. She came to WWE as a thin girl, and then started gaining weight on her lower half. She thought she looked physically awful in that TV debut, and she got lambasted by her fellow Chileans on social media for her physique. Part of the issue was she was signed when she was 18, and her body was still maturing. Part of it was she’s latina, and so she’s going to have a bigger butt and not be shaped like people in the US. Still, Catalina was dieting hard to try look better. Too hard – she believes the worst thing she did to herself was going on a diet of only lettuce and water, with absolutely no sugar. She was really struggling mentally at that point, while also trying to keep it quiet from her parents so they wouldn’t worry about their young adult daughter who was living on another continent. Catalina realizes now that if she had talked to her mother, it might have helped her figure out things. Catalina probably also would’ve realized issues quicker if she went to a doctor – but because health insurance is so expensive in the US, she kept avoiding and putting it off for a long time. She finally saw a gynecologist named Tara, and she the actual issue – Catalina had undiagnosed polycystic cists, and those had changed her body. Getting those addressed helped – though obviously it’s an issue she’s still dealing with this year, needing surgery after FantasticaMania Mexico.

Catalina did better physically after getting her issues diagnosed, but seems to have had lots of mental damage from the ordeal. It got worse during COVID lockdowns. She says she never wanted to go out, and her life was just going to three places: the WWE PC, the supermarket, and the doctor’s office. She had no motivation and felt totally isolated. She wanted to quit, but felt she couldn’t quit. She made some progress, got some matches on WWE, but was not into it. She cried when WWE told her she was fired, but they were tears of happiness that it was over. Catalina remembers it as happening the day after a month of taping, one her father had come to support her at. Catalina called him and told him the news when he was at a stop over in Texas on the way back to Chile and seemingly hoping he’d turn around and take her home right then. He said he could not return for a month, and she’d have to wait. Catalina immediately started selling everything in her apartment. The way she describes it, she was having a mental health crisis and expressing it by trying to get rid of everything from the US. Within two weeks, she had sold everything but her bathroom supplies and her cat, was sleeping on her floor, and was not doing well. Some Chilean friends found her, and took her in and took care of her last days in the US.

Catalina was done with wrestling when she returned to Chile. She saved up a money from her WWE time to pay for the rest of her university, so she was planning to get her degree and become a licensed physical trainer. Her father wouldn’t let Catalina give up on her dream, found out a promotion called Big Lucha had a couple of Chilean wrestlers, and encouraged her to give it a try. She went for three months, training quietely but not putting it out there on social media. Big Lucha invited her to wrestle, and she didn’t really feel it in the first match. Two things turned it around for her. One was making a couple of friends – Carito and another gay friend, she laughed about how they happened to be gay – who took her out sighting seeing and living life again. The other was wresting a second show for Big Lucha in Ecatepec,  where fans threw in a Dr. Simi doll (as they had done to popular concert artists) and supported her a lot – she realized these people really liked her, and this was what she wanted wrestling to be.

Three months turned into six months because Catalina was enjoying it a lot, but she had to go back to Chile. (She was probably on a six month visa.) Catalina says thet before she left, she talked to “another promotion” about coming in and may have visited their offices. She returned to Chile, told her family she wasn’t going ot be staying and was going back to live in Mexico, but had a change of mind of what she wanted to do. She didn’t want to be a “clown”, she didn’t want to do someone else’s role, she wanted to be a “respected professional wrestler” and decided to instead knock on CMLL’s door. CMLL already knew about her – she had quitely participated in an Ultimo Guerrero training class – and welcomed her to join. Catalina decided to ditch the mask – it was a Mexican thing and she wasn’t Chilean, it was from a bad period, she wanted to be herself, and she figured she’d get attention if she unmasked in her debut.

The podcast interviews goes a lot into her big wins in her year and a half in CMLL from there. She trained with Ultimo Guerrero and Virus, and now with notoriously strict Tony Salazar. They talk about Stephanie Vaquer and show highlights of her but don’t mention her name in talking about Vaquer & Catalina battling for the vacant title at last year’s Night of Champions. Catalina says they were great friends and expected Vaquer to get to the final but was surprised so many people were behind her despite being so new. Catalina says she knew Mexican wrestling just from what she had seen on TV, but didn’t really know Irma Gonzalez when the Copa Irma was announced, so she studied up a lot on her. Catalina cried in the ring after winning the Universal tournament later that year, says the photo taken of her “celebrating” was the most horrible picture of her ever, but she is really proud of the winning the match and having that belt. She’d like to keep having it after this year’s match. Catalina has always called herself La Diva del Ring but she wants to seen as a princess – she wants a sort of classy image. She mentions once wrestling in Coacalco, her butt was hanging out of her gear and she got all sorts of rude comments and decided that’s not the kind of wrestler she wants to be. Catalina wants to be the kind of luchadora that’s an aspirational figure and a role model to little girls, like Trish Stratus was to her. (They did meet when she was in WWE, and she also credits Rikishi for inspiring her running butt smash spot.) She plans on being in CMLL for a long time to come, and she wants to represent the company around the world – she wants to be the face of the CMLL women’s division.

Who Books CMLL?

I’ve written a lot about my confusion around CMLL current booking structure during the promotion’s improvement over the last couple of years. CMLL has billed Panico as the head of CMLL’s Programming Department continuously, while at the same time obvious changes have been made to the way CMLL programs their promotions. There are big picture changes, there are small touches that pre-COVID programming department would not have thought about, and there are changes in how the stories are told. “Panico” is the name I give to others when they ask who to vote for booker of the year, but that’s for the lack of a better understanding.

Rob brought up this issue on Twitter, speculating that I and he should do  podcast figuring out the history of the department while noting we should probably also ask SuperLuchas’ Ernesto Ocampo. Ocampo and co-host Milton Eloir did one better, just doing the podcast themselves to talk about the history of the EMLL/CMLL programming department. It’s a half hour, there’s a lot of history in there and some related stories. They get to the current booking situation at the end, and that’s the part I want to get here. It’s a touch complicated:

  • Panico doesn’t have anything to do with CMLL’s programming nowadays. It’s possible CMLL has a piece of paper saying Panico is the head of the Programming Department, but it’s not his actual job. He may be an advisor to the current team, but he’s not really that involved and he’s almost retired completely.
  • Jose Luis Feliciano runs the Programming Department, with referees Edgar Noriega and Terror Chino working for him.
  • Julio Cesar Rivera is a creative advisor to the programming department in addition to his role of CMLL Media Director. Ocampo believes Julio Cesar Rivera is the one who’s probably coming with most of the fresh ideas, and is the person who should be credited with booking the promotion in the way US fans thinks about that role.

This all seems plausible. It triggered a memory of a conversation I had with Dr. Lucha Steve Sims – an old one, given how long ago he’s moved on from lucha libre – where he mentioned Panico was considering moving on from the programming department to another (less stressful) job. Sims believed it would be related to managing the Arena Mexico concessions. Ocampo mentions retired luchador Skandalo – Panico’s son – who is running CMLL concessions now. Panico took over the merchandise department when CMLL decided to do that in-house. Ocampo mentions Panico is rarely at Arena Mexico due to issues with a hip injury from his years of wrestling and may retire soon.

CMLL’s used Jose Luis Feliciano as the face of the programming department when they’ve had wrestlers sign contracts for mask versus mask matches the last few years. That changed with this year’s Aniversario, where Salvador Lutteroth III appeared on Informa to preside over the contract signings. That’s the other part of it that doesn’t come up in the podcast; everything creative in CMLL runs through Julio Cesar Rivera’s CMLL Informa. He either knows all the creative plans, or he’s the one making most of the plans, and Ernesto Ocampo believes it’s the latter. Ocampo notes that the changes in CMLL’s creative style include a greater appreciation of CMLL’s history and a better awareness of international wrestling than the previous crew showed. Both traits fit Cesar Rivera, who wrote and edited lucha libre magazines before coming aboard to CMLL. Ocampo also reveals Cesar Rivera booked for the 90s Promo Azteca promotion for a time.

The roles in the creative field are in some ways flipped in CMLL from what might be done elsewhere. In the old WWE structure (and probably in AAA to this day), the primary department would be a creative team, and those people make the TV decisions. There would also be a lesser member of that team, or even someone in a different department, who would figure out the house show lineups based on those creative plans. CMLL’s programming department’s primary role is figuring out those event lineups – their work is more on crewing people for shows, both inside and outside of CMLL. The creative comes from elsewhere, including sometimes from the wrestlers shooting angles on their own in hopes the programming department will run with it. It’s how Jose Luis Feliciano can be the head of the programming department but not necessarily the creative lead. Ocampo is deeply skeptical of the Panico-led era of the programming department, noting how often they’d just repeat ideas from the past and how the wrestlers or other outsiders would actually come up with the big ideas. (He points to the Sagrado/Mistico characters as an example of a repeat and how it was Babe Richard who pushed for Astro Boy to get the Mistico spot as an idea coming from elsewhere.)

Ernesto Ocampo states Julio Cesar Rivera should be the CMLL name included in the Wrestling Observer Booker of the Year voting if a CMLL name is going to be included. He is careful to say he believes Cesar Rivera is the effective CMLL booker in the way sheet readers think of bookers based on the overwhelming evidence, not that he knows it for an absolute fact. It sounds good to me, though I also wouldn’t be surprised if there were some pushback on this idea during next week’s CMLL Informa.

In a side note, Erneseto Ocampo explains why there was no Villano V tribute moment last week: he sued CMLL after leaving the promotion, seemingly related to a labor issue. Ocampo says Villano V was on the “he’s not allowed in Arena Mexico” list before his death, and that’s why he wasn’t honored.

AAA

AAA airings:

  • Unimas: Part 2 of TripleMania Mexico City
  • Space: likely Part 1 of the August Showcenter (new)
  • YouTube: the missing matches from Verano de Escandalo

Dark Scoria is out of AAA. He explained the situation on Estrellas del Ring “Hablamos de Lucha” video podcast on Wednesday night. Scoria (who’s name has also always interchangably been spelled Escoria) says he didn’t like with the idea of splitting up La Secta, wasn’t happy with what AAA was doing with him after the split, and actually finished up back in Aguascalientes. Mesias said the mystery person he’s teaming with in Monterrey on 09/29 would be his new apostol, and I didn’t realize that meant someone was out of the group. Scoria says Dark Espiritu is semi-retired and Mesias is in and out of Mexico, so putting Scoria in a group with them was bad news for him. Scoria felt the idea of him, Cuervo and Ozz back together was getting over and didn’t like the idea of a split at all (and seems to credit both Latin and Konnan was the idea.) Scoria says he left in 2018 on bad terms and it was more peaceful this time. Scoria has built up his professional life outside of wrestling in the interveining years, so he doens’t need wrestling as much. AAA wished him well, and he was not under any contract.

Sexy Star may also be out of AAA. She posts a wrestling-typical vague post about the end of the chapter and knowing when to move on when you’re not unhappy, which always sounds like quitting a company. It especially sounds like quitting AAA after she was posted negatively about Latin Lover’s comments last week – but those are relationship words, and she could’ve also just been breaking up with someone for how unspecific it was. Sexy Star was reposting news reports on her stories that are saying this is her leaving AAA  – luchadors repost just about anything, but maybe she wouldn’t be reposting those if there weren’t anything to them. She flipped her account to private during the day as this story caught attention. You can still see her bio, and she seems to have removed AAA from there.

Meanwhile, Latin Lover is running Facebook angles where he will team up with Cibernetico to lead AAA against the eye guys.

Hijo del Vikingo teams with Soma Watanabe against Richochet and CIMA on GLEAT’s show on 10/06 in Oaxaca. It struck me how this is a main event big dream match, while Vikingo’s return seems to be in semi-mains or lower in Mexico starting next week. I’m not sure either side is doing it wrong for their business – if anything, the Mexican promotions seem to be running a more sensible businesses than GLEAT – but it does illustrate the difference betwen how Vikingo is percieved by promoters in Mexico and outside. Vikingo in Mexico is booked as a really good highflyer, but a star only a smidge bigger than the Octagon Jr.’s of the wrestlers – not as a former or current top guy. Elsehwere, he’s a unique once-in-the-lifetime amazing flyer who is a draw upon himself. I chart some of that onto how AAA’s booked him – him getting shrugged off by Alberto, or even going back to when he sat there while the Young Bucks goofed on him while pinning him for a long three count – but also a stronger bias among AAA fans that a wrestler has to be a true heavyweight (or an ex-WWE champion) to be a top guy, and Vikingo just not being big enough for them. CMLL fans don’t have an issue with Mascara Dorada in the same way, but then CMLL has never given Dorada a “heavyweight” title and that’s the crux of the issue.

El Planchitas has returned to Record in what seems like a regular column. His first edition is hinting around at the possiblity of AAA and WWE working together. There doesn’t appear to be any new information, it’s the same speculation I and others have had for months, though he stretche to present things like JBL and the ex-WWE interviewer showing up as proof they’re working together. WWE is working with TNA and NOAH, and so actual WWE (or NXT) wrestlers appear on those shows. It won’t be any secret when AAA itself if/when works with WWE, everyone would see the WWE people on the shows. There are no AAA people on the shows, just people who don’t work there any more. AAA’s clearly interesting in doing some deal and it hasn’t happened yet. One big difference between how people are percieved in Mexico and elsewhere is Planchitas sees Alberto del Patron as champion as a positive for a WWE relationship, while US sources have repeatedly reported how much WWE never wants to work with Alberto ever again.

Vampiro is doing a one-man show in Tijuana on 10/31 and Mexcali on 11/02, with the idea of touring through Mexico if successful. It’s being produced by comedian Franco Escamilla, who does a lot of touring shows himself. (You may remember Escamilla as the narrator of the Marvel Lucha Libre series on Disney.)

Slam Wrestling has an interview with Laredo Kid, from his media tour of San Antonio this week. TNA has a show tonight, sent Laredo around because he speaks Spanish but has not actually put him on this show so he had no match to promote.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 09/12/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Águila Roja b Puma de Oro
2) Hijo del Fishman b Tornado
3) Vangellys b Multifacetico Jr.
4) Hijo del Pirata Morgan b Aquiles
5) Hellboy & Hijo de Canis Lupus b Noisy Boy & Spider Fly
Spider Fly and Noisy Boy had issues, with Spider Fly saying it was only pay back for Noisy Boy costing him a previous match (which Noisy Boy still insists was someone else pretending to be Noisy Boy.)

Other Notes

Big Lucha says they’re no longer running an 09/14 show at the racetrack due to issues with the organizers. That seems like something that should’ve been figured out more than two days before.

The viral bit Facebook drama of the day is two old friends no longer being friends. Reina Dorada posted a supportive message about her trainer Mascara 2000, who has a hair match with El Oriental on Tuesday. Reina Dorada called him a good person. Stephanie Vaquer popped in the comments to question her calling someone who’s supported the lies of “a delinquent” (Cuatrero) a good person. Reina Dorada seems to have hidden that comment, though not from a billion screenshots. Before Stephanie Vaquer was a WWE signing, before she was even in CMLL, Reina Dorada and Stephanie Vaquer were an indie tag team act. (They were one specifically trying to play to male fans with kissing spots and offering a raffle for a date with the both of them; it’s an era wiped from history as Vaquer has changed her in-ring persona.) Vaquero & Dorada was still close last I knew – they posted a photo together when Dorada came to AEW – but Vaquer has drawn lines between people who support her and people who support the Reyes/Dinamita family, and Dorada posted her way to other side of that line.

Record had a story that Stephanie Vaquer would be coming to the US this week. They’ve been pretty plugged with Vaquer since the case with Cuatrero started, but I’m not sure that’s true since Vaquer was training at Arean Big Lucha on Thursday. The other thing that sticks out from that picture is the large black curtains. WWE uses similar curtains in their Performance Center when they’re preparing a special match and don’t want it to leak out to other wrestlers. Vaquer can’t wrestle in WWE, probably can’t even work out with other wrestlers in their PC until her work visa gets approved. I don’t know the Big Lucha gym set up well enough to know if that’s a usual thing, but that could be a convivent way to get Vaquer some practice time with whomever she’s working with in WWE whever that visa does get approved.

Estrellas del Ring has an interview with Wild Ram.

Atlantis/Star versus Chavez, holiday lineups, La Hiedra

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 09/09/2024 Arena Puebla [CMLL, El Sol del Puebla, Elineanoticas, Porra Fresa]
1) Prayer & Sombra Diabólika b Asturiano & Blue Shark
2) Inquisidor b Astro [lightning]
3) Espíritu Negro, Pelon Encapuchado, Stigma b Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero
4) Lluvia & Tessa Blanchard © b Persephone & Zeuxis [CMLL WOMEN TAG] Facebook video (posted by )
first defense
5) Atlantis, Flip Gordon, Volador Jr. DQ Ángel de Oro, Averno, Niebla Roja Facebook video (posted by )
Averno unmasked Atlantis for the DQ.
6) Euforia, Soberano Jr., Valiente b Esfinge, Hechicero, Último Guerrero [Relevos IncreíblesFacebook video (posted by )
Valiente pinned Hechicero after a mask pull (and after a series of fouls)

CMLL Twitter’s new favorite bit is to do a blur effect on the video when someone gets unmasked to obscure their face. I wonder if Averno can get a good singles match out of 2024 Atlantis.

CMLL (TUE) 09/10/2024 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser SportsThe Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan]
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito b Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico CMLL- MARTES 10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 - ARENA MÉXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Último Dragoncito y Fantasy (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
8:59
2) Astral, El Audaz, Valiente Jr. b Capitán Suicida, Diamond, Eléctrico CMLL | Valiente Jr., Astral y El Audaz derrotan a Capitán Suixida, Diamond y Eléctrico (posted by mluchatv) CMLL- MARTES 10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 - ARENA MÉXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Audaz, Astral y Valiente Jr Vs Capitán Suicida, Eléctrico y Diamond (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
17:36
3) Metálica, Reyna Isis, Sanely b Hera, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi [Relevos IncreíblesCMLL | Metálica, Sanely y Reyna Isis superan a Skady, Princesa Sugehit y Hera (posted by mluchatv) CMLL- MARTES 10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 - ARENA MÉXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL:Princesa Sugehit, Hera y Skady Vs Metálica, Reina Isis y Sanely (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
12:29.
4) Magia Blanca b Difunto [lightningCMLL | Difunto cae derrotado ante Magia Blanca en el match relámpago de la noche. (posted by mluchatv) CMLL- MARTES 10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 - ARENA MÉXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Difunto Vs Magia Blanca en match relámpago (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
8:28
5) Dragón Rojo Jr., Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. b Atlantis, Blue Panther, Flip Gordon CMLL | Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. y Dragón Rojo Jr. derrotan a Blue Panther, Flip Gordon y Atlantis (posted by mluchatv) CMLL- MARTES 10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 - ARENA MÉXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
14:21
6) Atlantis Jr., Neón, Star Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. CMLL | Star Jr., Atlantis Jr. y Neón vencen a Niebla Roja, Ángel de Oro y Soberano Jr. (posted by mluchatv) CMLL- MARTES 10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 - ARENA MÉXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Atlantis, Blue Panther y Flip Gordon Vs Gran Guerrero, Dragón Rojo Jr y Stuka Jr. (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
11:43. Star Jr. and Atlantis Jr. demanded a tag title match and got unmasked.

Match two was the lightweight sort of trying to have a go-go-go match and then seeing why some of them are stuck in second-match purgatory. Capitan Suicida probably takes risks that he should not be he’s still good and a cut ahead of the other five. Diamond had a Diamond moment. Magia Blanca slipped badly on a springboard; otherwise, the lightning match was good. The crowd got into the last couple of matches. I forgot that it was Mascara Dorada, not Atlantis Jr., as a world trios champion, so I missed that they were setting up a tag title match there.

CMLL (TUE) 09/10/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL, Fuego en el RIng, Mas Lucha]
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Cosmos, Último Ángel b Quka, Sangre Azul, Shezmu
Shezmu replaced Funebre (though CMLL still lists Funebre)
2) Draego, Makara, Persa b Cris Skin, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
4) Lluvia, Tabata, Tessa Blanchard b Olympia, Valkiria, Zeuxis
4) Barboza & Zandokan Jr. b Optimus & Trono
Trono was streteched out after a dive
5) Esfinge, Máscara Dorada, Místico, Star Black, Templario b Averno, Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto, Valiente [cibernetico]
Mistico defeated Averno for the win.

CMLL again didn’t tweet out video highlights of this show, which they usually do right off the unlisted CMLL stream. They must not even be streaming it at this point, just only putting it up as (copyright-safe) VOD later on. Arena Coliseo Guadalajara could simply stop doing the things that are causing issues, but the live experience matters more to them than the free stream on YouTube.

I’ve been wondering if Mistico might pop up in AEW tonight, but I haven’t heard any indication of it happening.

Arena Coliseo Guadalajara will host “Al Ring por Ellas y Ellos” on 09/29, a charity show they annually run 09/29. They’ve streamed that on their own YouTube channel in the past, but that’s gone. They did sneak a sponsored show up on the sponsor’s Facebook page this past year, but I wouldn’t count on seeing it again.

CMLL (SAT) 09/14/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Sangre Imperial vs Grako [lightning]
2) Leono, Retro, Robin vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) La Catalina & Tabata vs Amapola & Olympia
4) Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
5) Dark Panther, Fugaz, Star Black vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. vs Flip Gordon, Rocky Romero, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]

Aniversario and the day are a distance apart. Congrats to Rocky for picking up an extra match on his trip. I was going to say that Orange and Jericho have to get back to the US for Collision, but Collision is taped on Thursday this week.

CMLL (MON) 09/16/2024 Arena México
1) Angelito & Fantasy vs Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico
2) Capitán Suicida, El Audaz, Legendario vs Alom, Hunter, Infarto
3) Brillante Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
4) Magnus, Rugido, Vegas vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Difunto, Terrible
5) Hechicero vs EsfingeEuforiaValiente [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Místico © vs Máscara Dorada [MLW MIDDLE]

This Sunday show is moving to Monday due to the holiday. CMLL tends to stream major holiday shows, but they’ll unlikely announce it ahead of time. (Matches from the show will air on 09/27 otherwise.)

CMLL (MON) 09/16/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Astoreth & Lady Metal vs Enigmática & Lady Amazona
2) Arkalis, Rayo Metálico, Xelhua vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) La Catalina vs Reyna Isis [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Último Guerrero vs Averno, Hijo de Octagón, Octagón [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Rocky Romero, Templario, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

This is the regular Puebla show, though at the earlier holiday time of 5 pm.

Match five is a 2v2 match, but CMLL will wait for the outcome of the Aniversario match to set teams—it’ll probably be the final two against the two who got eliminated first, and they’re not telling you (or these guys) which is which right now.

CMLL is offering 50 tickets for a meet-and-greet with Chris Jericho and Mistico at 2,500 pesos (about 125 USD) per person. That seems like the most expensive meet-and-greet in Mexican wrestling history, but I really don’t know that area well. CMLL indicated they were almost sold out of tickets by Tuesday afternoon.

Box y Lucha 3260 has the Aniversario top matches.

Octagon says he’s a Shokotkan karate black belt, second dan. I have no understanding of karate; I don’t know if that’s believable or an old wrestler’s tale.

AAA

The viral moment of the week is a slap. Monday, La Hiedra posted a TikTok video of a fan walking to the ring and slapping Hiedra’s backside as she stood on the apron. Hiedra retaliated by kicking at the fan, then dropping off the apron to slap the fan, and eventually got into a short fight with a woman the attacker was with. The rest of Las Toxicas de-escalated the situation. Hiedra explained she posted the clip because someone else had posted a video of the fight between the women, and she wanted to show what had led up to that.

That clip has gone viral because it’s pretty easy to trash the fan, and the fan should be trashed for their actions. I can’t figure out what match the clip is from – reports say it was a match in the US, I can’t find that match, but lucha libre posters for the US are harder to find than the Mexico ones. Las Toxicas are wearing their new gear from TripleMania Tijuana, so it must have been in the last few months.

Other Notes

Kuniaki Kobayashi (68) passed away Monday after a battle with cancer. He would’ve been 24 when he landed in Mexico, and he wrestled in both UWA and EMLL rings from 1980 to 1982. His wins include a triple hair match victory alongside Gran Hamada and Enrique Vera over Los Misionarios del Muerte in 1982, though the Misionarios won a rematch (with Kobayashi now teaming with George Takano and Hiro Saito.) The UWA pushed him as a near-top guy and a small show headliner; he had matches with Canek, Perro Aguayo and Villano III. Dr. Lucha’s column this week talks about meeting Kobayashi in 1981 and the freedom he felt living in Mexico after enduring the rigorous NJPW training.

The Villano V memorial mass took place Monday. Rokambole Jr. talked about his father’s final days with Estadio Deportes. He says Villano V’s health started to decline after his wife’s death, but he also had longer-term illnesses that he didn’t treat or didn’t follow the doctor’s instructions. Villano V suffered from Parkinson’s – his left hand shook a lot – and he believes it started after the Blue Panther match. (One of the moments of that match is Villano V hitting his head on a tope.) Villano V also had diabetes, though he didn’t tell his family. Rokambole Jr. had been living with his father for the last few months – they were both already living alone, and Rokambole suggested they live together in an apartment near the same building where Villano V Jr. lives. Rokambole Jr. remembers his father wore a distinctive cologne, so much so that they could smell him coming before seeing him, and that smell is part of his memories now.

Rey Mysterio Jr. was Latin Lover’s guest on his podcast this week, The much discussed bit from the match was Mysterio talking about the death of Perro Aguayo Jr. Mysterio said he was more depressed about having to tell Aguayo’s family what happened than about being accused as the one who caused it. Mysterio also says he was always planning on going back to WWE and believes he would’ve taken Aguayo with him. It’s a nice thought, though there was little chance WWE would have the vision to sign Perro Aguayo Jr. for a deal that would be worth his while, it was a few years between Aguayo’s death and Mysterio returning to WWE. If I had to guess, I figure Aguayo would’ve first followed Mysterio to Lucha Underground and then got caught in their one-sided contracts for many years.

Mr. Aguila responded to this Latin Lover podcast on Twitter, saying that neither Latin Lover nor Rey Mysterio Jr. knew what Perro Aguayo Jr. was going through before his death, and only his best friends knew the truth of what happened. There have been theories that Aguayo was aware of pre-existing health issues that factored in his in-ring death, but no one’s ever come forward to confirm them. Mr. Aguayo is also notoriously a weird Facebook guy, sometimes lovably so, and could just be saying stuff. He’s been posting videos about how Latin Lover doesn’t understand real hard work for the day or so after.

Promotion Legend (obviously) runs a lot of legend shows and the occasional fan fest. Those convention occasions haven’t ever really taken hold in Mexico as in the US. I think that’s why older wrestlers still keep taking wrestling bookings; there’s not enough of an autograph circuit to make money only that way. Legend seems to do these annually, and they’ll have one billed as a UWA reunion on the afternoon of 09/14, the day after the Aniversario. Canek, Dos Caras, el Halcon, Irma Agular, Super Pinocho, Rmabo, Sismo, and Mano Negra are billed as appearing.

Hidalgo University’s UAHG Gazette September issue is all about lucha libre. The big piece is a solid history of Mexican wrestling. There are also stories about the rise/fall of lucha libre films, the history of lucha libre posters (and the special font those posters used), bisexual luchador Medusa, mask maker/luchadora Casandra, and the lack of luchadors labor’s rights.

ELITE said they drew “nearly 1,000 people” to their shows over the weekend, though it’s unclear if they mean the total over the two shows or each. (500 each night seems more likely.)

An interview with Sangre Azteca & Huitzil.

El Sol de San Luis has an interview with Trebol Negro Jr.

some CMLL matches you could watch before watching the 91st CMLL Aniversario

CMLL’s Aniversario takes place Friday. Some of you may be subscribing to the CMLL YouTube channel, and want to catch up on matches leading to the big show. Others may have drifted in and out and needed a refresher on the deal with the announced lineup. The good news is there really isn’t much you have to watch to get caught up. Only two of the seven were built on matches that happened. The rest are just CMLL putting some names together by fiat or running angles that didn’t involve a match. There’s not a lot of essential viewing, as common with a CMLL big show.

As requested by a reader, I’ve thrown together a list of the few essential matches worth watching. Also, so this post wouldn’t just be five matches long, I threw in a bunch of matches if you want to get a sense of what the other wrestlers have been up to lately. This is absolutely not a list of Every Good Match in CMLL; there’s been stuff like the Gran Prix and the Depredador cibernetico that are good which just didn’t fit.

I’ve broken it down match by match on the Aniversario. If you just have time for one show, the 07/26 CMLL card has the main feud and many of the other major players. I might argue that other shows are better, but that’ll cover enough of what you need to cover.

Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido

Required Viewing

  • nothing! This is a match announced with no build. Both teams are regular units, but there’s no feud here – CMLL just thinks this will be a good match.

Related viewing

Neón, Star Jr., Templario vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.

Required Viewing

  • nothing! This is a “get everyone on the show” match.

Related Viewing

Máscara Dorada vs Titán in the Copa Independencia final

Required Viewing

Related Viewing

Willow Nightingale © vs Zeuxis for the CMLL Women’s Championship

Required Viewing

  • Nothing! CMLL just announced the match (and also asked AEW not to change the title on their PPV)

Related Viewing

Atlantis Jr., Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. vs Kojima, Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero

Required Viewing

  • Nothing. The idea is this is a cross-promotional match with people you’d never expect to see.

Related Viewing

Hechicero vs Esfinge vs Valiente vs Euforia [mask]

Required viewing

Related viewing:

Chris Jericho versus Mistico

Required viewing

Related viewing

  • Both Jericho and Mistico appeared on CMLL Informa to hype this, but you don’t have to watch it
  • Fun Mistico matches appear in previous match previews.

Titan advances in Copa Independencia, final Aniversario lineup (and card order), Zeuxis

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 09/06/2024 Arena México [CMLLExcelsiorKaiser SportsTelediaroThe Gladiatores (text)The Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan]
1) Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider b Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma, Xelhua CMLL -RAIDER - DARK MAGIC - ESPANTO JR. VS STIGMA - GUERRERO MAYA JR. - XELHUA/ARENA MÉXICO/06-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: La Nueva Ola Negra (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
8:31. Raider’s first match as an official part of Ola Negra
2) Reyna Isis, Sanely, Zeuxis b Hera, La Catalina, Tessa Blanchard [Relevos IncreíblesAmazonas CMLL: La Catalina, Tessa Blanchard y Hera (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - SANELY - REYNA ISIS - ZEUXIS VS HERA - LA CATALINA - TESSA BLANCHARD /ARENA MÉXICO/06-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Sanely, Reyna Isis y Zeuxis derrotan a La Catalina, Hera y Tessa Blanchard (posted by mluchatv)
12:03.
3) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero CMLL | Volador Jr., Máscara Dorada y Atlantis Jr. vencen a Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr y Último Guerrero (posted by mluchatv) CMLL-STUKA-GRAN GUERRERO-ÚLTIMO GUERRERO VS MÁSCARA DORADA-ATLANTIS JR.-VOLADOR/A. MÉXICO/06-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Atlantis Jr, Volador Jr y Máscara Dorada (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
13:24.
4) Templario TLDRAW Soberano Jr. [lightningCMLL - MATCH RELÁMPAGO / SOBERANO JR. VS TEMPLARIO / 06-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Soberano Jr. y Templario empatan en match Relámpago (posted by mluchatv) Match relámpago del CMLL: Soberano Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
10:00. It was technically a time-limit draw, but Soberano was stretched off following the last move of the match, so he would’ve been done regardless.
5) Titán b AvernoStar Jr.Hijo del Villano IIIDulce GardeniaZandokanDark PantherCrixus [Copa Independencia, semifinalCMLL - 2a. FASE TORNEO COPA INDEPENDENCIA / ARENA MÉXICO / 06-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Titán vence a Averno y va por la Copa Independencia en el 91 Aniversario CMLL (posted by mluchatv) Último boleto para el 91 aniversario en la segunda fase de la Copa Independencia 2024 del CMLL (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
Eliminations: Hijo del Villano III (via Zandokan, 8:02), Dulce Garcenia (via Dark Panther, 9:38), Crixus (via Star Jr., 13:20), Zandokan Jr. (via Titan, 15:54), Star Jr. (via Titan, 21:14), Dark Panther (via Averno, 21:14), Averno (via Titan, 32:54), leaving Titan as the winner. He faces Mascara Dorada next week. Averno was stretchered out after taking the double stomp in the back.

Very early in Titan’s career, he had a series of matches with Averno. They were outstanding matches and also really seemed to help push Titan into becoming a well-rounded wrestler. (Here’s one.) CMLL gave us a glimpse of that old rivalry more than a decade later, with those two going over eleven minutes as the final two. Last week’s cibernetico was stronger up front than this one, but Averno & Titan had Mascara Dorada & Templario beat in the drama to decide the winner. It helped a lot that, like this week, there was true uncertainty over who would advance and big stakes in getting that win; these have been uncommon CMLL tournaments in that way. Dark Panther went farther than most expected, but it really just was a product of a big gap between the three people who most saw as having a chance of having an Aniversario singles match (Averno, Titan, and Star Jr.) and five people who could’ve replaced by any other five midcarders who didn’t make the tournament cut. Someone had to finish fourth.

Soberano Jr. versus Templario was very good but one not even close to being done in ten minutes; CMLL’s booking a lot of these. Averno’s “injury” in the main event seemed like selling the finish. Soberano seemed more legitimately hurt. Soberano wrestle without issue the next day. CMLL stretchers people out all the time, and you have to lean towards it being nothing because it is most of the time.

Guerreros/Tecnicos was a very professional tercera, though it wasn’t the best possible match they could do. The women’s match was alright. (I have no memories of it a couple of days later.) Raider got the big win in his first match with Ola Negra. He’s a fitting replacement for Akuma, in that it’s clear he also should be doing something more useful than hanging out with Espanto Jr. & Dark Magic.

CMLL (SAT) 09/07/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) KeMalito & Micro Sagrado b Chamuel & Tengu CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
9:38
2) Amapola, Candela, Olympia b La Vaquerita, Maligna, Tabata CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
15:12
3) Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star b Okumura, Sagrado, Vegas CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
11:52
4) Kráneo, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero b Blue Panther Jr., Hijo de Blue Panther, Volcano CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
17:23. Blue Panther Jr. replaced (?) Blue Panther on Friday.
5) Templario b Dragón Rojo Jr. [lightningCMLL - ARENA COLISEO 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
7:42.
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Neón b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
18:50

I had no great expectations for this show, after seeing a lot of wrestling over the weekend. It turned out to be a worthwhile watch. Matches 2, 3, and 5 were all good, and all seemed like wrestlers had planned on putting together a specific match rather than just winging it. (Matches 4 and 6 were winging it.) Templarioa and Dragon Rojo went fast and hard, very specifically playing off last year’s mask match. The women’s match especially felt like a Friday one, clearly having been worked out move for move and maybe even practiced one or twice prior. It came together; Candela continues to show promise in her scattered appearances. Los Viajeros del Espacio better have cool outfits on Friday, it is a big part of their gimmick to do so.

It looked like a good turnout on Saturday too.

CMLL (SUN) 09/08/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Leono & Retro b Enfermero Jr. & Sangre Imperial
2) Astral, El Audaz, Valiente Jr. b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) Hijo de Stuka Jr. b Hijo del Pantera [lightning]
8:10.
4) Akuma, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II b Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero
The Gemelos did some light cheating to help set up Akuma’s win.
5) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido, Vegas b Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther
second time Los Depredadores have defeated all four Panthers, and they didn’t even have Volador this time.
6) Atlantis, Flip Gordon, Místico b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
Atlantis & Flip replaced Mascara Dorada & Titan on Friday.

The Depreadores played up being 2-0 against the Panthers, so that could be going somewhere. Magnus also demanded Blue Panther find a grandson or nephew or another son so they could have a 5v5 match with Volador.

CMLL (TUE) 09/10/2024 Arena México
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico
2) Astral, El Audaz, Valiente Jr. vs Capitán Suicida, Diamond, Eléctrico
3) Hera, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi vs Metálica, Reyna Isis, Sanely [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Magia Blanca vs Difunto [lightning]
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Flip Gordon vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr.
6) Atlantis Jr., Neón, Star Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.

The main event is this non-title, but they’ll likely be back with a trios title match on 09/17. Soberano seems to have settled in as a trios partner for Hermanos Chavez; CMLL’s booking those three together a lot. Match five is a bunch of people bummed not to be booked on Friday. Difunto has been on a roll lately.

CMLL announced the final undercard match on Saturday afternoon; it’s about the names you’d expect:

CMLL (FRI) 09/13/2024 Arena México
***CMLL 91st Aniversario***
1) Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
2) Neón, Star Jr., Templario vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.
3) Máscara Dorada vs Titán [Copa Independencia]
4) Willow Nightingale © vs Zeuxis [CMLL WOMEN]
first defense
5) Atlantis Jr., Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. vs Kojima, Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero
6) Hechicero vs Esfinge vs Valiente vs Euforia [mask]
7) Chris Jericho vs Místico

That is the final match order. Either of the last two matches would’ve worked as the main event, and CMLL is saying they believe Chris Jericho’s return is the biggest possible thing on the show. This will be a controversial decision; the diehard CMLL social media posters loudly complain about the men in the mask match being disrespected by going second to last. CMLL must feel putting Jericho and Mistico last ensures the more casual fans don’t leave early. I figured there would be push back about this decision when the card order got announced and it’s been a bit louder than I expected; it may be a story to watch the rest of the week.

I’m a bit surprised Willow and Zeuxis are following Dorada/Titan; Willow is drawing the short straw this week. Everything else is where I’d expect it. Match two is the final match added, which meant names like Barbaro Cavernario, Atlantis, Blue Panther, Stuka Jr., Gran Guerrero, Flip Gordon, Dragon Rojo Jr., Averno, Terrible, Mephisto, every CMLL mini, and every CMLL woman not named Zeuxis will not appear on the show.

Okumura wrestles Adam Priest on the Saturday’s MLW show. That show, which will have the semifinal and final of the Opera Cup with Mistico, looks to air free on YouTube again. Mistico’s schedule is already pretty packed this week and I wonder if he’ll end up going to Lexington, Kentucky this Wednesday for AEW Dynamite; running something to build up Friday in AEW seems like the preferred Jericho play.

India Sioux and Candela are off the 09/28 LLMX show in Mexico City’s Gym Micktlan. The press release brings up both of them being on CMLL’s roster. It’s not especially clear to me if this is CMLL not wanting them to work with someone on that show, or if they’re actually booked by CMLL on that day. That press release lists Bengalee as the booker for at least that show.

Zeuxis on the CMLL podcast

I haven’t been watching/listening to the CMLL podcast much since it went up, but the trailer for this past week’s Zeuxis interview grabbed me – it ended with her saying she’d reveal why she left CMLL in 2018. I still didn’t truly believe she’d give an honest reason. CMLL people tend to be tight-lipped about these things, but at least the spin would be interesting. I was hoping I could get at least one paragraph out of it. If you weren’t around in 2018, Zeuxis was coming off winning Princesa Sugehit’s mask in 2017 but also appeared visibly unhappy during her matches in the months that followed. Princesa Sugehit got pushed harder than Zeuxis following that mask match, and I guess that was part of the issue. Zeuxis left CMLL, worked one taping in AAA, it didn’t go well, and she floated around doing occasional indies (and one additional AAA date) until returning in 2023.

Zeuxis gave a genuine reason why she left. She said she was having issues with a specific luchadora, who was using her political power to ensure Zeuxis would never surpass her. The situation became so bad that Zexuis no longer enjoyed working at CMLL; it affected her work, and she felt her declining work was disrespectful to the people. She eventually went to then CMLL boss Paco Alonso, explained her issues with the other wrestler and asked to leave for a year to refine her passion. Paco Alonso agreed, but Zeuxis didn’t believe she ever really was coming back, and that’s why she broke CMLL rules (worked for AAA.) therapist. She also started seeing a therapist herself, which she believes has helped her and believes is as vital to a person as eating. Zeuxis’ story on her return feels like it’s missing a piece: she says she cried when she got told she could return but then says she called the office four or five times as soon as she heard (some) news. She explained her situation to then-boss Salvador Lutteroth, talked about the person who had caused her to leave, and mentioned that other women had felt the same about that person but feared speaking up at risk of their jobs. Lutteroth agreed to bring Zeuxis back.

It is glaringly apparent Zeuxis is talking about Dalys, even if she purposefully avoids mentioning any identifying details. Dalys was in the midst of her long world champion reign when Zeuxis left, and Zeuxis often teamed with Dalys in her final days as her sort of junior partner. Dalys had that power because CMLL didn’t want to offer her husband Negro Casas, and it was apparent she used that power. I didn’t pick up that it was specifically Dalys who caused Zeuxis’ problems, but it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. Zeuxis figured she’d never return to CMLL because Dalys would be there forever. She was shocked as the rest of us when Dalys and Negro Casas jumped to AAA but also immediately realized CMLL’s locker room became a lot less toxic – that’s where “calling the office four or five times” came in. It’s a strange sequence of events, but CMLL deciding to stop booking Negro Casas on Fridays and Psycho Clown convincing his father-in-law to jump to AAA led to CMLL’s women’s division getting a lot better. Dalys appeared to be bad news, observed from the outside, but it’s another level to get people inside to confirm it. (Of note, none of this story seemed surprising or unbelievable to host Alexis Salazar.)

There’s a lot more in that podcast, more than I expected. Stephanie Vaquer is also never mentioned by name – she only shows up a clip of the tag title match – but she’s still talked about. Zeuxis used a common CMLL phrase – “no one is indispensable” in regards to her departure from CMLL. She brings it back up herself later, noting she’d recently used it to the media about someone who had left CMLL, and fans had taken it as an insult or a jab. She says she didn’t mean it that way; it’s just a reality of the situation and the reality of the situation when she left, too. CMLL found other people and just moved on all the same. CMLL people are indispensable as long as they’re not a problem, but CMLL has rules and a very good school from where they can always replace anyone who leaves. All the wrestlers just have to keep it in mind.

In the middle of the podcast, Alexis Salazar broke the news to Zeuxis that she was on the Aniversario show challenging Willow for the title. I’ve been quietly told that at least some of the “surprise’ announcements on CMLL Informa are pre-announced to the wrestlers to prepare their reactions better. Zeuxis seemed genuine and surprised by this match announcement. On the other hand, CMLL’s been choosing the guests for this podcast based on having a big match for them, so why did Zeuxis think she was on the podcast this week? They’re ten episodes in, and the guest is always about to be in the news that week.

Zexuis mentions she enjoyed learning about different wrestling, whether it’s her tours in Japan or wrestling Americans in their style. Host Alexis Salazar mentions that when CMLL brought in Lady Frost in 2022, Zeuxis saw her performance and complained to Alexis about CMLL not bringing in women like that when she worked for the company. Zeuxis would like to see more women from AEW in CMLL, both for the different styles and so the Mexican women can show what they can do against outsiders with a different audience. Zeuxis praises Toni Storm, Hikrau Shida, and Deonna Purrazzo in particular. The Dark Angel/Marcela championship match got Zeuxis into lucha libre, and her favorite international wrestler is Manami Toyota. She was amazed at what Toyota was still doing at her older age.

Fun fact: Lluvia and Zeuxis made their official debuts on the same show—in a women’s prison. It’s Mexican wrestling.

(One thing bugs me about this podcast. Someone goes through the effort of pulling clips from all the different matches that come up on the show. A few look like ringside video footage Alexis took while covering the show, but most seem to come from TV footage. Why not just post the matches and put together a playlist for subscribers? Most of the hard work in finding the matches in the first place, you might as well get something extra out of them.)

CMLL videos recently posted onto DailyMotion

MVS had an unaired Sunday match from 09/07

Televisa Puebla aired matches from 09/02

AAA

The Hugo/JBL interview from TripleMania aired this week on Space. Hugo mentioned this as the last thing he had done for AAA, which makes it all the funnier that JBL started the interview by promising Hugo that he wouldn’t be fired. Two days later, Hugo was cut loose. Hugo didn’t seem to know at the time that was the end for him, but I’m sure someone had an idea when they put that line on the air.

JBL – referred to by his WWE names throughout – explained he came to AAA to support Nemeth and was invited by Konnan and Dorian Roldan. The big idea is he was so impressed by the Nemeth/Alberto title match that he saw AAA as an intelligent investment and suggested hinted at buying the company soon. Despite that, JBL thought Alberto, Nic Nemeth, and Jeff Jarrett were the only good wrestlers in AAA. (He doesn’t seem like an intelligent investor if he doesn’t know two of those guys don’t work for the company.) JBL said all the other Mexicans are snowflakes, are worthless, and none of them are draws. It’s an interview where it’s clear AAA has no idea what they were doing in this story; nothing was set up, but they wanted to put something out on social media to get heat out of JBL burying the AAA roster.  You can tell Konnan helped script, because “snowflake” is a crutch phrase of his. No one caught him referring to Dorian Roldan as “Darrin”, or perhaps he thought the husband from the 1964 sitcom Bewitched runs Lucha Libre AAA.

An AAA show in Toluca this weekend was said to be a sell out. That’s one city that was really strong for AAA for years,

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 09/08/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Vanilla Vargas b ShamilaDemonioPrincesa Azul LUCHA LIBRE - IWRG TRIANGULAR DE PAREJAS DE ALTO IMPACTO (posted by IWRG tv)
2) Lobito & Tornado b Alan Extreme & Príncipe Centauro LUCHA LIBRE - IWRG TRIANGULAR DE PAREJAS DE ALTO IMPACTO (posted by IWRG tv)
3) Cerebro Negro Jr. b Multifacetico Jr. LUCHA LIBRE - IWRG TRIANGULAR DE PAREJAS DE ALTO IMPACTO (posted by IWRG tv)
win via unseen foul
4) Águila Roja, Hysteriosis, Rock Power b Arashi, Spider Fly, Willy Banderas LUCHA LIBRE - IWRG TRIANGULAR DE PAREJAS DE ALTO IMPACTO (posted by IWRG tv)
5) Aquiles, Luka, Veneno b Abigor, Rey Espectro, Rey Halcón LUCHA LIBRE - IWRG TRIANGULAR DE PAREJAS DE ALTO IMPACTO (posted by IWRG tv)
6) Vangellys & Vengador b Hellboy & Hijo de Canis Lupus and Látigo & Toxin LUCHA LIBRE - IWRG TRIANGULAR DE PAREJAS DE ALTO IMPACTO (posted by IWRG tv)
challenges followed

IWRG doesn’t post results now; they post videos of the matches’ finishes on Instagram and Facebook. They posted the finish of the opener, where both people blew the move and nearly got seriously hurt. Someone must’ve smarted up the social media team a few hours later, and they went back and deleted everything.

Thursday’s show has only random matches announced.

Other News

Friday’s The Crash show is hardly worth mentioning, or if I mentioned, it would just sort of bury it. They’ve given up on uploading these shows again, they put Mustafa Ali over in the main event though I suspect he’s not coming back there ever again, they did a DQ finish in a casket match, none of this matters. Attendance was pretty good, maybe short of a sell-out, but close to 90%. Besides Ali, Riddle and Elijah (Elias) were the big ex-WWE names.

There was a current WWE name on The Crash show, too. WWE’s Jayden Carter, who long ago was part of La Rebelion in the Crash as Lacey Lane, sat front row in a seat marked “special guest.” She got physically involved in that casket match between old Rebelion members Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf. Carter slapped Mecha Wolf and threw a drink in his face. It’s rare for active WWE people to get involved in non-WWE shows. I don’t think this is a TNA partnership deal (or even the deal AAA would like to have), but I would bet Carter/Lane figured no one in WWE pays attention to Tijuana wrestling or would mind her limited cameo. Mecha Wolf is probably particularly low on WWE’s list of people they’d go out of their way to help after an incident with a suspicious knee injury on a long-ago episode of 205 Live. That incident happened in a match with Mustafa Ali, who later buried Mecha Wolf on Twitter. I suspect this The Crash show is one of the first shows they’ve worked on since then. Maybe they had a chat.

(This is not meant to be a dig on those guys, but it sticks out to me that AAA spent matches on two TripleManias trying to get over a feud between Bestia/Mecha Wolf. Neither are around AAA TV more so there’s no benefit there and, and they’re teaming up next Monday in Arena Lopez Mateos so it’s not like it got over elsewhere. The feud still seems over in Tijuana, but AAA failed to get anyone to care, or at least anyone who books them on shows. They’ll probably do a breakup angle anyway. That match also used to have Komander and now has Hijo de Canis Lupus in that spot.)

The 09/14 Big Lucha show at the Mexico City race track seems to include almost no Big Lucha wrestlers. Some may be masquerading under the SpeedFest themed gimmicks but it’s also feels like their guys are actually working elsehwere.

“I recognize that when my physical abilities are not 100%, I will decide to retire”, said 57-year-old Xalapa luchador Eslabon Perdido. He doesn’t seem himself not being 100% anytime soon, saying he could wrestle between two and four more years.

Segunda Caida watches some IWRG Retro.

La Masa and Vicente Viloni of 100% lucha are reuniting in a streaming show.

There’s a new lucha libre art exhibit in Queretaro.

Copa Independencia, India Sioux returns to CMLL, Latin Lover, Laredo Kid

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 09/06/2024 Arena México
1) Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma, Xelhua vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
2) Hera, La Catalina, Tessa Blanchard vs Reyna Isis, Sanely, Zeuxis [Relevos Increíbles]
3) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
4) Templario vs Soberano Jr. [lightning]
5) Titán vs AvernoStar Jr.Hijo del Villano IIIDulce GardeniaZandokanDark PantherCrixus [Copa Independencia, semifinal]

The Copa Independencia doesn’t seem quite as strong this week, but the people who have little chance of winning are really good at getting crowd reactions. Templario/Soberano will be really good and I promise I’ll get over their failed partnership after it isn’t mentioned tonight. The tercera looks great. The women’s match is odd sides, and I’m not sure why they bothered given what’s booked next week. The opener is the “debut” of the new trio.

I think Titan is likely not winning tonight because he was a guest on CMLL Informa on Wednesday. This is a very dumb and particular take, borne out of watching an unhealthy amount of Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre content, but here I am and here is that take. The tell is Julio Cesar Rivera likes to have different guests each week and doesn’t like to have the same guest on back-to-back weeks. On some level, he is also part of the CMLL creative team; his CMLL Informa interviews push the feuds along, so he has to know where they’re going. Cesar Rivera’s pattern is to have tecnicos and rudos on to preview each block of the tournament, and he could’ve easily picked a Dark Panther (who was already at the arena doing press on Wednesday) or a Star Jr. if he already knew Titan would be on next Wednesday. “No repeat” is not an absolute rule. A few people have shown up back-to-back weeks, but it’s a rarity, enough that it should be considered a red flag against Titan’s chances tonight.

Hechicero hyped the Aniverasario match and said you can’t compare Mexican wrestling to US wrestling because they’re separate.

Zandokan is excited about his chances in Copa Independencia and says he learned much from losing to Averno.

Crixus says he doesn’t want to be seen as a one-dimensional heavyweight; he wants to prove he can fly and put on submissions as well. He’s also hoping that being a real heavyweight will give him a chance to represent CMLL in NJPW or elsewhere.

Willow Nightingale appeared on CMLL Informa to announce she’d appear on Aniversario. Much to my surprise, CMLL announced she’d defend the women’s championship on 09/13. She’ll face Zeuxis. The women’s title match, the Copa Independencia and Jericho/Mistico totals up to 3 singles matches on the show. CMLL ran three singles matches last year, which was very unusual, but one of them came out of a relevos suicidas. They had three singles matches book in 2020, but that was a Night of Champions deal. The last time CMLL had three singles matches booked on an real Aniversario was 1984. (They also sold out that year.) CMLL hasn’t explained what the seventh match will be, but it’s mostly likely a match including male wrestlers they’re holding back until after tonight’s show. That would mean Zeuxis will be the only women on the CMLL roster booked on their biggest show of the year.

The safe assumption was Willow Nightingale would lose the title to whoever she defended it against in Mexico first. A luchador would get a big win over a foreigner to restart the title after Vaquer’s departure. I don’t feel completely confident in Zeuxis winning, though. She’s not a safe former champion, she’s not someone who has been pushed hard on her own. (If you recall, the reason Zeuxis is CMLL at all is because Dalys jumped to AAA, they needed a new ruda partner for Vaquer, and so Zeuxis got to return.) I think Zeuxis would be a good champion, fans would respond positively, but I don’t feel as 100% safe in her winning as I would be for other names in this spot – I’m stuck on the idea of building Willow up for a bigger defeat down the line. I suppose that, if you really want to go galaxy brain on all of this, Zeuxis being champion would fit perfectly with Mercedes Mone come to Mexico in October, since they worked together before in AEW. Zeuxis could get the win back that may have been meant for Vaquer, if that was happening at all. I’ve now twisted myself into circles in this paragraph so I’ll just aburptly end it.

Zeuxis is on the CMLL podcast this week.

Chris Jericho also appeared on CMLL Informa, talking normally about his match with Mistico, returning to CMLL, wrestling in front of a full house. Jericho said he’d beat Mistico in first on Aniverasrio, then for his title, and then for his mask. None of that is happening. Without being rude, it seems like it would be overly challenging for 2024 Chris Jericho to make middleweight, but it is obviously not the plan.

Jericho was a little more convincing when he said he’d like to wrestle in CMLL more than once and against many different luchadors. Chris Jericho versus Kenny Omega was a big deal for NJPW. Mistico versus Chris Jericho won’t be quite as a big deal – I can explain the reasons another time – but it’ll still be a pretty bright spotlight. Jericho wrestled a few more times for NJPW after that, and I think you’d find most NJPW fans say they didn’t find those appearances quite as valuable. The goal there though was more business reasons, and Jericho having a match with the big four NJPW wrestlers of the time made some sense on that level. I think there’s some logic in Jericho remaining a draw for CMLL after his match with Mistico, but there are also limitations. NJPW runs big buildings with space to grow, CMLL is running a smaller big building and are already running up against the ceiling on a few of them. If CMLL cared about selling digital goods or physical merchandise, Jericho could help even beyond the tickets. CMLL doesn’t seem to be that concerned about that sort of stuff, so Jericho (and all of AEW wrestlers) possible effect is limited if CMLL continues to be strong otherwise. They’re the cherry on top.

CMLL announced Leyenda de Azul will return in November. I’m not sure why they announced that two months ahead of time, but I hope it helps you make any November plans.

Ola Negra officially announced Raider as the new member. He teams with Dark Magic and Espanto Jr. and repalces Akuma. Dark Magic and Espanto Jr. look really cool, and then have bad matches in the second and third spots on the card. Dark Magic seems as lost as the day he arrived, and Espanto Jr. is quick to anger and forget what he’s supposed to be doing. Akuma and Raider are the ones with potential. It was nice to see Akuma escape the team, but not as lovely to see Raider drawn in as his replacement.

The Guadalajara show went up on Thursday. CMLL hasn’t explained it, won’t explain it, but that just appears to be the new home for it now.

This week’s matches on AMX

Mascara Dorada and Titan will appear on RevPro’s Global Wars UK on 10/19 in the Doncaster Dome.

NJPW announced that the Super Junior Tag League will take place from October 24th to November 3rd, and the World Tag League will take place from November 19th to December 8th. Only Titan appeared in the Super Junior tag league last year, and Soberano Jr. and Atlantis Jr. wrestled in the World Tag League.

Atlantis Jr. participated in a government presentation to encourage children to read.

India Sioux is returning to CMLL

India Sioux will return to CMLL, starting on the 09/22 show. She’ll team with Skadi and Tessa Blanchard against Dark Silueta, Hera, and Reina Isis.  CMLL and Sioux referred to it as a full return. India Sioux is Hombre Bala Jr.’s sister, daughter of Hombre Bala, and a previous 70s India Sioux. Rey Bucanero is her cousin, and she’s often been wrestling along with a “Princesa Sioux”, billed as her niece. She started in 2004, first showing up in IWRG, then wrestling regularly in CMLL from 2004 to 2009 outside of missing a few months due to injury. Her last TV match was on “VEO”, and it’s been so long I can’t recall what VEO was. India Sioux basically retired in 2009; she wrestled here and there and a bunch in 2015, but she seemed like she was done, and maybe just sticking around for a mask loss.

India Sioux retired because she married Maximo, and they wanted to have kids. They did – a son and a daughter, I believe – and were a family for many years. In 2022, Record reported the Mexico State attorney’s office charged Maximo with domestic violence. The report mentions Maximo was drunk, the acts happened in front of their kids, and neighbors heard and called the police. India Sioux, in a since-removed Facebook post, said she was separating from Maximo and alleged Maximo was a drug addict and an alcoholic. Maximo, in an also deleted Facebook post, rejected that he was the bad guy in the situation (though he did not directly address the addiction charges.) The one thing they seemed to agree on was that they were done with each other.

It appears divorcing Maximo, as well as her kids getting a little older, got India Sioux back in the ring more often. She started wrestling about once a month even before the divorce, but upped it to about once a week last year. (I’ve got her at 42 announced matches so far this year.) Sioux has the history and the family in CMLL, so it is not out of character for Arena Mexico to bring her in. Still, when CMLL teased the return of a luchadora earlier in the day, India Sioux was not my guess. She wouldn’t have been a top 25 guess; it was 15 years ago when she was last around, and there were no hints of her returning.

2004 India Sioux was part of the Dark Angel + Amapola + Marcela restart of the CMLL women’s division. She was young, had a cute look, and that’s always enough to see some potential. That era was well before lightning matches, well before streaming, and well before the women were featured all that much. India Sioux did get one spotlight match, defeating Medussa in a mask versus mask match in Arena Coliseo. My recap from the time mentions I didn’t have high hopes for that match going in – I think Medusa, who isn’t the US woman, wasn’t much good at that point – and was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I’ve seen bits and pieces of India Sioux since she’s been wrestling – she was in the 2023 Torneo Supremo among other places – and she’s been fine though unremarkable. She still has tecnica qualities about her, and probably will get a good following upon her return. I would’ve liked to CMLL invest in a younger wrestler, but I will wait and see how this goes.

I thought CMLL “return of a luchadora” bit would refer to Marcela. She got hurt March 2023, missed most of the year after surgery, returned in December, suffered another leg injury in April, and hasn’t been mentioned much since. I expect we’ll get an update one way or another in October, but it’s concerning she’s been gone for so long again.

AAA

AAA says Unimas will air the last match of Vampiro and Copa Bardahl this week. AAA on Space will have the long-delayed part two of Verano de Escandalo. Who will earn a title shot to face Flammer at TripleMania three weeks ago? The answer will not surprise you.

Chik Torments joins Sexy Star as women are upset with Latin Lover over his comments that AAA women don’t train enough. Tormenta questions how Latin Lover even knows how much they train since they don’t all do it in the same place. She admits she’s always been chubby, but she’s never been limited in being strong and fit for wrestling, and a fitness model body doesn’t mean you’re a luchador. Latin Lover went with a “my words were repeated incorrectly and out of context, you’ll see I’m right if you understood what I said” reply in a reply on Instagram. It’s not going well for him right now.

Latin Lover made his comments about AAA women being out of shape and not training enough while announcing a women’s three-way match on the upcoming Monterrey taping. Latin Lover may know AAA’s roster but not other people – he didn’t have Julissa, Valentina, Masha or Natalia in mind when he opened his mouth. Dalys has her faults, but physical fitness is not her issue. That leaves the only other person in the match, La Hiedra. I watched the six way women’s match from Verano de Escandalo when it aired on Unimas this past week, and the editing of entrances on that show is AAA will air about five seconds of an entrance video and five seconds of the person walking to the ring. The La Hiedra shown in the (very dated) entrance video and the La Hiedra shown walking to the ring appear to be two different people. Her body has changed dramatically. Some people enjoy the newer version of La Hiedra. More power to them, but it’s also clear Latin Lover had La Hiedra on his mind when talking about luchadoras not training and not being in shape. I guess it is clear if you watch the whole press conference, it’s less clear if you see the clip that was cut out of it, and that’s likely how most people (including the other AAA women) are seeing it. Still, it is no big secret that was a shot at La Hiedra; the Facebook meme people have gotten the message for sure. Hiedra has not addressed anything about this topic outside of posting a supportive photo of Chik Tormenta, but she’s now Mexican wrestling Facebook’s top target for memes. Latin Lover is correct about La Hiedra’s fitness, but Latin Lover has also incited fans to harass her now about it because his mouth moved quicker than his brain. If Latin Lover’s actual goal was to get La Hiedra training more regularly, antagonizing other people who work for AAA was probably not the most effective way to do it. Latin Lover’s problem is La Hiedra doesn’t have enough discipline, and I think he’s correct. Latin Lover could desperately use some discipline on what messages he’s putting out and how he’s doing them, and he doesn’t seem to have anyone he’s going to listen correcting him on that. Same with La Hiedra, I’m sure.

Latin Lover can not stop talking, though, and has less of a filter than even Konnan. In a Facebook live video, Latin Lover said two CMLL women had agreed to jump to AAA and warned people who said he was making things up not to disbelieve him. I thought the Micros Gemelos moving from CMLL to AAA was a foolish move, but women moving to a promotion that sees booking women as an unfortunate obligation seems just as ill-advised. (Tiffany made that move, has got booked once.) The other aspect is that CMLL has women training in Guadalajara and Puebla who are probably frustratingly far from making the actual CMLL Mexico City roster but might be billed as CMLL women in the right light. It would make more sense for them to jump, but they’re not going to get booked.

El Fiscal, who has been in AAA for roughly five minutes, decided it would be a good idea to weigh on this weight issue. He comes down on the side of “wrestlers should have impressive physiques.” That probably will not endear him to all of his colleagues. Fiscal no doubt feels indebted to this AAA management team for giving him huge opportunities early in his career and wanting to show support, but you can not post. You don’t have to participate in the discourse publically.

Vampiro is beefing with a member of the Kumbia Kids music group. Look, I’ve explained a lot in this post. I can’t explain this one. I have limits.

Mistakes Were Made

TNA advertised KUSHIDA/Laredo Kid for this Thursday’s Impact. I had actually looked for spoilers for this set of tapings a few days prior, because I like to keep tabs on what they’re doing with Laredo Kid even if I’m not watching it. Didn’t find them this time around, which was my first mistake, but that meant the first time I heard about Laredo Kid versus KUSHIDA was when I saw Impact promote it. I’m critical, often, about TNA’s usage of Mexican wrestlers. They’re under no obligation to push anyone, TNA should book whatever’s going to help their business the best. Still, if jobbing out the Mexican talent, and then pushing them to the spotlight whenever TNA feels like they need them to draw latino fans comes off as cynical and should be pointed out as such. And if they go the other way, and give a Laredo Kid a real shot, then it’s worth giving TNA a shot too.

TNA is on AXS, a channel that just stopped broadcasting to my cable system one day. I figured I ought to pay to watch it once – if I’m going to be loud about something I thin they’ve done wrong, I need to go as strong the other way when I think they’re doing it right. (This was a better idea when I thought TNA still had their $1/month plan on YouTube; that got canceled last week in favor of a $10/month TNA+ plan for a bigger bucket of content.) I had no expectation that Laredo Kid would beat KUSHIDA or that TNA would even give the match a significant amount of time. If I got eight minutes of a new match, that’d be good enough for me and probably good enough for Laredo to find a way to get over.

Laredo Kid didn’t get minutes. He got about three. The announcers spent about half of the match talking about other TNA things and about a minute talking about how KUSHIDA was a great, rounded wrestler. Laredo Kid was also there. They were maybe just about to talk about him when he finally got to do something – except that was the end match. Josh Alexander, who is either a heel or headed that way (I don’t care), hit the ring for no obvious reason to take out Laredo Kid and toss him out of the ring like as if a sack of very unwanted potatoes. KUSHIDA got to put up a fight because TNA was pivoting to KUSHIDA and ended up wrestling Alexander instead. Laredo Kid simply ceased to exist. I stuck around for the match, not paying attention to it, to see if commentary touched on Laredo Kid’s role or even somehow got involved in the match later. Of course that didn’t happen, of course Laredo Kid ceased to exist in the universe the moment he got tossed out of the ring. Laredo Kid is not an actual person with motivations in TNA; he’s a disposable masked man.

The world needs disposable masked men! Serpentico does a great job in that role in the greater AEW/ROH universe. (Serpentico also won a feud this year, so maybe this in unfair comparison for him.) Laredo Kid is a disposable man when it comes to the matches and someone TNA shoves out there to media rounds as they go back into another Latino market. AEW does not beat Serpentico in a minute and then has to go on the radio to talk about how great it is to work for TNA. Professional wrestling is an insincere business, but it’s tough to rival TNA’s usage of Laredo Kid.

Laredo Kid knows all this, too. I’m not in his head, and I haven’t talked to him, but I’ve seen him for so many years that I think I know a little bit about how he thinks. I think he really would rather be anywhere else, and I think you see that any time he goes on a spree of posting highlights on Twitter and tagging as many people as he can think of – “notice me, get me out of here.” (You really see it when he starts to tag promotions.) Laredo Kid wasn’t on Lucha Underground, he wasn’t hanging around NJPW, he’s not related someone in demand, and people who run US promotions are generally clueless when it comes to Mexican wrestling, so he’s got to sit and watch who aren’t near as good as him – Dralistico, Gravity and Metalik to name three, and I could name more – get spots in AEW while working once a month in TNA. I think Laredo Kid realizing hanging out in TNA isn’t doing anything for him, is probably making it harder for others to take a chance on him. He’s got a ticking clock on his career, but also, he’s got a family to take care of, and he’s just not going to turn down work that might help support him. So, he’s going to keep working, keep taking those three minutes matches and the paychecks that come with them, and just pray he’ll someday get the same break his buddy The Beast Mortos did. I hope it works out for him. The 10 USD I spent on TNA+ was a big blow to my hope that it ever will.

(It bears pointing out that AAA, both in podcast form and behind the scenes, has very strong feelings about how AAA-affiliated talent should be used in AEW. Those feelings don’t seem to be expressed or enforced regarding “partner promotion” TNA.)

Anyway, I made the mistake of trusting TNA with my money. I expect it will be a long time before I make that mistake again.

Other News

Tarzan Ramirez (Jose Guadalupe Martinez Ramirez, 77) passed away on Monday. He was a Queretaro based luchador in the 70s and 80s. His last match was said to have been in 2012, though it sounds like that was a one-off return, having been retired from full time wrestling many years prior. He also promoted shows.

Violento Jack says he’s returning to Mexico for a tour in November, though he notes he has no idea what he’s doing with a tour of Mexico and his pal Aeroboy actually is the one putting it together for both of them.

Fightful reported AEW registered trademarks for both “The Clone” and “El Clon”. I don’t know any more on this than you do; it sounds like something Hologram related, there are people who would be fun in that character, but I haven’t heard anything about any 0ther luchador coming in to AEW.

El Universal has an interview with La Insaciable, who’s been wrestling for about two months.

La Copa interviews Hidalgo’s Barkai, who mentions traveling to Guadalajara to train with Satnaico.